Americans United for Separation of Church and State

General Counsel

• serve as lead counsel in church-state cases throughout the country
• serve as principal counsel for Americans United in church-state cases co-counseled with pro bono teams
• draft and edit pleadings and briefs
• take depositions
• deliver oral arguments
• conduct trials and evidentiary hearings
• prosecute appeals
• develop new cases by investigating facts and law
• draft and edit amicus curiae briefs
• guide, mentor, and train junior lawyers and interns
• make public-speaking and media appearances
• collaborate across departments and partner organizations

Senior Litigation Counsel

• Develop and Lead Integrated Policy Effort
• Build and strengthen integrated advocacy work between AU departments, with a special focus on bridging the policy work of the Public Policy department and the organizing work of the Outreach department
• Collaborate across departments and partner organizations to initiate, lead, and/or support integrated advocacy campaigns at state/local levels that integrate policy work with AU’s litigation, movement-building, and narrative change work
• Oversee and expand AU’s lobbying and policy efforts at the state level
• Serve as a subject matter expert and policy strategy expert to partners, legislative and administration officials, and staff
• Supervise advocacy, including lobbying, before state legislatures, Congress, the White House, and federal agencies
• Build and strengthen relationships with partner organizations: represent AU in coalitions, run AU-led coalitions, and build ad hoc coalitions as needed
• Analyze and research legislation and proposed regulations and policies; draft legislative and policy language; draft and edit legislative and policy materials (such as congressional testimony, regulatory comments, and letters to public officials) as well as public-facing resources
• Help determine strategic vision and direction for Americans United’s public policy program
• Supervise Policy Counsel Team
• Manage the Public Policy department’s policy counsel team to effectively advance AU’s policy agenda and to support AU’s litigation, movement-building, and narrative change strategies
• Align policy work with AU’s strategic plan and organizational goals
• Provide direct supervision, mentoring, and professional development support to the policy counsel team and their work
• Organize trainings to the department as needed for skills development
• Set clear performance expectations and support policy counsel staff in meeting them
• Support the Vice President of Public Policy and Associate Vice President of Public Policy as a thought partner in the Public Policy department’s leadership team, further developing and shaping the impact of the Public Policy department.

Senior Litigation Counsel

Managing Policy Counsel