Counsel or Senior Counsel (Legislative)

The Policing Project at New York University School of Law is seeking an experienced legal professional to join our legislative team as a Counsel or Senior Counsel. An ideal candidate will have both interest in, and experience with, legislative drafting and advocacy, as well as a passion for criminal legal system reform, racial justice, public safety, and related issues.

This position can be based out of the Policing Project’s New York City offices or can be full-time remote, with occasional travel to New York.

Background on the Policing Project

The Policing Project partners with communities, policymakers, and the police to promote public safety through transparency, equity, and democratic engagement. We bring a new approach to this fraught area, one grounded in democratic values. In particular, our work focuses on ensuring accountability on the front end. Front-end accountability involves promoting public voice in setting transparent, ethical, and effective policies and practices before the police act. The goal is achieving public safety in a manner that is equitable, non-discriminatory, and respectful of public values.

Legislation is a core component of this theory of change, and our legislative team works to develop and advance policy that supports policing reform and front-end accountability. With input from advocates, researchers and law enforcement professionals, we have drafted model statutes addressing many of the most pressing issues in policing, and we frequently tailor these statutes to the needs of a particular jurisdiction. We also work with partners at the federal, state, and local levels to improve existing pieces of legislation and regulation, or to help translate policy goals into actionable legislative text. In addition, we regularly testify, write, and support legislation, and have seen our work make a direct impact on policing reform in states across the country.

We are excited to start a new initiative to improve criminal justice policymaking by making it easier for researchers to assess what works when it comes to achieving public safety—in ways that minimize the attendant harms of policing and incarceration. At present, most criminal justice interventions never face rigorous evaluation. This makes it more difficult for advocates to press for change, and for policymakers to know whether their efforts have in fact been successful. Much of this has to do with the fact that policymakers rarely focus on evaluation when implementing reforms. They rarely ask, for example, whether agencies are collecting the data necessary to evaluate a program’s effectiveness, or whether a program is being implemented in a way that enables researchers to tease out the effects of any given policy change. Our goal with this project is to give policymakers the tools and support they need to plan for evaluation from the start. Unlike our other projects, which focus primarily on policing, this effort will span a much broader range of criminal justice reforms.

Job Description & Responsibilities:

The Counsel or Senior Counsel will be part of the Policing Project’s legislation team and will engage in a wide variety of work to support our current and future legislative efforts. This includes (1) research and drafting assistance on legislation, (2) influencing laws and regulations throughout the policymaking process, and (3) educating policymakers and the public about the need for appropriate policing regulation. In particular, the Counsel or Senior Counsel will devote a significant portion of their time to our new initiative drafting legislative language to facilitate research and policy evaluation of various criminal justice reforms.

 Responsibilities may include:

  • Conducting factual, policy, legal, and legislative research to further our legislative efforts;

  • Drafting and refining legislation, as well as memoranda, testimony, op-eds, and content for our website;

  • Working with other teams at the Policing Project, including our Reimagining Public Safety, Tech, and Litigation teams, to tailor legislative approaches to their projects;

  • Providing technical assistance to legislators and advocacy groups on proposed legislation;

  • Developing and maintaining relationships with advocacy partners and lawmakers;

  • Educating policymakers, advocates, and the media about pressing policing reform issues and possible policy solutions;

  • Tracking policing reform legislation and determining when to engage.

Desired Experience & Qualifications:

We seek to hire someone with excellent analytical and writing skills, and an interest in improving policing and public safety. This individual should have the experience and ability to manage projects and relationships independently. Given the cutting-edge and innovative nature of our work, and the fact that it often occurs around fraught social issues, we are looking for someone who is a problem solver with maturity and judgment.

A J.D. is required for this position. In addition, we will consider the following qualifications, but do not expect any applicant to have all of them:

  • At least five years of professional experience (but encourage interested candidates with less experience to apply);

  • Experience with legislative drafting and the legislative process generally;

  • Experience working with policymakers and advocates, and familiarity with the practical realities of policymaking;

  • Strong familiarity and/or interest in constitutional law, criminal procedure, policing and public safety (or related fields), racial justice, and civil rights/civil liberties;

  • Familiarity with social science research and methodology;

  • Strong written communications skills;

  • Exceptional attention to detail;

  • Strong interpersonal skills and a demonstrated willingness to maintain and develop professional relationships; and

  • Excellent judgment and the ability to keep many balls in the air.

The Policing Project heartily encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds and is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, citizenship status, color, disability, marital or parental status, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Application Instructions

To apply please email a cover letter and resume to applications@policingproject.org. Indicate “Counsel/Senior Counsel Application” in the subject line. Cover letters should include when you are available to start and any salary requirements. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and you will be contacted if selected for an interview.

Salary commensurate with experience, ranging between $100,000 and $135,000. Compensation also includes excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and retirement. Further information regarding benefits can be found here: https://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/professional-research-staff/benefits-guide-2025.html.

NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity