A Closer Look at Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is a nonprofit legal organization that focuses on the protection and advancement of the civil rights of all LGBTQ+ individuals and individuals living with HIV. Since its inception in the 1970s, Lambda Legal has fought for equal treatment under the law through strategic impact lawsuits. It works specifically with LGBT family law concerns, such as marriage, adoption, custody, and visitation. Lambda Legal was among the first organizations to challenge discriminatory laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act.
Headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal has regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago , Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. The not-for-profit relies heavily on grants, pro bono representation, gifts, and contributions from those within the legal industry to operate.
Lambda Legal was founded in 1973 by a group of lawyers, including Herbert Selzer, who came together to create the Gay Rights National Lobby. It would eventually grow into Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which later became Lambda Legal. With hundreds of lawyers and other professionals willing to volunteer their time, they provide over a million dollars in free legal advice to LGBTQ+ community members and people living with HIV.
Positions Available at Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal offers a variety of positions across its various offices. Many lawyers are hired in different capacities, whether it is as a staff attorney or as an attorney from a firm seconded (to temporarily leave his or her firm for an as-yet-undetermined period of time to work for another organization or government agency) or as a legal fellow. Some attorneys stay and become part of Lambda Legal’s permanent staff. Others move on to other positions in the LGBT civil rights and legal community. In addition, Lambda Legal has whole teams of people devoted to advocacy and development (fundraising) works.
Most of Lambda Legal’s regional offices hire attorneys, policy administrators, development and administrative personnel:
In addition, Lambda Legal has a national headquarters in New York City that is responsible for the organization’s national strategy. Its team is made up of attorneys, policy and other agency professionals, advocacy, National Leadership Council (board) development and support, marketing and communications, operations and finance, and information technology (IT).
How to Land a Position at Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal’s job listings can be found over at their Lambda Legal careers page. They list their jobs in reverse order, with the most recent on top, whether they are internships, volunteer opportunities or staff positions.
Once you see a listing that interests you, click on the title for more information. On the right-hand side of the job description is the Apply button. You’ll see that the application process itself involves sending your resume and cover letter to Lambda Legal by email, with "Job Application" followed by the position you are applying for as the subject line.
The Careers page also has links to their Internship page, the Lambda Legal Volunteer page (for the Regional Support Program), and a complete listing of current job openings.
When talking to people here about jobs in the legal field, Lambda Legal often comes to mind as an organization that pays interns and entry-level staffers to meet and exceed state prevailing minimum wage. From the perspective of a legal services provider like Legal Aid of Arkansas, that makes Lambda Legal at the forefront of access to justice.
Essential Skills and Qualifications
The range of ticketed events that Lambda Legal organizes each year—from the 40th Anniversary Gala to the Liberty Awards—provides both an opportunity for individuals interested in advocacy and fundraising to use their skills, and learn new ones. Leadership positions on Lambda Legal boards, both at the local and national levels, are ideal for those looking to arm themselves with the know-how and resources to tackle the complex legal and social issues faced by LGBTQ individuals and their families in the U.S. and abroad today, and tomorrow . Staff experience and the ability to describe the work of Lambda Legal articulately and confidently results in the strong donor relationships and financial support the organization relies on to fight for LGBTQ rights. The qualifications required to succeed at Lambda Legal vary depending on a position. In development, it’s all about networking; in grant writing, expressed understanding of historical legal issues. And there’s diversity: Lambda Legal is committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce, and seeks individuals strongly committed to civil rights and social justice.
Working at Lambda Legal: Benefits and Culture
Lambda Legal is committed to creating an inclusive work environment that actively promotes diversity and seeks to assure equality of opportunity in every aspect of employment. We understand that a workplace that values and respects the differences among its staff is more successful in carrying out our mission to achieve full recognition of LGBT equality and the full equality for people with HIV. We are driven to foster a culture that has enough flexible support for our employees to be their true selves while fully engaging in furthering the goals of our cases and projects.
We realize that in order to attract the diverse and qualified candidates we need, we must offer competitive salary and benefits. Lambda Legal compensation is competitive, comprehensive and generous. In addition to the protection offered by civil service regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Lambda Legal has implements other human resource policies that support a diverse workplace and minimize the risk of workplace issues, such as sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Each of our offices has a human resources representative to help answer questions about our workplace policies and benefits.
Volunteering and Internship Opportunities
We welcome the interest of people who want to contribute their time, skills, energy, enthusiasm and resources as Lambda Legal undertakes an ambitious agenda of change. The work is critical, exciting, and significant—for both the individual volunteer and the organization.
We accept resumes from law students and attorneys interested in externships and volunteer placements, and will schedule interviews with candidates whose interests and qualifications match an opening. Volunteer externships at Lambda Legal are unpaid; however , some externships are sponsored by law schools for academic credit or are funded by outside organizations such as Equal Justice Works or Skadden Fellowships. Summer volunteer externs and interns may be eligible for stipends through certain fellowships. All volunteer externships and internships offered by Lambda Legal are as full-time, non-remote positions unless otherwise noted.
We place a premium on candidates’ strong commitment to our mission and to serving the interests of our clients.