Staff Attorney

POSITION: Staff Attorney
DEPARTMENT: Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project – S.D.N.Y. (FedPro-SDNY)
POSITION REPORTS TO:   Director, FedPro-SDNY
FLSA STATUS : Exempt

The  City Bar Justice Center furthers access to justice by addressing unmet civil legal needs of New Yorkers struggling with poverty and other systemic socioeconomic barriers. The Justice Center mobilizes law firms, corporate legal departments, and other legal institutions to provide pro bono legal services, educates the public on pertinent legal issues, fosters strategic community relationships, and impacts public policy. 

The City Bar Justice Center annually provides high-quality, free civil legal services benefiting over 27,000 New Yorkers who lack the resources to hire private counsel. CBJC also relies on partnerships with our affiliate, the New York City Bar Association , as well as with law firms, corporate legal departments, solo practitioners, law schools, the courts, and other stakeholders. In the past year, over 3,000 pro bono attorneys donated services to support clinics and client matter work drawn from CBJC’s dozen civil legal services projects .

PROGRAM FUNCTION
FedPro-SDNY is an innovative initiative providing free, limited-scope legal assistance to pro se plaintiffs and defendants (including incarcerated individuals) litigating civil cases in the SDNY in areas such as employment discrimination (e.g. Title VII, ADA, ADEA), civil and prisoner rights, and a broad range of other claims touching on core individual rights. The staff and volunteers provide limited scope legal assistance at various stages of federal litigation, from service of a complaint right up to trial. FedPro-SDNY services benefit over 1,000 individuals each year.

JOB FUNCTION
The City Bar Justice Center (CBJC) seeks a candidate committed to expanding access to justice to join our team in a Staff Attorney capacity for CBJC’s Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project operating in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (FedPro-SDNY). This position reports to FedPro-SDNY’s Director.

Areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to:

• Serve as part of a team – including volunteer attorney and law student interns – that delivers high-quality legal services to pro se litigants at different stages of federal litigation, including by providing: information and brief advice on the applicability of federal law to claims at issue, and on federal court procedure and individual judges’ rules; brief advice on case strategy, discovery and motion practice, and preparation for trial; explanation of court orders and rulings; mediation and settlement practice; and assisting with the review, drafting, and/or editing of pro se discovery and motion practice documents (note: FedPro-SDNY does not represent litigants in court, but may represent some litigants for settlement purposes).
• Meet with litigants served by FedPro-SDNY either by virtual or in-person consultation at FedPro-SDNY’s courthouse office in downtown Manhattan (and perhaps also on occasion at the Southern District’s White Plains courthouse) and, where applicable, collaborate with a social work support team that provides additional supportive services for some pro se litigants on a case-by-case basis.
• Stay abreast of changes and updates to the law and to Court rules and procedures, and assist in supervising pro bono volunteers and interns to provide FedPro-SDNY services.
• Provide professional legal and administrative support to FedPro-SDNY’s Director, including by helping to: ensure the quality of FedPro’s scope and services; collect case data and create periodic reports for both CBJC and the Court; where appropriate, coordinate referrals for litigants who may need access to other legal services; and perform other duties and tasks as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a New York and S.D.N.Y. bar member in good standing with at least two years of federal litigation experience, including litigating employment and civil rights, and/or experience delivering high-volume client services or clinical legal services.
• Excellent writing and editing, oral communication, and organizational skills; ability to work both independently and with others, and to effectively and collegially collaborate with and/or train and mentor an interdisciplinary team comprised of other attorneys, legal assistants and interns, social work support team members, and pro bono volunteers.
• Detailed-oriented self-starter with solid legal judgment, an ability to work respectfully and effectively with Court personnel, and a capacity to manage multiple cases, litigants, and projects.
• Excellent people and client counseling skills, including a desire and capacity to effectively interact with members of the public in a respectful and sensitive way, some of whom are suspect of institutions and the legal profession, and some of whom experience legal problems compounded by cognitive processing struggles or mild to severe mental health struggles.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, and the ability to quickly learn and effectively use LegalServer and other technology.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. We are not able to sponsor visas for this position.

This is a hybrid position for which candidates must be available for 2-3 in-person workdays during standard business hours, primarily at FedPro-SDNY’s office in the SDNY Manhattan courthouse, with the balance of time split between work-from-home, work at CBJC’s main offices in midtown Manhattan for supervision, team, and committee meetings, and occasional other local work-related travel.

The annualized salary for this role is in the $75,000 to $95,000 range, depending on depth and diversity of skills and years of professional and practice experience. We provide a competitive benefits package currently including generous paid time off (vacation, personal, sick time, holidays including closing between Christmas and New Year’s day, day off for volunteer work, extra time off in summer), choice of medical plans, dental, vision, 401K, life insurance, commuter benefits program, Employee Assistance Program, short-term/long-term disability insurance, employee discounts, complimentary City Bar membership, access to free City Bar CLE programs and City Bar events, reimbursement of OCA registration fees and more!

To apply: Please submit a resume along with a cover letter detailing your interest in and qualifications for this position. Finalists will be asked to submit three professional business references.

We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds and unique experiences to apply. We welcome diversity of all kinds. It is the policy of the City Bar to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, disability, arrest or conviction record, pregnancy, credit history, salary history, caregiver status, marital status, partnership status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses, religion, sex, genetic information, military status, unemployment status or any other characteristic as protected by law. With regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act and other related laws, the organization will endeavor to make reasonable accommodations for persons due to their religious beliefs, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition or because the individual was a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking.