Staff Attorney, Family/Domestic Violence Unit

MAJOR PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice has an opening for a Staff Attorney in the Family/Domestic Violence (DV) Project of the Bronx Neighborhood Office. The Family/DV Project provides comprehensive direct legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence in a broad range of civil matters, including orders of protection, divorces, custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, property rights, and contested divorces. The Family/DV Staff Attorney is expected to represent clients in all five boroughs primarily in family law and matrimonial matters, including contested matrimonials, custody, visitation, orders of protection, child and spousal support matters and uncontested divorces, as well as represent clients in multiple venues, including Supreme, Family, and the Integrated Domestic Violence courts. As part of the Family/DV Practice, the Staff Attorney will also work in conjunction with several community-based organizations that are our partners in this citywide collaboration to provide reciprocal referrals, training, back up case consultation, clinics, outreach, and joint community education on various issues affecting survivors of domestic violence. The Staff Attorney will also be required to provide outreach to various off-site locations. The Staff Attorney will also actively participate in city and statewide committees and task forces regarding DV and family law issues.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Represent clients in administrative hearings, city, state and federal court proceedings, and affirmative litigation, and advocate with local, state and federal agencies
• Train and engage in community outreach and education to individuals, local community-based organizations and advocates
• Conduct policy advocacy on behalf of clients
• Coordinate and collaborate with other groups and organizations
• Work with pro bono lawyers
• Conduct off-site intake, including during evening hours
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• This position requires an attorney admitted to the New York State Bar
• Demonstrated commitment to Family or Matrimonial law, or Public Interest law
• Excellent written and oral advocacy skills are required
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and manage a high volume of cases
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
• Excellent organizational skills
• Ability to work with pro bono lawyers

Preferred qualifications:

• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required
• Experience working with survivors of Domestic Violence is desirable

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: $84,000 - $152,500

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.

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
• Writing Sample

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.