The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking experienced and talented lawyers with a deep commitment to public interest practice and policy to join a dedicated Housing team as a Supervising Attorney in our Housing Justice Unit – Tenant Defense. The Housing Justice Unit- Tenant Defense has community-based offices in each of the boroughs. The Supervising Attorney could be placed in any of our Neighborhood Offices.

The Civil Practice’s Housing Justice Unit – Tenant Defense provides both eviction defense and affirmative litigation strategies to help advocate for our clients. Our Housing practice handles a broad range of individual tenant representation at the trial and appellate levels, including holdovers, nonpayment proceedings, HPs, Housing Authority administrative hearings, and state and federal court appeals, while our Housing Justice Unit – Group Advocacy practice represents low-income tenant associations and tenant groups in proceedings to enforce the housing maintenance code and maintain affordable housing.

The Supervising Attorney in conjunction with the local borough Director of Housing and/or Attorney-in-Charge of the Neighborhood Office will be responsible for the smooth and effective day-to-day operations of the Housing Justice Unit in the assigned office. The Supervising Attorney will also coordinate, mentor and supervise staff, provide 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 Housing, Housing Coordinators, and the housing, benefits and grants management teams on all aspects of the citywide housing practice
• Coordinate intake
• Respond to client, community, and staff concerns
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy, and supervise the implementation of legal strategies
• Develop and maintain community support and relationships with community-based organizations, advocates, government agencies, elected officials, and the courts
• Conduct community education, training, and outreach and promote the work of the office, the Housing Practice, and the Civil Practice
• Other duties as assigned

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

• 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 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

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:  $93,085 – $154,684

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 jo**************@le*******.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.