Policy Counsel- State Policy
selfhelp · NC-Durham-302 W Main, United States · hybrid
Job Description:
WHO WE ARE:
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization working to ensure a fair, inclusive financial marketplace that creates opportunities for all. Through research, legal analysis, policy development, and state and national advocacy engagement, CRL fights for economic equity for underserved communities—including Black and brown communities, low-to-middle income families, and rural families. CRL’s staff, allies, and funders reflect a collective commitment to eliminating systemic injustice in America’s financial services.
CRL provides a strong voice on both the state and national levels for these families to expand family wealth and financial stability through sustainable homeownership, affordable higher education, and support for small businesses. We also protect their financial stability by preventing harmful products that trap families in debt and strip away their income including predatory high-cost lending and other unfair financial practices. CRL is an affiliate of Self-Help, a community development lender founded in 1980.
The Julian Bond Institute (JBI) produces research that illuminates the financial barriers families face, builds the evidence base for policy change, and holds the financial system accountable to the communities it must serve — with the rigor of academic research and the urgency of a civil rights mandate. JBI was launched in early 2025 as part of CRL.
State-level financial regulation is where much of the fight for consumer protection plays out right now and every shift in a state legislature or regulatory agency creates real consequences for the families CRL fights for. We're looking for a Policy Counsel who wants to be in the room where that fight happens: tracking legislation and rulemakings across the states as they move, building the legal case for CRL's positions, and turning that analysis into comment letters, testimony, and amicus briefs that hold up under scrutiny.
Reporting to the Director of State Policy, you'll take ownership of priority issues, monitor developments, spot opportunities and threats early, and recommend the strategy to meet them. You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with CRL's research, communications, and federal policy teams, and you'll be a visible presence with allies, coalition partners, state regulators, and legislative staff across the states.
This role also puts you at the center of CRL's litigation strategy by helping build amicus briefs, coordinating with outside counsel, and fielding legal questions from ally organizations. If you want a job where your legal training directly protects people from predatory financial products, and where good writing and sharp analysis are rewarded with real influence, this is it.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
Strategy Development and Policy Recommendation
- Own priority issues for CRL, build subject-matter expertise, lead or participate in issue working groups, and drive the strategy that turns policy goals into results.
- Track legislative and regulatory developments in real time and get ahead of them, flagging risks and openings before they become urgent.
- Analyze proposed legislation and regulations for their real-world impact on consumers, particularly people of color and low-income people, and translate that analysis into CRL's position.
- Shape draft legislation and regulatory proposals through hands-on legal research and policy recommendations.
- Write and edit regulatory comment letters, testimony, speeches, articles, and policy briefs and sharpen the writing of colleagues across research and communications.
- Review and advise on coalition sign-on letters.
Litigation Support
- Help shape CRL's litigation strategy on consumer policy issues, including amicus briefs, and support coordination with federal regulators.
- Build and maintain relationships with outside counsel and litigation partners and keep litigation efforts coordinated internally and externally.
- Draft amicus briefs and other litigation documents and represent CRL in litigation matters as needed.
- Field legal questions from ally organizations, litigation units, and law firms.
Relationship Building and Advocacy
- Build real relationships with senior staff at allied organizations, trade groups, and companies with a stake in lending policy and use them to rally support for CRL's positions and defeat harmful proposals.
- Get in front of senior legislative staff, legislators, regulators, and enforcement officials in state capitals to move CRL's state agenda forward.
- Represent CRL at meetings, conferences, and, at times, in the media, spotting opportunities to put CRL's voice in the conversation.
- Talk directly with lenders to understand real financial practices on the ground and push for better ones.
Other
- Mentor or supervise junior staff or interns.
- Take on other work as CRL's priorities evolve.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
- J.D. and active bar admission.
- At least 2 years of experience or a track record that shows you can own a policy issue independently and lead on it when needed.
- Familiarity with state legislative and rulemaking processes, and federal or state laws touching civil rights, housing/mortgage lending, predatory lending, consumer law, or banking law.
- Sound legal and business judgment, the ability to give practical, timely advice, juggle several areas of law at once, and see how multiple issues intersect on a single question.
- Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills; comfort producing polished work with limited oversight and giving useful feedback to peers.
- A genuine commitment to public interest law, low-income families, and communities of color, with the racial justice lens to understand how federal, state, and local policy has shaped racial wealth disparities.
- Skill at building relationships with external partners and turning them into real collaboration.
- Strong project management skills.
- A self-starter who thrives juggling multiple fast-moving projects, but who also genuinely enjoys working as part of a team.
- Exceptional attention to detail.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and willingness to travel as needed.
Nice-to-Have Qualifications
- Prior experience in consumer financial protection or fair lending advocacy.
- Experience in civil rights, housing/mortgage lending, predatory lending, consumer law, or banking law.
- Proficiency in Asana or other project management tool.
- Experience working within coalitions or issue work groups.
- Familiarity with state legislative and regulatory processes and key state regulators (e.g., state attorneys general, state banking and financial regulators).
As State Policy Counsel:
- You bring legal rigor to advocacy. You move fluidly between dense legal research and the plain-language advocacy materials that move people to act.
- You're proactive, not reactive. You track the landscape before anyone asks, spot risks and openings early, and show up with a recommendation, not just an update.
- You build trust across the aisle and across the table. Allies, regulators, and legislative staff all take your call, because you've earned it.
- Your writing does the persuading. Comment letters, testimony, and briefs carry your precision and your ability to make a legal argument land with a non-legal audience.
- You measure success in outcomes, not credit. You care more about the win for consumers than whose name is on the brief.
WORK ARRANGEMENTS
- This is a hybrid role, based out of either Oakland, CA or Durham, NC. Staff are expected to be in the office three days per week, with Monday and Wednesday as communal days and the third day determined by each individual. This role may include occasional travel. Similarly, because we work across three time zones, leaders often make themselves available to connect during evening hours.
- COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY & BENEFITS CRL believes that wealth inequality undermines the securi