Senior Litigation Attorney

Muslim Legal Fund of America; Richardson (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Life insurance

403(b) retirement plan

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Muslim Legal Fund of America is seeking experienced Senior Litigation Attorneys to join its legal team in Richardson, TX. The role involves leading or co-counseling on high-impact civil rights, immigration, and government accountability matters across multiple forums including federal courts and immigration proceedings.

Ideal candidates will bring substantial courtroom experience, strong written advocacy, and deep knowledge in at least one MLFA practice area.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• Admission to at least one federal jurisdiction, or ability to obtain promptly.
• At least seven years of practical litigation experience, including significant federal court, administrative, immigration court, or comparable contested-proceeding experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead or serve as senior co-counsel on a diverse caseload of nationwide litigation, administrative matters, or immigration proceedings within the attorney’s assigned practice area.
• Conduct legal screenings and consultations, assess potential matters, and make recommendations regarding case acceptance and strategy.
• Develop and execute litigation strategy from intake and factual investigation through trial, appeal, settlement, or other resolution.
• Conduct rigorous legal research and analysis involving complex, novel, or rapidly evolving areas of law.
• Draft and supervise complaints, petitions, motions, briefs, discovery, appeals, emergency filings, and other written advocacy.
• Examine witnesses and present arguments in administrative, pretrial, trial, and appellate proceedings.
• Build factual records through client interviews, witness preparation, discovery, depositions, document review, and expert consultation.
• Maintain disciplined ownership of deadlines, court appearances, case records, client communication, and internal reporting.
• Stay current on legal, regulatory, and procedural developments affecting clients and MLFA’s practice areas.
• Lead matter teams and provide guidance, review, and mentorship to attorneys, paralegals, fellows, interns, and other legal staff.

Skills

Courtroom experience

Legal research

Oral advocacy

Strategic judgment

Communication

Education

Juris Doctor

Job description

Muslim Legal Fund of America is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds and supports legal work defending Muslims against injustice in America’s courtrooms, prisons, and communities. MLFA’s mission is to advance equality and justice for American Muslim organizations and individuals by combating injustices carried out in the name of national security.

About Muslim Legal Fund of America

Muslim Legal Fund of America is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds and supports legal work defending Muslims against injustice in America’s courtrooms, prisons, and communities. MLFA’s mission is to advance equality and justice for American Muslim organizations and individuals by combating injustices carried out in the name of national security.

The Opportunity

MLFA is seeking one or more experienced Senior Litigation Attorneys to join its legal team. This posting is an open call for candidates whose experience aligns with current and anticipated needs across MLFA’s civil litigation, immigration, and related legal practice areas.

Senior Litigation Attorneys will lead or serve as senior co-counsel on complex, high-impact matters involving constitutional rights, civil liberties, immigration, national security, and government accountability. Depending on the assigned practice area, matters may proceed through administrative agencies, immigration courts, federal district courts, appellate courts, or a combination of forums.

Many MLFA cases involve unsettled questions of law or rapidly changing legal and policy environments. Work that may initially appear procedural or administrative must often be handled with close attention to exhaustion requirements, issue preservation, and the development of a strong record for future litigation. Attorneys must be prepared to manage matters from initial screening and investigation through pretrial proceedings, trial, appeal, or other resolution.

This is a practitioner-first role . Successful candidates will bring substantial courtroom experience, exceptional written advocacy, strong strategic judgment, and deep knowledge in at least one of the practice areas below. Applicants are not expected to have expertise in every area and should clearly identify their primary focus in their application.

Practice Areas of Interest

Federal Civil Litigation

MLFA’s Civil Litigation Department represents individuals and organizations in complex and novel constitutional and national security matters. The Department practices exclusively in federal court and handles cases from intake and administrative proceedings through pretrial litigation, trial, and appeal.

Relevant experience may include:

• Constitutional claims involving due process, equal protection, religious liberty, speech, association, surveillance, watchlisting, or government overreach.
• Challenges to federal policies, investigations, enforcement actions, and agency decisions.
• Administrative Procedure Act litigation and other federal statutory claims.
• Emergency motions, preliminary injunctions, discovery, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals.
• Matters requiring administrative exhaustion and careful record-building before litigation begins.

Civil Rights and Government Accountability

MLFA is particularly interested in attorneys with experience handling:

• Litigation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
• Police misconduct and other government-accountability matters.
• Religious discrimination and denial of religious accommodations.
• Constitutional violations by federal, state, or local officials.
• Civil discovery, depositions, expert development, dispositive motions, trials, and appeals.

Immigration Litigation and Removal Defense

Relevant experience may include:

• Removal and deportation defense.
• Proceedings before Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
• Detention-related litigation and habeas matters.
• Petitions for review and federal court challenges to agency action.
• Defensive asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture claims.
• Emergency relief and matters involving constitutional, discriminatory, or national security-related government action.

Constitutional and Administrative Law

MLFA also welcomes candidates with substantial experience litigating against government agencies or officials in federal court, even where their prior substantive focus differs from MLFA’s current practice areas.

Transferable experience may include regulatory enforcement, environmental litigation, tax or IRS matters, police misconduct, or other cases involving complex administrative records, government decision-making, constitutional claims, or challenges to official action.

Responsibilities

• Lead or serve as senior co-counsel on a diverse caseload of nationwide litigation, administrative matters, or immigration proceedings within the attorney’s assigned practice area.
• Conduct legal screenings and consultations, assess potential matters, and make recommendations regarding case acceptance and strategy.
• Develop and execute litigation strategy from intake and factual investigation through trial, appeal, settlement, or other resolution.
• Conduct rigorous legal research and analysis involving complex, novel, or rapidly evolving areas of law.
• Prepare administrative matters with close attention to exhaustion requirements, issue preservation, and the development of a record for potential federal litigation.
• Draft and supervise complaints, petitions, motions, briefs, discovery, appeals, emergency filings, and other written advocacy.
• Examines witnesses and present arguments in administrative, pretrial, trial, and appellate proceedings.
• Build factual records through client interviews, witness preparation, discovery, depositions, document review, and expert consultation.
• Maintain disciplined ownership of deadlines, court appearances, case records, client communication, and internal reporting.
• Stay current on legal, regulatory, and procedural developments affecting clients and MLFA’s practice areas.
• Lead matter teams and provide guidance, review, and mentorship to attorneys, paralegals, fellows, interns, and other legal staff.
• Collaborate with MLFA attorneys and practice leaders to determine case strategy and identify opportunities for broader legal impact.
• Communicate professionally and promptly with clients, colleagues, co-counsel, courts, agencies, community partners, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate with MLFA’s Communications, Development, and Operations teams on public education, community presentations, fundraising, and organizational initiatives while protecting client confidentiality, privilege, and litigation strategy.
• Uphold all applicable ethical obligations, court rules, organizational policies, and state and federal requirements.

Qualifications

Required

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• Admission to at least one federal jurisdiction, or the ability to obtain the necessary federal admissions promptly.
• At least seven years of practical litigation experience, including significant federal court, administrative, immigration court, or comparable contested-proceeding experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of the practice areas identified in this posting.
• Meaningful courtroom experience, including trials, evidentiary hearings, witness examination, oral arguments, appellate arguments, or similarly substantial contested proceedings.
• Experience serving as lead counsel or holding significant responsibility for case strategy, written advocacy, discovery, and client representation.
• Exceptional legal research, analysis, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Ability to independently manage a complex docket, meet court and internal deadlines, and communicate emerging risks or capacity concerns early.
• Strong strategic judgment and the ability to approach novel legal questions with creativity, precision, and attention to detail.
• Experience leading matter teams, reviewing the work of colleagues, or mentoring less-experienced attorneys and legal staff.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse, collaborative environment and coordinate with both legal and non-legal colleagues.
• Genuine respect for Muslim communities and a demonstrated commitment to serving communities affected by discrimination, criminalization, surveillance, or government overreach.
• Willingness to travel for hearings, trials, client meetings, and other organizational needs.

Preferred

• Public-interest, civil rights, nonprofit legal services, public defender, government, or impact-litigation experience.
• Significant federal district or appellate court experience.
• First-chair trial, hearing, or oral-argument experience.
• Experience litigating against government agencies or officials.
• Experience handling administrative exhaustion and developing matters for subsequent federal court review.
• Experience working with impacted communities, grassroots organizations, and nongovernmental organizations.
• Fluency in Arabic, Farsi, or another language spoken by communities MLFA serves.
• Ability to maintain a regular presence in MLFA’s Richardson office when required by the assigned team.

A nonprofit background is valuable but not required. Candidates from government and private practice are encouraged to apply when they bring relevant litigation experience, strong mission alignment, and an understanding of community-centered legal representation.

Compensation and Benefits

The annual salary range is $ 90,000-125,000 depending on experience, expertise, and qualifications. MLFA offers employer-subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance; employer-paid life insurance; an Employee Assistance Program; and access to a 403(b) retirement plan, currently without an employer match.