Location: Virtual

You: You’re a relentless freedom fighter who sees recruiting as more than filling roles — it’s about shaping an organization’s future through exceptional talent. You build and nurture relationships with intention, balancing empathy and emotional intelligence with the clarity and conviction of someone who understands their role as a talent scout and cultural gatekeeper. You know what it takes to be a great legal recruiter: a sharp eye for talented legal minds, the ability to assess writing and advocacy skills, and accurately evaluate candidates on principles-based alignment. Someone who understands the kind of legal experience a mission-driven litigation shop truly needs — from clerkships to trial experience to appellate chops. You know when to champion a candidate and when to press for values alignment, and you’re not afraid to pick up the phone, dig into résumés, ask the hard questions, and make decisive calls. You thrive and get energized on connecting the right person to the right opportunity to meet a need and elevate the mission. You’ll report directly to the Talent Acquisition Manager and can work virtually anywhere in the United States.

Them: Bureaucrats, city councils, mayors, governors, and federal agencies stripping Americans of their rights every day. There’s a lot of government overreach out there, and it’s backed by seemingly endless resources. But fortunately, like all lumbering giants, abusive government is most vulnerable when countered by individuals who act strategically and nimbly, take calculated risks, have each other’s backs, and are confident in and passionate for the cause—the very sort of swashbucklers we employ in spades here at PLF.

Us: We fight back. Pacific Legal Foundation is the nation’s first and most successful public interest law firm dedicated to vindicating individual liberty. PLF has an unmatched record in the United States Supreme Court, with 18 victories out of 20 cases litigated at the Court. We also have more than a hundred active cases across the nation.

We are a next-generation public interest law firm. What does “next-generation” mean for a legal nonprofit? It means we aren’t interested in doing the same thing as everyone else. We aspire to be the best player in a constantly changing game.

Getting down to brass tacks, in this role you will:

  • Lead the full-cycle recruitment process for open positions in the litigation department, from intake to offer, ensuring a high-quality experience for both candidates and internal stakeholders.
  • Develop and execute targeted sourcing strategies, including Boolean searches, talent mapping, and proactive outreach to passive candidates across platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter, Greenhouse, and other legal networks.
  • Facilitate and manage structured, multi-stage interview processes, including panels, assessments, and values-based evaluations, while ensuring consistency and compliance.
  • Represent PLF at recruitment events, law school programs, and legal career fairs (virtual and in-person), delivering compelling presentations about our mission and work.
  • Cultivate and maintain long-term relationships with prospective legal talent, including federal clerks, and alumni of aligned legal nonprofits, and private law firms to build a sustainable hiring pipeline.
  • Strengthen PLF’s employer brand in close collaboration with the External Affairs team and the Legal Talent Pipeline Manager.
  • Manage candidate data and workflow within our applicant tracking system, ensuring data integrity, responsiveness, and operational excellence.

This role is ideal for someone with:

  • 3+ years of experience in legal recruiting, attorney hiring, or talent acquisition in a law firm, staffing firm that specializes in legal recruitment, or liberty-driven nonprofit.
  • A firm belief in the ideas of liberty in support of our mission.
  • A high level of emotional intelligence, complemented with strong analytical thinking.
  • Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple open roles across departments.
  • Strong judgment and discretion in handling confidential candidate and hiring information.
  • Expertise working within applicant tracking systems (e.g., Greenhouse) and recruiting tools (e.g., LinkedIn Recruiter, legal job boards).
  • A willingness to travel approximately 10–15% of the time for staff retreats, recruitment events, or team meetings.

General Information:

Pacific Legal Foundation identifies and litigates important legal issues to set landmark precedents that will benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, we battle for freedom in the nation’s courts and the court of public opinion.

As a national nonprofit organization, PLF has brick-and-mortar offices in Sacramento, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, although approximately half of the staff work from home offices across the country. You can work physically in any of our offices or request to work virtually.

This is a full-time, permanent position. PLF is committed to recruiting and retaining the highest-quality talent available nationwide, and we offer a total compensation package that includes a competitive salary, medical and dental insurance, and employer-paid retirement savings. We take work-life balance seriously through our generous paid leave and flextime policies. We have a flexible, collaborative, positive, and collegial work environment. We take pride in investing in your future and encourage internal advancement. PLF is the place for someone principled, tenacious, and determined to succeed in positively shaping the future of our country and restoring real limits on government power. Join us.

To Apply:

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

  • Your resume, including your experience in the liberty movement and relevant professional experience
  • A cover letter explaining why PLF is the place for you, why you want to fight for liberty, and what distinguishes you from typical applicants

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Katy Gambella, Director of Outreach at Talent Market, who is managing the search process: [email protected].

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit entity dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.