Legal Consultant, Strategic Litigation Project

The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project (SLP) works to advance prevention and accountability efforts for atrocity crimes, human rights violations, terrorism and corruption offenses.

The SLP seeks to achieve this through the following ways:

• Advocate for legislators to create new legal tools and improve existing ones to aid victims and survivors of serious international crimes in seeking accountability.
• File and support impact litigation and human rights interventions in international, regional and national courts and forums.
• Publish leading scholarship and convene public and private events, all designed to advance the global debate on the sophisticated use of strategic litigation.  

The SLP’s work is global in scope. Current projects focus on Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, China and Ukraine.

Under the supervision of the head of the SLP and in close cooperation with the project team, you will provide human rights and law related research and drafting support for project deliverables, produce content for different legal, policy, media and donor audiences and monitor and analyze rule of law related developments in key jurisdictions around the world.

This position is based remote within the US. The Atlantic Council offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, education, and organizational equity, with a compensation of $7,000 per month. Applications submitted by November 1, 2024, will be prioritized for consideration.

• Research, analysis and drafting related to the use of international, regional and national courts, forums and mechanisms for justice and redress for human rights violations and atrocity crimes.
  • Areas of research may include universal jurisdiction frameworks in Europe and other less-studied regions, civil actions pursuant to torture laws or other human rights related causes of action, and submissions to UN treaty bodies or other mechanisms.
• Research and analysis of responsibility of various state actors and non-state actors under international criminal law for purposes of case preparation in various international, regional and national forums.
• Monitor legal and political developments related to human rights and accountability, such as topical debates, legal reforms, landmark court cases or administrative proceedings, in key jurisdictions.
• Draft diverse project outputs including legal memos, legal briefs, analytical pieces, blog posts, explainers, fact sheets, newsletters and donor materials.
• Represent the SLP and its work to governments, policy makers, the media, victim and survivor communities, the global legal and human rights communities, academics, donors/funders and other stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned by the SLP’s management team.

• A law degree with a minimum of 2-3 years of relevant experience, including in international human rights, humanitarian law, comparative law, and/or criminal law and procedure.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Team player with good interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
• A high level of personal dedication, reliability and commitment.
• Problem solver and ability to work independently.
• Fluency in English and preferred fluency in Arabic. Fluency in other languages a bonus.