New

Senior Staff Attorney

University of Arizona

life insurance, vision insurance, sick time

United States, Arizona, Tucson

Aug 04, 2025

Senior Staff Attorney
Posting Number	req22908
Department	Law Administration
Department Website Link	https://law.arizona.edu/
Location	Main Campus
Address	Tucson, AZ USA
Position Highlights	The James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona is accepting applications for a Senior Staff Attorney within the UA Innocence Project (UAIP) clinic. UAIP is a legal clinic at the James E. Rogers College of Law that seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals in Arizona. UAIP has been awarded a grant to review and pursue relief in cases where DNA testing has the potential to prove innocence. The grant will support the Senior Staff Attorney's provision of direct legal services in these DNA cases. The Senior Staff Attorney's primary role will be reviewing, investigating, and litigating post-conviction claims of innocence. The Senior Staff Attorney will also manage teams of clinic students working on UAIP cases, implement and report on federal grant funding, and conduct community outreach. This one-year restricted position is renewable for up to two additional years, subject to performance and continuation of funding. Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more! The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.
Duties & Responsibilities	Investigate post-conviction claims of innocence, including reviewing trial and appellate records, engaging with experts, interviewing witnesses, and requesting trial records. Seek post-conviction relief in state and federal court and before the Board of Executive Clemency Supervise and manage teams of students, conduct weekly case meetings, guide investigations, oversee legal research and drafting, and act as primary case contact Contribute to the design of course curriculum, draft course instructional materials, lecture on substantive and procedural issues related to reviewing and litigating wrongful convictions, hold office hours, review coursework submitted by students, and provide feedback regarding same Contribute to application, implementation, and reporting on federal grant funding. Interact with the innocence and criminal defense community-including the Innocence Network, Conviction Integrity Units, and other innocence organizations-on UAIP's behalf Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Demonstrated commitment to representing indigent clients Excellent legal research, writing, and presentation skills
Minimum Qualifications	J.D. from an ABA accredited law school Minimum of five years of relevant practice experience Active member in good standing of a state bar
Preferred Qualifications	Experience with an innocence project/clinic Supervisory Experience Criminal post-conviction experience
FLSA	Exempt
Full Time/Part Time	Full Time
Number of Hours Worked per Week	40
Job FTE	1.0
Work Calendar	Fiscal
Job Category	Academic Administration
Benefits Eligible	Yes - Full Benefits
Rate of Pay	$85,000
Compensation Type	salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)
Type of criminal background check required:	Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)
Number of Vacancies	1
Target Hire Date
Expected End Date	5/19/2026
Contact Information for Candidates	Vanessa Buch Director, University of Arizona Innocence Project vbuch@arizona.edu
Open Date	5/22/2025
Open Until Filled	Yes
Documents Needed to Apply	Resume and Cover Letter
Special Instructions to Applicant
Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report	In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University's campuses.Thesereports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures. Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.