Position: Executive Assistant, Legal

Department: Legal

Office Location: The ideal candidate is located in any of the following states or major metropolitan areas where Lambda Legal has an office: New York, NY (Headquarters); Atlanta, GA (Southern); Dallas, TX (South Central); Chicago, IL (Midwest); Los Angeles, CA (Western); or Washington, D.C.

Work Type Designation: Hybrid

Reports to: Chief Legal Officer

Union Status: This is not a union position.

Annual Salary Range: $85,000 - $100,000 annually. The salary for this role will be determined by a candidate's years of relevant experience related to the position as well as the geographic region.

Travel: This position may require occasional travel.

FLSA Status: Exempt / Full-Time

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Who We Are

Lambda Legal is a national advocacy organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. Since 1973, Lambda Legal has used impact litigation and other advocacy tools to decriminalize same-sex relationships; challenge discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in the workplace, in the home, in schools, in health care, and in the military; and protect LGBTQ+ families, including by winning and defending marriage equality. Our clients are not charged for legal representation or advocacy and Lambda Legal receives no government funding. Headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal also has regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, DC.

We believe that serving the full breadth of the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities requires cultural competency and enthusiasm for diversity of all kinds. To be successful, we must approach our work with an understanding that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status is not the only obstacle to achieving full formal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV; rather, we recognize the intersectional nature of discrimination, specifically including biases based on race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, education, and class. Considering this reality, we prioritize a proactive commitment to counteracting these biases and their compounding effects in the work we do, but also in how we work together as an organization.

What you’ll do:

Executive Support & Operations:

Own and actively manage the CLO’s priorities, maintaining visibility across key workstreams, and ensuring time and focus are aligned to the most critical matters.
Oversee and optimize calendar and meeting strategy — not just scheduling, but ensuring meetings are purposeful, prepared, and outcome-driven.
Manage budget and expense processes with a focus on accuracy and efficiency, including tracking expenditures, processing invoices and expense reports, coordinating vendor payments, and preparing budget summaries for CLO review.
Coordinate extensive executive travel — including complex multi-leg domestic itineraries across Lambda Legal's regional offices, conferences, litigation-related travel, and policy and advocacy engagements — with full ownership of logistics, contingency planning, and execution.
Drive preparation for internal and external meetings, including synthesizing materials, preparing agendas, identifying key issues, and ensuring the CLO is positioned for effective decision-making.
Draft, refine, and quality-control written materials — including correspondence, meeting follow-ups, reports, and presentations — ensuring clarity, accuracy, and strategic alignment for CLO review; develop increasing independence in drafting in the CLO's voice over time.
Act as a trusted liaison, managing communications and relationships with internal and external stakeholders — including external pro bono counsel, co-counsel organizations, coalition partners, and donors — with sound judgment and discretion.
Ensure follow-through on key decisions and action items by tracking progress, surfacing risks, and following up with stakeholders to drive accountability.
Manage confidential documents and sensitive information with strict discretion, consistent with Lambda Legal's information security practices and the particular confidentiality demands of legal and advocacy work.
Leverage technology and productivity tools to enhance efficiency across drafting, research synthesis, scheduling, and project management, while exercising sound judgment about data confidentiality and organizational information security protocols.

Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives:

Lead and manage special projects assigned by the CLO, from scoping and planning through execution and close-out, ensuring deliverables are met on time and within scope.
Conduct research and synthesize findings into clear, actionable written reports, briefings, and recommendations for CLO review and decision-making.
Track milestones and maintain project documentation to ensure visibility and accountability across all active initiatives.
Support the Legal Department with strategic planning materials, including presentations and departmental reports.
Identify opportunities to improve Legal Department workflows, processes, and communications, and help design and implement solutions.
Serve as a connective operator across teams, proactively coordinating work and removing barriers to progress.
Other duties as assigned.

