Find the Best Human Rights Lawyer Jobs in 2023

When it comes to protecting, promoting, and enforcing the most fundamental liberties all people should have, human rights lawyers are at the forefront. Considering that the bulk of these attorneys’ work revolves around fighting against human rights violations that individuals worldwide experience, protection and preservation of this occupation are vital. 

Regardless of whether these law practitioners opt for domestic or international human rights law careers, the issues they tackle range from safeguarding women’s and migrants’ rights to granting access to healthcare and education to all individuals. 

Whether they are working at a local, national, or international level, human rights lawyers play a crucial role in upholding civil rights. They advocate on behalf of victims of human rights abuse and hold governments, companies, organizations, and belligerent individuals and groups that violate these fundamental rights accountable.

About Human Rights Lawyer Jobs

Human rights lawyers’ job is to safeguard and defend the inherent dignity of their clients - the freedoms everyone is entitled to from birth until death. Also referred to as civil rights lawyers, these professionals tackle cases involving violated rights of all people, particularly those who are part of marginalized groups such as indigenous groups, refugees, LGBTI, women, children, etc.

So what are human rights, and what's the career field of a human rights lawyer?

Human rights are freedoms we have simply because we exist as human beings. Described as universal, inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent, these rights cannot be granted or taken away by any state. Instead, they are inherent to us all regardless of nationality, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, language, political views, or any other status. Human rights range from the most fundamental ones - the right to life - to those that make life respectful and worth living, such as the rights to food, health, liberty, education, and work. A human rights lawyer’s career is devoted to researching and advocating for these freedoms.

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a breakthrough document in the history of human rights. Created by representatives from different legal, cultural, and political backgrounds and all parts of the world, the Declaration proclaimed, for the first time, that fundamental human rights have to be universally protected.

Translated into more than 500 languages, the UDHR is the foundation of all international human rights laws and a common standard of achievement for all people, regardless of their ethnicity and nationality. Its 30 articles are considered the building blocks of all current and future human rights legal instruments. 

Over the past eight decades, the UDHR has inspired the creation and adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, nowadays permanently applied at global, regional, and national levels.

Working as a human rights lawyer means focusing on helping people who have experienced great injustices. These law practitioners provide legal counsel to the victims of human rights violations, helping them protect their fundamental rights as human beings.

What Do Human Rights Lawyers Do?

Both domestic and international human rights lawyer’s job description includes drafting legal documents, doing research on legal cases, negotiating settlements, and defending human rights cases in court. The area of human rights can range from helping victims of domestic violence seek refuge to overturning wrongful convictions. With the demand for these legal workers increasing in almost all parts of the world, many aspirants are looking to pursue this career path.

Types of Jobs for a Human Rights Lawyer

The range of occupations within the human rights sector is broad and diverse. With the right qualifications, sufficient experience, and relevant soft skills, a human rights lawyer can find employment anywhere in the world - from government sectors to NGOs and private companies. Here’s an overview of the human rights career spectrum and possible job opportunities:

• Law and advocacy: The options include roles in economic, community, or housing development, humanitarian services, AIDS advocacy, policy development, grant writing, volunteer coordination, international law, public interest law, government relations, lobbying, campaign management, and more.
• Social services: As human rights jobs involve helping uphold the rights of individuals, communities, and societies, employment opportunities may also arise in sectors such as public health, administration and planning, human services provision, and disease and disaster relief.
• International relations: Human rights lawyers can also pursue a career in foreign affairs, peacekeeping, diplomacy, political advising, community development, resource development, policy-making and analysis, legislative services, public-private partnerships, and poverty reduction strategy development.
• Communications: Alternatively, you can specialize in reporting, investigative journalism, and column or editorial writing.
• Education: Instead of pursuing any of the aforementioned human rights legal jobs, you can devote your career to imparting knowledge related to human rights through publishing research, formulating write-ups, and teaching.

Work Environment

Human rights lawyers work in governments, international institutions, and nonprofit humanitarian organizations to create or implement human rights laws, policies, or programs. Alternatively, these law practitioners do academic research, train other attorneys, or organize communities. Considering that there are many different ways to do work in this field, we can hardly talk about a single type of work environment. Also note that, much like international law jobs and environmental law careers, most international human rights law jobs come with frequent changes of location.

