Sounder Law Group

Junior Associate Attorney — Generalist With Range

We are looking for an unusually curious early-career lawyer.

You may be newly licensed, awaiting bar results, completing a clerkship, or a few years into practice and frustrated by how slowly you are being allowed to develop. We care less about how polished you already are than about your intellectual range, judgment, ambition, and capacity to learn quickly.

This is a generalist position for someone interested not only in law, but in how the world works. We want the person who reads outside their assigned field, notices the institutional dynamics beneath a dispute, and has informed opinions about subjects no one required them to study. You should possess enough confidence to challenge an experienced lawyer’s assumptions—and enough humility to reconsider your own when the evidence changes.

The work may include:

• Legal research and substantive writing
• Drafting pleadings, motions, discovery, correspondence, and internal analyses
• Client interviews and case development
• Evidence review and factual investigation
• Strategy discussions from the beginning of a matter
• Negotiations, hearings, and other appearances as experience and licensing permit
• Improving the systems by which legal work actually gets done

You will receive close, demanding mentorship and meaningful responsibility early. We will explain not merely what to do, but why—and expect you to engage, question, and eventually improve upon the answer. This is not a position for someone who wants narrowly defined assignments forever. It is for someone who wants to become formidable.

You may be a strong candidate if:

• You are licensed in Washington, eligible for prompt admission, or expect to become eligible shortly
• You write clearly and distinguish confidence from unsupported certainty
• You take initiative without requiring constant permission
• You are intensely curious across disciplines
• You enjoy difficult questions and productive disagreement
• You accept exacting criticism without becoming defensive
• You care about clients while maintaining professional judgment
• You want responsibility and understand that it includes accountability
• You occasionally become fascinated by something having absolutely nothing to do with your assigned work

Exceptional academic credentials are welcome, but neither necessary nor sufficient. Unusual backgrounds, nonlinear careers, and evidence of genuine independent thought are encouraged.

Compensation is dependent on experience. Health insurance is offered.

To apply, please submit:

1. Your résumé
2. A writing sample reflecting your own reasoning and prose
3. A short letter explaining what you want to become unusually good at
4. In no more than 3,000 words, your opinion of the Collatz Conjecture. We are not looking for a proof, and you will not be judged on whether your mathematical conclusion is “correct.” We want to see what you notice, how you approach an unfamiliar problem, and whether you find the question interesting.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and welcome applicants whose experiences, identities, and paths into the profession have given them an unusual perspective.