Who you are:

With the understanding that no one person will offer every desired skill and characteristic outlined below, compelling candidates will offer much of the following:

Requirements:

A minimum of 3 years supporting C-suite or senior leadership across core administrative functions, including calendar management, travel logistics, expense support, executive communications, and meeting coordination.
Demonstrated experience supporting or coordinating complex projects, including working with stakeholders, tracking progress, and driving initiatives to completion.
Experience supporting budget planning, expense management, and vendor coordination.
Exceptional organizational skills with a high degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and ability to manage competing priorities.
Strong initiative and self-starting instincts — a demonstrated ability to anticipate needs, act without close supervision, and follow through reliably.
Proven ability to exercise discretion and maintain strict confidentiality with sensitive organizational and personnel information.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting professional correspondence, reports, and presentations.
Ability to build trust and effective working relationships across diverse colleagues, partners, and stakeholders at all levels of an organization.
Strong professional judgment and discretion, with a proven ability to handle sensitive matters, navigate ambiguous situations, and make sound decisions with limited oversight.
Receptiveness to feedback and ability to incorporate it for continuous improvement; comfort with direct, candid communication, including the ability to proactively raise concerns or flag issues with senior leadership.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and SharePoint).
Commitment to and familiarity with LGBTQ+ civil rights, HIV advocacy, or related social justice issues, sufficient to engage meaningfully with the CLO's work and communicate appropriately with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Nice-to-haves:

Familiarity with legal operations, legal department workflows, or the nonprofit sector.
Experience with WestLaw and/or iManage.
Exposure to project management tools or methodologies (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, etc.).
Experience utilizing technology-driven solutions to enhance efficiency, accelerate progress, and optimize day-to-day workflows.
Prior experience at a civil rights organization, advocacy nonprofit, or legal services organization.

Successful candidates will welcome the opportunity to work in a racially- and gender-diverse environment and contribute to a positive and inclusive atmosphere. Working at Lambda Legal requires a demonstrated awareness of and commitment to the concerns of the breadth of the communities that Lambda Legal serves. Prior work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community and/or people living with HIV is highly desirable. Experience working with other historically marginalized communities (in a professional or volunteer capacity) is also desirable.

All employees at Lambda Legal are expected to adhere to ethical conduct in all interactions and tasks, ensuring a positive and respectful workplace environment.

Our Values & DEIB Philosophy

Successful candidates will embrace and champion our Organizational Values and DEIB Philosophy Statement, bringing a commitment to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and supportive workplace. They will thrive in a diverse environment, actively contributing to a culture that respects and uplifts the full spectrum of communities Lambda Legal serves.

Why Work at Lambda Legal?

You get to do meaningful, life-changing work at a national level for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV. Lambda Legal also proudly offers competitive benefits for our team. We understand that our staff’s dedication and effort are instrumental in achieving our mission. A highlight of the benefits we offer include:

Medical benefits that begin on your start date
Dental, Vision, and Life insurance (effective 30 days from your start date)
Short & Long-Term Disability plans (effective 30 days from your start date)
403(b) Retirement Plan (employer contribution and matching program begins after 90 days of employment)
Paid Time Off:
Paid Vacation (15 Days)
Sick Leave (12 Days)
Personal Leave (3 Days)
Religious Observance Leave (3 Days)
Bereavement and Bereavement Anniversary Leave
Floating Holiday (1 Day)
12 paid holidays and 5 early office closures
Flexible Spending Account (FSA/DC FSA) and Commuter Benefits
Health Reimbursement Account
Annual professional development funds
$50 monthly mobile phone reimbursement
Summer Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day
Premium subscription to the Calm App
Paid sabbatical after 7 years of service at Lambda Legal (4 weeks for non-exempt positions and 8 weeks for exempt positions)

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Read more about Lambda Legal's work on our blog and Instagram.

Lambda Legal believes in creating a more equitable playing field for applicants and values the depth of relevant skills built through successful education, work, and life experiences. If your background and skills are a close match for this position, you are strongly encouraged to apply.

Lambda Legal is committed to further building and maintaining a staff that reflects the full range of LGBTQ+, HIV-affected and allied communities, and is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. Lambda Legal encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship or immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender-diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people living with disabilities, protected veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals living with HIV are all encouraged to apply.