Job Description
About CAASE
Mission and Vision
CAASE envisions a community free from all forms of sexual exploitation, including sexual assault and the commercial sex trade. CAASE addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or support sexual exploitation. Our work includes prevention, policy reform, community engagement, and legal services.
Values
Social and institutional systems do not adequately serve survivors of sexual violation. Sexual violation disproportionately harms people from marginalized communities, including girls and women, people of color, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, and immigrants and people without documentation. To best support survivors, CAASE confronts the inequities that fuel or intersect with sexual harm. Our dedication to this work is reflected in our values.
- Dignity | We respect the inherent humanity of all people and strive to expand opportunities for personal autonomy.
- Accountability | We answer to survivors and collaborate with allies as we seek to hold those responsible for harm accountable.
- Progress | We create individual, institutional and cultural change by using innovative approaches to ending sexual harm.
- Equity | We commit to building a world where every person, with consideration for their intersecting identities and unique circumstances, has the same access to opportunity and power.
CAASE does not discriminate against job applicants or employees on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, sex (including sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, gender stereotyping, pregnancy and childbirth status) religion, national origin, age (40 and over), mental or physical disability, neurotype, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, military status, veteran status, arrest record, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as being under an order of protection, lack of a permanent mailing address or using the mailing address of a shelter or social service provider, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. CAASE supports a person’s full access to reproductive health information and services.
About the Opportunity
Job Function
The Staff Attorney will be involved in all aspects of CAASE’s substantive legal work – from development of legal strategies to implementation. They will handle a variety of complex cases within the legal department, focusing on civil legal representation and victims’ rights representation in the criminal system; and manage CAASE’s relationships with community partners and coalitions as assigned.
Responsibilities
Direct Legal Services
The Staff Attorney will carry an active caseload of up to 16 clients and is expected to work independently according to the organization’s policies and procedures. Specific tasks will include:
- Meet with, assess comprehensive legal needs of, and provide legal advice and representation to victims of sexual assault and/or exploitation through prostitution.
- Provide advocacy and representation to victims seeking civil protection and/or relief, including compensatory damages, and to victims seeking to have the criminal justice system investigate and prosecute perpetrators of sexual assault and exploitation.
- Utilize the Illinois Crime Victim Bill of Rights to represent survivors of sexual assault or sex trafficking as a victims’ attorney within the criminal court.
- Address the civil legal needs of victims related to privacy, immigration, physical safety, education, employment, housing, and financial compensation matters.
- Utilize civil rights remedies, including the Illinois Civil No Contact Order Act, Stalking No Contact Order Act, the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, the Gender Violence Act, the Illinois Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Victims Economic Safety and Security Act (VESSA) to represent survivors of sexual assault and exploitation in civil matters.
- Maintain organized and detailed case files and client database.
External Partnerships and Community Engagement
- Collaborate with Chicago-based rape crisis centers and victim advocates in providing comprehensive services to victims, including engaging and communicating with specific advocates on clients’ cases.
- Develop and present educational programming on CAASE’s legal services program and the legal rights of survivors for Chicago-area attorneys, community leaders and rape crisis center advocates.
- Represent CAASE and lead CAASE’s involvement in community-based coalitions, task forces and campaigns as assigned by the Managing Attorney.
- Seek out and engage in opportunities to represent CAASE through public speaking and presentations, both locally and nationally.
Status: Full time, exempt.
Reports to: Managing Attorney
This position is primarily remote, but there may be occasional travel within Chicagoland.
Education and Experience
Applicants must have a Juris Doctorate and admission to the Illinois Bar in good standing.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong research, writing, and litigation skills;
- Excellent interpersonal skills and comfort working with survivors, victim’s advocates, State’s Attorneys, Police, employers, school administrators, medical practitioners, and other attorneys.
- Demonstrated commitment to working against all forms of violence against girls and women and on behalf of all victims of sexual assault and exploitation, regardless of sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity or economic circumstances. Demonstrated commitment to feminist principles of identifying and opposing all forms and manifestations of inequality.
- Commitment to developing innovative legal and policy responses to sexual assault through the provision of civil legal representation and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault and prostitution, both within the criminal justice system, the civil justice system, and in any other venue applicable to survivors, including in educational or employment settings.