Supervising Attorney, Emergency Response Team (ERT) - New York, NY

Subject to continued funding and staffing priorities, the City-wide Housing Practice at The Legal Aid Society is seeking Supervising Attorneys to join our brand-new Emergency Response Teams (ERT) in Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens Neighborhood Office.

Every day across New York City, hundreds of low-income families end up in the various housing courts seeking immediate assistance as they have been evicted or are facing eviction within the next 24 hours. These critical cases require immediate action. Under this program, a team of supervisors, attorneys, and paralegals will operate as an emergency response team to provide representation to these clients. The ERT provides clients with legal and social services, with the dual objectives of preventing the immediate threat of homelessness, and stabilizing families over time to reduce the risk of homelessness in partnership with social services agencies.

Applicants should have a demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of poverty and justice within a comprehensive civil legal services model of representation. The Supervising Attorneys report to the Director of the Tenant Defense Housing practice for the assigned borough as well as to the Attorney-in-Charge of the City-wide Housing practice. The Supervising Attorneys will be responsible for the smooth and effective running of the Project in the assigned office. The Supervising Attorneys will also coordinate some grant projects, be a mentor to and supervise new and experienced staff and provide legal leadership in working with other staff to prioritize legal issues. The Supervising Attorneys are involved in all aspects of day-to-day operations and work closely with the Director, other Supervising Attorneys, Staff Attorneys, Paralegals to train, supervise and mentor staff. The Supervising Attorneys participate in Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making and are responsible for maintaining relationships with other stakeholders in the legal, court, and service communities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supervise staff attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers
• Monitor and maintain a high standard of representation and client service
• Maintain a reasonable individual caseload
• Develop impact and/or affirmative litigation
• Assist with the development, funding, implementation, and reporting of programs
• Coordinate intake
• Provide oversight of pro bono initiatives within the office
• Respond to client, community, and staff concerns
• Evaluate office needs and identify necessary resources to address the needs
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy, and supervise the implementation of legal strategies
• Prepare and submit necessary grant-reporting paperwork
• Assist with planning and conducting citywide and statewide coalition meetings and task forces
• Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
• Reinforce and maintain staff accountability
• Train and mentor staff
• Evaluate conflicting demands and prioritize workload
• 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 in the community
• Conduct community education, training, and outreach and promote the work of the office, the Housing Practice, and the Civil Practice
• Conduct off-site intake, including during evening hours as needed
• Other duties as assigned

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Admission to the New York State Bar
• Minimum of three years of legal practice preferred
• Will consider full time and part time (minimum 3 days per week) applicants
• Excellent litigation skills and experience litigating individual and group cases in various forums, including state and federal courts
• Demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of poverty and justice within a comprehensive civil legal services model of representation
• Knowledge in various practice areas within civil legal services practice
• Excellent oral and written advocacy skills
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in public interest law and civil legal services
• Demonstrated commitment to policy advocacy and administrative reform
• Experience working with vulnerable populations, including but not limited to seniors
• Supervisory, mentoring, and management experience preferred
• Demonstrated leadership ability
• Grant-writing and fundraising experience
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills
• Commitment to exploring alternative approaches for legal practice
• Ability to work in a collaborative team model
• 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

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Writing Sample

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

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

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if an offer is made.

Click here to read more about the benefits of working at The Legal Aid Society

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

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of 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, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

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. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

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.