Staff Attorney for Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law

The Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law ("Gibson-Banks Center"), situated at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland, seeks a staff attorney (full-time non-tenure track position with payroll title of Research Assistant) to support its Heirs' Property Home Preservation Project.

Launched in 2023, the Gibson-Banks Center works collaboratively to re-imagine and transform institutions and systems of racial inequality, marginalization, and oppression. Through education and engagement, advocacy, and research, the Center examines and addresses racial inequality, including the intersection of race with sex, gender, or disability, and advances racial justice in a variety of issue areas, including housing and economic justice.

The Heirs' Property Home Preservation Project seeks to address legal and financial issues facing heirs' property homeowners in Baltimore City, including in racially marginalized communities. These issues include potential property loss due to property tax sale foreclosure, ground rent foreclosure, and lack of clear legal ownership of homes inherited from a family member who died without a will (i.e., tangled title). The Project works in collaboration with legal services and community-based organizations that provide legal and other intervention services and policy advocacy to preserve multigenerational heirs' property home ownership and wealth.

BENEFITS:
UMB offers a comprehensive benefits package that prioritizes wellness, work/life balance, and professional development, along with additional exciting perks that employees can take advantage of. This position participates in a retirement program (pension or optional retirement plan/ORP) that must be selected and is effective on your date of hire. Employees receive a generous paid leave package that includes over 4 weeks of vacation accrued each year, 16 paid holidays, 3 personal leave days, unlimited accrual of sick time, and comprehensive health insurance; professional learning and development programs; tuition remission for employees and their dependents at any University System of Maryland school; and flexible work schedules and teleworking options (if applicable per job).

UMB is a public university and constituent institution of the University System of Maryland. All employees are expected to work primarily physically within the State of Maryland.

Position Description:

The Staff Attorney will work in close collaboration with legal services and community-based organizations to lead and/or support local community education efforts about the legal barriers facing low-income and/or racially marginalized heirs property homeowners and advance policy changes that are needed to remove those barriers. These education efforts will include, but are not limited to, creating user-friendly fact sheets and policy briefs about the prevalence of heirs property in Baltimore as well as the legal steps heirs could take to protect their homes. These materials will be used in community trainings hosted by the Center in collaboration with community-based organizations.

The Staff Attorney will also actively engage in policy advocacy efforts to remove legal barriers and to promote policies that support multigenerational homeownership and wealth. These policy efforts may include, and are not limited to, advocating for: the availability of transfer on death deeds and the implementation of recently enacted Maryland laws that allow homeowners to redeem ground rent leases and prevent property tax sale foreclosure by enrolling in a tax payment plan.

The position will include in-state travel and potential out-of-state domestic travel for conferences. Other reasonably related duties may be assigned.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an ABA accredited school.
• A member in good standing of the bar of any U.S. state or territory, strong preference for admission to the Maryland Bar or eligibility to be admitted to the Maryland Bar without examination.
• Three to four years of experience in civil rights or other issue-based policy advocacy.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Familiarity and demonstrated knowledge of Maryland's estate and trust, real property, housing and/or fair housing laws, administrative law, and the racial impact of these laws.
• Experience drafting, analyzing, tracking, and commenting on policy proposals at the local, state, or national level and explaining current and proposed policy changes to professional and lay audiences.
• Excellent research, writing, and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and to coordinate work with others.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining relationships policymakers, agency officials, advocacy groups, and with low-income or racially marginalized communities.
• Openness to critical feedback and sincere desire to learn and grow as a professional.

This is a grant-funded position and subject to continuation of funding. The position is in-person in Baltimore, with the opportunity for remote work consistent with University policies and subject to approval of supervisors.

Salary: Salary range is $80,000 to $83,000 based on experience. Starting salaries are set in accordance with the University's framework, which considers multiple individual and organizational factors, including internal equity. To uphold pay equity in alignment with the framework, starting salaries are not negotiable. Before applying, please ensure that the compensation range for this position meets your needs.

To Apply: Please include (a) cover letter, (b) resume, and (c) the names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three professional references. Please do not submit writing samples at the initial application phase.
Application deadline is May 12, 2026 though applications will be considered on a rolling basis and will remain open until filled.

Start Date: Negotiable, though we are looking to onboard as soon as possible.