Injuries and Illnesses

A career in the field of human rights won’t expose you to a huge risk of physical injury, but it can be stressful, emotionally draining, and disheartening at times. Still, if you’re driven to make a real difference in the world, this job path may be precisely what you’re looking for.

Work Schedules

The work of human rights lawyers is not only stressful but also time-consuming. Given that the job involves a lot of research and information gathering, attorneys often work long hours. If you’re thinking about human rights roles, be prepared for 50-hour workweeks.

How to Become a Human Rights Lawyer

Before we start exploring the qualifications needed for human rights legal jobs, it’s important to mention that human rights aren’t a specific area of law. Lawyers who tackle human rights issues may specialize in various areas, including immigration, mental health, discrimination, war crimes, criminal justice, public law, environment law, property, data protection, or even insurance.

While many law practitioners who operate in different legal disciplines may occasionally deal with human rights issues, there are firms and publicly funded institutions that focus specifically on these types of cases. 

So, what does it take to become an eligible candidate for human rights lawyer jobs?

Education

Much like with general counsel roles, a human rights lawyer’s career track starts with obtaining an undergraduate degree before applying for a law degree at an accredited law school or university. 

While some US universities offer pre-law majors, most do not. Thankfully, the American Bar Association doesn’t expect prospective lawyers to opt for a pre-law major, nor does it endorse any other specific majors. Still, a bachelor’s in history, business, English, philosophy, arts and humanities, political science, economics, sociology, psychology, or a similar field of study can be a great choice when preparing for a graduate degree in law and different human rights lawyer career paths.

After completing their undergraduate degree, students need to pass an admission exam to proceed to the next level of their education. Most law schools require their applicants to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).

Once admitted, law students spend about three years pursuing their Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Usually, the core classes they take cover areas such as civil procedure, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, and legal writing. Later in their studies, law students are given the opportunity to specialize in human rights concerns by learning about public policy, civil liberties, national security, immigration law, and laws of conflict and war. Those aspiring to pursue international human rights lawyer jobs also take classes in international law and foreign languages.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

After law school, graduates need to obtain their licenses. Prospective human rights lawyers must pass the bar exam - an examination required to practice law in the US. 

Although the details may vary from state to state, this examination generally lasts two or three days, covering areas such as contracts, torts, and criminal law, as well as skills like problem-solving, written communication, legal reasoning, etc.

When taking the bar exam, candidates are also subject to a background check, which determines whether they possess the necessary character and fitness to practice law. 

Once you pass this exam, you’ll be free to apply for human rights lawyer career openings.

Advancement

Starting a career in human rights involves a lot of practical learning. This is usually achieved by working under an experienced human rights lawyer or getting an internship. Law firms, courts, media houses, NGOs, and similar organizations all offer internship programs. While most of these are low-paid or even unpaid jobs, internships at high-profile organizations are very sought after because of the knowledge, experience, and contacts they provide.

Human Rights Lawyer’s Salary

Although the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t provide specific information about human rights lawyers’ salaries, it does state that the median yearly income for all lawyers was nearly $127,000 in May 2020. While the highest 10% earned more than $208,000 a year, the lowest 10% received less than $61,500.

Salaries may vary greatly depending on the location and the type of organization a lawyer is working for. If you’re after the highest-paying lawyer jobs in the human rights sector in the US, statistics indicate that the most lucrative opportunities can be found in California.

Human Rights Lawyer’s Job Outlook

According to the data provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job opportunities for lawyers is projected to rise until 2029 at an average rate for all occupations, which is 4% over the period from 2019 to 2029. The competition for this type of job is expected to stay strong, as statistics indicate that there are more graduates from law school than human rights jobs available.

Still, there at least won’t be a fall in demand for any human rights lawyer job you might be interested in as long as there are civil rights and freedoms to be protected. Human rights lawyers play an important role in the development of a society - their job is to help guide legal rules to protect all individuals and improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups.