Job Title
Supervising Attorney - Housing Justice Helpline
 

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 team of managers and staff of attorneys, supervisors, and paralegals as a Supervising Attorney of the Housing Justice Helpline Program.

The Civil Practice’s Housing Justice Helpline provides access to high quality legal assistance via a live answer phone line open Monday through Friday during business hours. Callers to the helpline will receive information, advice, brief services and referral on housing law and related matters for NYC tenants. The program provides assistance with a broad range of individual tenant legal matters, including but not limited to holdovers, nonpayment proceedings, HPs, Housing Authority administrative hearings, and state court appeals, and to enforce the housing maintenance code.

The Supervising Attorney will be responsible for supervising the Helpline paralegal case handlers for day-to-day operations of the Housing Justice Helpline. The Supervising Attorney will also coordinate some grant projects, provide legal leadership, and prioritize legal issues. The Supervising Attorney participates in Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making and is 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
• Collaborate and work closely with the Director of Helpline and the housing, benefits and grants management teams on all aspects of the citywide housing justice practice
• Maintain a limited individual caseload
• Develop impact and/or affirmative litigation
• Assist with the implementation and reporting of programs
• Provide oversight of pro bono initiatives for the helpline
• Respond to client, community, and staff concerns
• 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
• 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
• 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

Location
Manhattan - Legal Aid Society Headquarters

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Admission to the New York State Bar
• Minimum of three years of legal practice preferred
• Excellent litigation skills and experience litigating individual and group cases in various forums
• Demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of poverty and justice within a comprehensive civil legal services model of representation
• Knowledge in housing and rent arrears benefits programs is strongly preferred
• 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

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: $85,290 - $141,730

 

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.

 

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.

 

COVID VACCINATION INFORMATION

The Legal Aid Society is taking precautions and implementing safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to comply with New York City's requirements concerning Covid-19. All members of the Legal Aid community have a shared responsibility to support and comply with policies and protocols to protect the health and safety of our community. Learn more about our COVID-19 policy by visiting our website.

 

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; one’s gender identity may be male, female, neither or both, e.g., non-binary), 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 be distinctively male or female and 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.

 

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