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Deputy General Counsel

This job is no longer available

New York, NY, USA
Full-time

ProPublica is seeking a deputy general counsel who will provide day-to-day legal support to the organization's full range of activities, with emphasis on legal services to its newsroom.

The deputy general counsel will be based in New York and report to the president of ProPublica, who is also the organization's chief legal officer, and work closely with the organization's editorial and business leadership.

Areas of Responsibility: 

Responsibilities

  • Provide timely and thoughtful legal advice on a range of potential risks and issues, including pre-publication review of editorial content across the full range of defamation, freedom of information and access, intellectual property, newsgathering and sourcing, and publicity/privacy issues, basic commercial contract review and drafting.
  • Working directly with newsroom leadership, senior editors and working reporters and others, as well as business development and other managers, publishing partners, commercial vendors, business partners and other key stakeholders.
  • Supervision of outside counsel in litigated matters and, as time allows, hands-on litigation in freedom of information/access and possibly routine subpoena matters.
Skills/Experience: 

Qualifications

  • At least three years of experience in press law and related fields, including experience with litigation, preferably in both defamation and freedom of information/access, and direct counseling of clients.
  • Membership in New York bar and experience litigating in the federal and state courts of New York, and preferably other venues as well.
  • A deep commitment to the value of a free and inquisitive press in democratic governance, and an understanding of the key role in this played by investigative reporting.
  • Outstanding analytic and communication (both oral and written) skills.
  • The highest level of professionalism and solid judgment.
  • A creative, entrepreneurial spirit with high energy, enthusiasm and a strong work ethic.
Compensation/Benefits: 

The position is full time with comprehensive benefits. Salary is competitive. 

How to Apply: 

Send cover letter and resume to [email protected].

Additional Information: 

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. With a team of more than 75 dedicated journalists, ProPublica covers a range of topics, focusing on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact. Its reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels. Since it began publishing in 2008, ProPublica has received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards and five George Polk Awards, among others.

We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, in part by better reflecting the people we cover. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages, and we're taking active steps to meet this commitment. We especially encourage members of historically underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

Job Function: 

Organization Info

ProPublica

Overview
Headquarters: 
New York, NY
Annual Budget : 
$10-50M
Size: 
51-200 employees
Founded: 
2007
About Us
Mission: 

The Mission
To expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.

Programs: 

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account.

With a team of more than 75 dedicated journalists, ProPublica covers a range of topics including government and politics, business, criminal justice, the environment, education, health care, immigration, and technology. We focus on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact. Among other positive changes, our reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels.

Investigative journalism requires a great deal of time and resources, and many newsrooms can no longer afford to take on this kind of deep-dive reporting. As a nonprofit, ProPublica’s work is powered primarily through donations. The vast bulk of the money we spend goes directly into world-class, award-winning journalism. We are committed to uncovering the truth, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs, and we practice transparent financial reporting so donors know how their dollars are spent.

ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with the belief that investigative journalism is critical to our democracy. Our staff remains dedicated to carrying forward the important work of exposing corruption, informing the public about complex issues, and using the power of investigative journalism to spur reform.

Awards & Accolades: 
Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
Pulitzer Prize, Public Service
AHCJ Award for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, Consumer/Feature
George Polk Award, Medical Reporting
Society for News Design Award of Excellence, Multiple Categories
Editor & Publisher Award for Best Use of Data
Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism
Edward R. Murrow Award, Investigative Reporting
Why Work For Us?: 

ProPublica is committed to increasing the diversity of our workplace as well as in the journalism community more broadly. We do our best to post an update on our diversity efforts every year. Here are our posts from 2017 and 2015. We believe that it is crucial to fill our newsroom with people from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives, and are committed to recruiting and retaining people from communities that have long been underrepresented, not only in journalism but particularly in investigative journalism. That includes African Americans, Latinos, other people of color, women, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.

As part of our commitment to diversity, starting this year we intend to formalize a practice we have already followed on most hires. We will interview at least one person of color for every posted job in line with the practice pioneered by the NFL and known as the “Rooney Rule.” Many other entities have adopted this approach to increasing their diversity.

There may be very rare occasions when a job is filled without a posting. In such cases, we will explain to the ProPublica staff why we did not advertise the position and, if relevant, why we did not interview a person of color.

Connect With Us

Listing Stats

Post Date: 
Apr 19 2018
Active Until: 
May 19 2018
Hiring Organization: 
ProPublica
industry: 
Nonprofit