Demonstrated capacity to work with volunteers, contractor attorneys, court personnel and a diverse low-income population in a self-represented litigant clinic setting. Create and maintain working procedures to assist large volume of in pro per litigants in various areas of law specific to the clinic. Able to attend community or court meetings, recruit, train and maintain new and existing volunteers. Note: This position is in-person, full-time onsite at South County Courthouse.
About the Organization
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services.
Essential Functions:
- Run a clinic that provides in pro per services to a diverse population from a courthouse location or other location.
- Recruit, train, and foster positive relationships with volunteers and contract attorneys.
- Use organizational skills to keep the clinic fully staffed, supplied with necessary resources, and maintain grant requirements.
- Attend internal and external meetings.
- Compliance with all program and grant requirements.
- Collaborate with other LASSD teams and outside organizations to provide holistic services.
- Stay up to date on substantive developments in various areas of law related to clinic (family law, elder abuse, civil harassment, domestic violence).
Qualifications:
- Admitted and in Good Standing with the California State Bar.
- Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan ahead, so as to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements.
- Must have reliable transportation.
Desired Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred.
- Member of the Federal Bar.
- Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.
- Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds.
Salary and Benefits:
The Staff Attorney position is a salaried position with an annual salary range of $73,000 – $87,000. The starting salary rate is $73,000. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English. LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave, and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA).
LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program that will add to an attorney’s compensation 50% of the attorney’s monthly payment on their qualifying law school loans, up to $500 per month. LASSD is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.
Work Environment:
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.
Diversity and Inclusion:
It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve. LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge. We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives. We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.
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