Supervising Attorney, Queens Tenant Defense

MAJOR PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking an experienced lawyer with a commitment to public interest practice to join a dedicated team of managers as a Supervising Attorney of the Queens Neighborhood Office’s Housing Justice Unit – Tenant Defense.

The Civil Practice’s Housing Justice Program engages in both eviction defense and affirmative litigation and 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. The Tenant Defense practice primarily handles eviction prevention cases through the Universal Access (often referred to as the Right to Counsel) program in Housing Court.

The Supervising Attorney will primarily supervise staff, provide training, and facilitate intake. The Supervising Attorney participates in Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making and is responsible for maintaining relationships with stakeholders in the legal, court, and service communities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Housing Supervision Duties

• Supervise and train staff attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers/interns
• Monitor and maintain a high standard of representation and client service
• Collaborate and work closely with the Attorney-in-Charge of the Queens office, Director of Housing, Housing Coordinators, and the housing, benefits and grants management teams on all aspects of the citywide housing practice
• Identify needs and resources for the Queens Neighborhood Office and participate in management team responsibilities to meet those needs
• Coordinate intake
• Represent clients in local, state, and federal administrative and court proceedings
• Respond to client concerns
• Reinforce and maintain staff accountability
• Analyze legal issues, and develop 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
• 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
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment Conduct off-site intake as needed
  

Team Development and Management Duties

• Assign work, approve time off, and remote work schedule requests following the guidance of LAS policy and procedures
• Attend management meetings, participate in management trainings, and utilize current employment policies, practices and guidance as provided by management and Human Resources
• Conduct management and supervision practices that affirmatively support equity and inclusion in the workplace
• Supervise direct reports in setting performance standards, provide routine feedback as well as coaching/counseling, and issue disciplinary action as needed
• Identify and provide training and development opportunities and ensure mandatory trainings are completed
• Resolve employee conflict, complaints, and address union concerns, with guidance from Borough Housing Director, Attorney-in-Charge of the Queens Neighborhood Office, other senior Civil Practice leaders, and Human Resources

Professional Development and Other Duties as Assigned

• Participate in continuous professional development
• 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 civil legal services
• Minimum of three years of legal practice
• Minimum of three years of housing court and housing practice experience required

Preferred qualifications:

• Minimum of one year of supervisory and management experience preferred or relevant experience such as leadership positions in a membership organization
• Experience conducting trainings
• Experience working with vulnerable populations, including but not limited to seniors, 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 Housing law and Benefits law
• Excellent litigation skills and experience litigating in various forums
• Excellent oral and written advocacy skills
• Ability to work in a collaborative 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 staff workloads
• Ability to create and implement effective communication plans
• 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 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: $99,600 - $168,100

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

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 [email protected] .

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.