Senior Counsel (AI for Democracy Action Lab)

Protect Democracy is seeking an experienced, highly motivated attorney to join our team as Senior Counsel, focusing on the legal dimensions of artificial intelligence and advanced technology as they intersect with American democracy. This role is integral to our scaling of the AI for Democracy Action Lab—Protect Democracy’s multidisciplinary, nonpartisan “action tank” focusing on building tech tools and shaping law and policy to safeguard and strengthen democracy in the AI era. This position is remote based in the US.* Please note: We are no longer hiring early-mid career Tech Counsel.

This is a position for candidates with at least 10 years of experience as an attorney, ideally including expertise in AI and emerging technology law, exceptional legal and analytical skills, entrepreneurial legal instincts, and a demonstrated ability to translate complex technical and legal questions for diverse audiences. In this role, you will develop and advance legal strategies at the frontier of AI law and policy. From idea generation to execution, you will work with a small team driving creative impact litigation and other projects that integrate legal, regulatory, and communications strategies to constrain deployments of AI that are corrosive to our democracy. You will also help build the AI for Democracy Action Lab’s expertise and credibility on the legal questions that will define how AI shapes our democracy.

As a member of this team, you will shape the AI for Democracy Action Lab’s legal advocacy priorities, building upon the team’s strategies to date. Our legal work has included advocacy to push back against the Pentagon’s retaliation against Anthropic for standing by its red lines, litigation challenging the administration’s attempt to chill online trust and safety work, and litigation and advocacy to stop the administration’s unlawful collection and aggregation of Americans’ personal data and deployment of technology for surveillance purposes. 

At Protect Democracy, we believe that diversity isn’t just a strength — it’s a necessity for tackling the complex challenges facing democracy. A broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences strengthen our ability to analyze problems, craft solutions, and drive meaningful change. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply. If you meet most but not all of the criteria listed below but believe nonetheless you’d be a stellar match for the role and could grow into it, we want to hear from you.

In this role, you will:

• Identify, scope, and manage complex, high-stakes integrated advocacy projects to advance the AI for Democracy Action Lab’s goals;

• Lead and drive the development of innovative legal arguments and potential litigation approaches at the intersection of AI and democracy;

• Lead the process of researching, drafting, and editing pleadings, motions, briefs, and other legal filings in impact litigation;

• Lead communication with opposing counsel and manage and grow relationships with clients, coalition partners, experts, and government stakeholders in high-stakes litigation and non-litigation settings;

• Manage discovery processes, including informal fact-finding, document review, witness interviews, written discovery, depositions, and expert discovery;

• Supervise and mentor paralegals, junior legal staff, and law students;

• Write, publish, and present to key audiences on legal issues that gain significant traction at the intersection of AI and democratic governance;

• Brief reporters and provide expert commentary on complex legal questions and developments in AI law and regulation, serving as a public face for projects;

• Engage with policymakers, regulators, civil society partners, and the tech industry as a credible legal voice for pro-democracy AI governance.