Title: Director of Litigation
Job Category: Health/ Human Services
Requisition Number: DIREC002164
Job Type: Full-Time
Saint Paul, MN, 55101, United States

Description

Who We Are

The Housing Justice Center (HJC) is a nonprofit public interest advocacy and legal organization whose primary mission is to preserve and expand affordable housing for low-income individuals and families. Using legal advocacy, impact litigation, policy analysis, research, and community education, HJC works to encourage the production and preservation of affordable housing and the protection of the rights of people who need affordable places to call home. HJC attorneys work with tenant and advocacy organizations, public and private housing funders, owners, developers, and policy makers in their efforts to protect and expand affordable housing. Based in Minnesota, HJC works nationwide.

Wages

$102,000 - $112,000 annual salary

Benefits

Paid vacation and sick time, plus 12 paid holidays and one floating holiday per year; HJC offers generous benefits, which include a medical and dental reimbursement and will contribute 100% toward regular full-time employee's medical and dental insurance premiums after 90 days of employment with the organization; and HJC offers a 3% contribution to employees who participate in a SIMPLE IRA account administered by Fidelity.

Because HJC is a member with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) who partners with St. Mary’s University, HJC employees and their spouses are also eligible for the following benefits at St. Mary’s University:

• Discounted tuition for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate programs
• Professional development opportunities
• Access to advancement (internships, job placement, field practice)

Housing Justice Center Litigation

HJC focuses primarily on state and federal impact litigation that furthers and strengthens housing justice, expands affordable housing, and protects the rights of tenants. The HJC litigation team includes six attorneys, a paralegal, and an intake coordinator. In the past five years, HJC has served as counsel in high-impact tenant rights litigation in state and federal court, including class actions and private attorney general actions involving cutting-edge legal theories combining housing law, manufactured home law, consumer protection law, antidiscrimination law, and environmental law. HJC attorneys represent renters and community-based organizations both directly and in partnership with legal services organizations and law firms dedicated to the service of low-income Minnesota renters.

About the Position

Building on the Housing Justice Center’s mission and values, the Director of Litigation will ensure that our litigation strategy is grounded in the lived experiences of renters and directly impacted communities. The Director of Litigation will foster a collaborative, team-based approach that centers community voice, advances community-driven solutions, and uses the law to address gaps in the housing system. In partnership with advocates, organizers, policy staff, and impacted renters, the Director will help design innovative legal strategies that not only win cases but also strengthen long-term housing stability, accountability, and systemic change.

The Director of Litigation reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for setting organizational litigation strategy; hiring, supervising, and mentoring the team of housing justice litigators and support staff; developing and managing relationships across the organization and with other litigation organizations; and participating directly in litigation.

Responsibilities will include the following:

Setting Organizational Litigation Strategy

• Work with the Executive Director, Directors, and litigation team to set overall litigation strategy and priorities for the organization.
• Make final decisions as to what litigation matters to pursue and the staffing levels associated with each matter.

Relationships with Other Litigation Organizations

• Identify, recruit, and manage relationships with litigation partner organizations (private and nonprofit).
• Manage staff workflow when working with partner organizations.

Managing and Performing Litigation

• Devise litigation strategy in conjunction with the client and litigation team.
• Act as first-chair litigator at trial, depositions, hearings, and appeals, as necessary.
• Support and engage in the work of HJC’s legal and policy response to federal actions, including litigation related to federal response work.
• Assign work to litigation teams.
• Supervise and support legal staff, including managerial support to ensure smooth day-to-day operations.
• Provide mentorship to staff attorneys with a focus on professional development and building legal expertise.
• Engage in brief writing and letter writing as necessary; review and edit brief and letter writing of others as necessary.
• Engage in legal research and document review as necessary.
• Lead settlement conferences and settlement negotiations as necessary.

Position Requirements

Education and Experience

• Juris doctor degree.
• Minimum of 8 years of work experience in litigation, with a preference for experience in complex civil and/or class action litigation.
• Track record of success in litigation results.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Commitment to serving clients from diverse communities and lived experiences with humility, respect, and cultural competency.
• Proven track record of providing thoughtful, practical legal and strategic guidance to clients and the legal team.
• Experience leading litigation teams, including successful systems for tracking several ongoing litigation matters and managing caseloads.
• Working knowledge of affordable housing law and policy, and the ability to apply that knowledge strategically to impact litigation and actions to enforce statutory, regulatory, and constitutional housing protections.
• Excellent writing, communication, and oral advocacy skills.
• Ability to anticipate legal issues or risks and to “see around the corner”.
• Ability to develop legal strategies and objectives.
• High degree of professional ethics, integrity, and commitment to high performance.
• Experience successfully working in a highly collaborative manner.
• Ability to travel to court and client locations throughout Minnesota.

Licenses and/or Certifications

• Law degree.
• Member in good standing of the Minnesota bar or member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction, and eligibility to promptly gain admission to the Minnesota bar.

Diversity and open expression are central to the work of Housing Justice Center. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone belongs and where diverse perspectives strengthen our ability to understand challenges and create meaningful solutions. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, especially those who are underrepresented in our sector, including individuals who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQI+, gender fluid or gender nonconforming, people with disabilities (visible and invisible), veterans, and people of any age or family status. We also encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the listed qualifications.

Housing Justice Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, age, marital status, public assistance status, criminal history, housing status, height, or weight.

Our organization has a partnership with Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) to provide administrative services including management of the hiring process. If you apply for this position, you may see references to MACC in some online materials.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.