The Shelby County District Attorney’s office is looking for lawyers who believe in equal justice under the law.

Based in Memphis, TN, the Shelby County DA is the top law enforcement officer for a county of almost 1 million people. Beginning Sept. 1, this office will be hiring licensed attorneys with litigation experience, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, civil rights, or both. This is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a transformative reform effort to remake the office in line with best practices across the country.  We anticipate a number of vacancies  in both line attorney and leadership roles, and are seeking candidates with a range of experience, from recent law school graduates to veteran lawyers. 

Specific priorities of Shelby County’s new District Attorney include:

• Prioritizing violent crime by empowering prosecutors to use their discretion to seek community-based alternatives to expensive, sometimes counterproductive prison sentences for non-violent offenses. 

• Establishing a Post-Conviction Fairness Unit to review prior cases for possible errors, wrongful convictions, and wrongful sentences

• Promoting Public Safety by using innovative evidence-based best practices from around the country to prevent youth violence and reduce recidivism .

• Fixing our broken bail system to ensure that poverty alone does not equate to additional unfair punishment.

• Delivering juvenile justice in a more fair, humane, and age-appropriate way, beginning with reducing the number of juveniles in our community who are transferred to the adult system.

• Reigning in the runaway costs of incarceration by requiring prosecutors to provide the judge an estimate of the cost of incarceration at sentencing.

• Developing a restorative justice program for property crimes that allows victims to participate directly in restitution

If you want to be part of an organization dedicated to making our community safer by making our system fairer, then we invite you to submit your letter of interest, resume, and references to . 

You must possess a law degree from an accredited school of law and have a current Tennessee law license (in good standing), anticipate licensure upon the release of the July 2022 bar exam, meet the requirements for comity admission pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, article V, and/or possess the requisite credentials to reasonably and promptly “waive in” to Tennessee licensure.  Applicants with prior courtroom experience will be strongly favored for Assistant District Attorney roles, although a range of other positions and opportunities will be available. 

An equal opportunity employer, we are particularly interested in candidates who will increase diversity of all kinds throughout our office.

We may be unable to respond to every inquiry and will contact you for an interview only if we are able to move your application forward for consideration. Successful applicants will be subject to Shelby County Government’s routine hiring procedures and protocols before receiving an offer of employment.  Positions will remain open until filled, but candidates who apply by October 1, 2022 will receive priority consideration.