Subject to continued funding and staffing priorities, The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking an experienced or entry level Staff Attorney who will provide representation in SSI and SSDI cases for both children and adults as part of our Disability Advocacy Project.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Represent clients in city, state and federal court proceedings, administrative hearings and affirmative litigation
• Work with clients in Queens and potentially some clients outside of Queens.
• Train, conduct community outreach and provide education to individuals, local community based organizations and education and housing advocates
• Engage in policy advocacy on behalf of clients
• Coordinate and work collaboratively with other groups and organizations
• Represent the Civil Practice and Legal Aid in the community
• Conduct community education, training and outreach and promote the work of the Queens office, the Disability Advocacy Project and the Civil Practice generally
• Work with pro bono lawyers
• Conduct off-site intake, including during evening hours as needed
• Other duties as assigned

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Admission to New York State Bar, or recent J.D. who has sat for the first available bar exam
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people is strongly desired but not required
• Willingness to engage in field work
• Experience assisting people in crisis is desirable but not required
• Excellent written, oral advocacy, and computer skills
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to multi-task
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team and to manage a large workload
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
• Proficiency in languages other than English, especially Spanish, is desirable but not required

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.

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.

COVID VACCINATION INFORMATION

The Legal Aid Society is taking precautions and implementing safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to comply with New York City's requirements concerning Covid-19. All members of the Legal Aid community have a shared responsibility to support and comply with policies and protocols to protect the health and safety of our community. Learn more about our COVID-19 policy by visiting our website.

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 jobpostquestions@legal-aid.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; one’s gender identity may be male, female, neither or both, e.g., non-binary), 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 be distinctively male or female and 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.