Description

Job Description

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking an experienced and talented lawyer with a deep commitment to public interest practice and policy to join a dedicated Housing team as the Supervising Attorney of the Elder Law Unit-Bronx. The ideal candidate will also have a passion for representing the most vulnerable clients and in multidisciplinary collaboration ensuring the seniors we represent not only preserve their tenancies but continue to live in the community healthy and safely long after their eviction case has ended. 

The Legal Aid Society has a long history of providing eviction defense services to seniors. The Elder Law Unit (ELU) is a city-wide unit with teams in both the Bronx and Brooklyn. The ELU is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team, including attorneys, social workers and paralegal casehandlers, specializing in eviction defense for seniors.  The ELU recognizes that the preservation of housing for a senior often involves many intersecting medical, financial and social issues. The ELU seeks to assess and address the needs of our senior clients to not only prevent their eviction but to alleviate the underlying causes that lead them to be at risk of eviction.

The Supervising Attorney, with the Director of Elder Law, will be responsible for the smooth and effective daily operations of the Elder Law Unit in the Bronx Office. The Supervising Attorney will also coordinate, mentor, and supervise staff, provide leadership, prioritize legal issues and support collaboration between attorneys and the unit’s non- attorney staff. The Supervising Attorney participates in the housing practice of the assigned borough office as well as practice-wide management discussions and decision-making and is responsible for maintaining relationships with other stakeholders in the legal, court, and service communities. The Supervising Attorney also participated with the Director of Elder Law in legislative advocacy including testifying before City Council. 


ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Elder Law Supervision Duties

• Supervise, mentor, and train staff attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers/interns
• Monitor and maintain a high standard of representation and client service
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy, and supervise the implementation of legal strategies with focus on seniors with physical and/or mental health disabilities, and/or cognitive decline
• Develop and maintain understanding of ethical rules as it pertains to representing clients with diminished capacity
• Foster and encourage positive environment for collaboration and communication between attorneys and non attorney team members
• Reinforce and maintain staff accountability
• Conduct management and supervision practices that affirmatively support equity and inclusion in the workplace
• Coordinate intake and conduct off-site intake as needed, including based on client needs such as being homebound
• Collaborate and work closely with the Borough AIC, Director of Elder Law, Housing Coordinators and the grants management team on all aspects of citywide elder law housing practice.
• Identify needs and resources for the Bronx Neighborhood Office and participate in management team responsibilities to meet those needs
• Develop and maintain community support and relationships with community-based organizations, advocates, government agencies, elected officials, and the courts
• Represent the Civil Practice and Legal Aid Society in the community
• Engage in policy advocacy including drafting and presenting testimony before City Council
• Conduct community education, training, and outreach and promote the work of the office, the Elder Law Unit Practice, and the Civil Practice
• Respond to client, community and staff concerns
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Admission to the New York State Bar and a willingness to apply for admission to the federal courts (S.D.N.Y., E.D.N.Y., Second Circuit) as it may become necessary
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in public interest law and civil legal services
• Experience working with vulnerable populations, including but not limited to seniors

Preferred qualifications:  

• Minimum of three years of legal practice preferred
• Minimum of one year of supervisory and management experience preferred or relevant experience such as leadership positions in a membership organization
• Experience conducting trainings preferred
• Grant-writing and fundraising experience preferred
• Pro bono, government, public service, and academic experience will be considered, but is not required
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Position Based Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Knowledge of topical areas including Housing and Benefits Law, with a specific focus as it relates to seniors
• Excellent litigation skills and experience litigating in various forums
• Excellent oral and written advocacy skills
• Ability to work in a collaborate team model
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills
• Commitment to exploring alternative approaches for legal practice
• Demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of poverty and justice within a comprehensive civil legal services model of representation

Supervision Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to schedule, assign, and manage work and resolve problems as needed
• Ability to create and implement effective communication plans 
• Ability to train and mentor staff of various levels of experience and foster an inclusive work environment
• Ability to develop and support positive and productive working relationships between attorneys and the social workers and paralegal case handlers
• Ability to provide meaningful performance feedback for professional development including having difficult conversations and resolving sensitive employee issues  
• Pursue continuous learning on forms of systemic oppression of marginalized identities and establish team norms and management practices using an equity mindset and informed by inclusive practices

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers 
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships 
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required: 

• Requires both sedentary time and non-sedentary physical movement, significant time using a computer and monitor; communicating and meeting using video
• May or will require travel within NYC, across the five-borough region

SALARY AND BENEFITS 

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.


Salary Range: $99,444- $163,507

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.


Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness 

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov 

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs


WORK AUTHORIZATION 

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)


HOW TO APPLY 

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF: 

• Cover Letter 
• Resume  

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.


EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.


OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.


Location 

Bronx - Civil Practice Neighborhood Office