President and Executive Director

A Unique Opportunity

The MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) is a 40-year-old national nonprofit law firm that advocates for people harmed by the criminal legal system. MJC fights to vindicate their rights, hold people with power accountable, and transform the system.

Founded in 1985 with a small office in Chicago, MJC has grown to a staff of 56 across five offices in Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Washington, DC. MJC has both deep community roots and a national footprint. Its expert litigators and teams focus on advocating for the rights of incarcerated people; redressing misconduct by police, prosecutors, and prison officials; and exposing and ending the pernicious effects of racism and poverty in the criminal justice system.

MJC attracts top-tier lawyers who are innovative and audacious in challenging individual and systemic injustices through litigation and related public policy advocacy. Many are former clerks on the Supreme Court and other federal courts.

The work of MJC has never mattered more. In an era of emboldened racism and authoritarian uses of criminal law, MJC’s work matters more than ever. MJC is uniquely equipped to represent individual defendants, prisoners, and vulnerable populations adversely affected by the criminal justice system under hostile and challenging conditions, including in jurisdictions and contexts where authorities are at best indifferent to racism and injustice.

This is a time of promise and inflection for MJC. The President and Executive Director position is open because former Executive Director Amir Ali was confirmed as a Federal District Court Judge in November 2024. MJC needs a leader who can expand its advocacy; lead a diverse cadre of highly qualified and successful trial attorneys, appellate advocates, and staff; and further develop the organization.

MJC will need to supplement its endowment with raised revenue from individual and institutional donors. To increase its impact and attract donors, MJC must further develop its external visibility, storytelling, and fundraising capacities.

The new President and Executive Director (ED) will build on MJC’s strengths and lead its next era of impact.

The Mandate

At this time of promise and inflection, MJC is seeking to build its external profile, as well as its internal cohesion and core supportive infrastructure. Recent staff additions include leaders of operations, communications, and HR.

The President and Executive Director (ED) will have substantive litigation and management experience and be an inspiring, visionary, and collaborative leader. The ED will lead MJC’s further evolution, hiring a development director and potentially a legal director to support legal and advocacy work. While fostering high engagement and morale, the ED will enhance cross-office collaboration, resource sharing, and storytelling.

The ED will be a big-picture strategist and builder of trust and relationships, with significant experience in litigation, organizational leadership, and external communications. The ED will have passion for MJC’s mission, advocacy, and litigation work, and excitement about its potential for even greater impact.

Specifically, the new ED will:

Be a visionary leader for MJC’s next era.
-Be a thought leader in developing organizational strategies, advocacy, and resources.
-Embody the MJC values of excellence, innovation, collegiality, and collaboration
-Provide exemplary leadership internally and externally.
-Be a valued partner to the Board, Leadership Team, and staff.
-Foster shared vision and planning, cross-office engagement, and collaboration.
-Lead MJC to build on prior successes to combat new challenges posed by the new federal administration, including efforts to displace local control of criminal legal system issues; inhumane conditions of confinement, which may now arise in the context of mass deportations; and an increasingly hostile federal judiciary, which has led MJC to strategically litigate in state courts and under state constitutions.

Build public profile and presence.
-Serve as a compelling external spokesperson and communicator, able to present a persuasive narrative about MJC’s differentiation, successes, and aspirations.
-Develop a more cohesive and visible external profile for MJC within the social justice community and among potential donors.
-Advance relationship-building, communication, and storytelling capacities.
-Foster external alliances, collaborative and coalition partnerships that augment MJC’s work and impact with clients, issues, and initiatives.

Grow fundraising capacity and resources.
-As a primary face of the organization, inspire support for MJC’s current work and future initiatives.
-Lead development of MJC’s fundraising function and team, information and messaging infrastructure, positioning, and case for support.

Build organizational strength.
-Build on MJC’s culture of excellence and agility.
-Cohere an organizational infrastructure that optimizes impact and collaboration.
-Develop more supportive internal communications, processes, and infrastructure that also respects individual office differences and needs.
-Make outstanding strategic hires of fundraising, legal, and other staff, and enhance the organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent consistent with MJC values.

Deepen MJC’s impact.
-Explore ways to extend MJC’s innovation and
effectiveness. Working closely with staff, the ED will explore expanding MJC capabilities in policy, advocacy, client support, and communications to deepen the systemic impact and sustainability of the work.
-Enhance relevant data gathering and analysis, knowledge management, and other tools to support MJC best practices and differentiation.
-Position MJC for deeper systemic, sustainable impact as “one MJC” by building the culture, financial base, and supportive infrastructure.
-Foster a national identity, while preserving the benefits of diverse local offices that are responsive to unique issues in their community.