Position title
Staff Attorney - Eviction Defense
Description

Join the eviction defense team at Legal Assistance the Elderly! We provide a vital service, aggressively representing elderly tenants and tenants with disabilities who are threatened with losing their homes. The work is intense, fast-paced and demanding, but very rewarding. You will work with a very experienced team representing clients throughout their case, beginning with pre-trial motions, through discovery and at trial.

For over 40 years, LAE has provided free legal advice and representation to San Francisco’s seniors and adults living with disabilities. Our mission is to keep this vulnerable community safe, housed and financially secure. Our primary practice areas are Eviction Defense/Housing (tenants only), Income Support, Health Law, Elder Abuse Prevention, Debt Collection Defense and End of Life Planning. LAE is a friendly and collaborative work environment.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

  • Member State Bar of California (or awaiting results)
  • Strong written, verbal and interviewing skills
  • Patient, flexible and kind
  • Works well in a team
  • Ability to independently manage a caseload

Extremely Desirable

  • Bilingual in English and Spanish, Cantonese and/or Mandarin

Highly Desirable

  • Knowledge of landlord-tenant law
  • Knowledge of legal issues related to poverty and/or aging
  • Trial experience
  • Experience working with elderly, disabled or homeless individuals or those experiencing a crisis
  • Experience working in a non-profit legal service organization, or other non-profit
Duties & Responsibilities
  • Provide legal advice and full scope representation in court to tenants facing eviction
  • Work closely with LAE’s Social Worker and community based social services to support legal casework
  • Conduct intake interviews with new clients, including home and hospital visits, when necessary
  • Provide in-office “backup” on a rotating basis, responding to client emergencies and agency inquiries

This position, particularly during the COVID pandemic when much of our work is remote and if the applicant is not an experienced attorney, requires the initiative to develop legal skills, including oral and written advocacy and legal research, as well as case management skills including client communications, tracking case deadlines, and monitoring workload. The senior supervising attorney and the entire housing team will provide the necessary support and serve as a resource to nurture this initiative.

Supervised By

Senior Supervising Housing Attorney

Working Conditions

The position requires working with individuals during moments of extreme stress and instability. The position also requires the provision of culturally-sensitive and empathetic services. Some evening and weekend work may be required.

Due to the COVID pandemic, our office is largely working remotely. Exceptions include mandatory court appearances, required client meetings and hearings and some administrative staff.  This position is only temporarily remote, except for such mandatory appearances.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • Prolonged sitting/standing
  • Extensive typing/data entry
  • Close visual acuity to prepare and analyze data, text, and figures
  • Prolonged computer use
Job Benefits

Union Membership

After successful completion of a probationary period (120 days), membership in the National Organization of Legal Services Workers becomes a condition of employment.

Compensation

  • Salary based on Union Scale
  • Union benefits including Health, Dental, and Vision Benefits and Compensation Time.
Please note

To Apply

E-MAIL RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO: [email protected]

Attention Hiring Committee

Subject line: STAFF ATTORNEY EVICTION DEFENSE

If you find that you meet many of the qualifications in the job description, we encourage you to apply and explain in your cover letter why your experience would make you a good fit for the position. We recognize that organizations may miss out on strong applicants who screen themselves out of the process because they do not meet every qualification and that disproportionately impacts people from historically marginalized backgrounds. We know that our greatest strengths come from the people who make up our team and a welcoming, inclusive and culturally diverse staff allows us to best serve our community. We look forward to your application.

LAE seeks to fill all positions with people who share our values, including our organizational commitment to diversity. We encourage all interested individuals to apply—especially people of color; women; people from low-income backgrounds; people with disabilities; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary; or anyone belonging to any other federal or state protected category. We believe that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity, and are committed to not discriminating on any basis prohibited by applicable law.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED UNTIL THE POSITION IS FILLED. THOSE SELECTED FOR AN INTERVIEW WILL BE NOTIFIED.

Employment Type
Full-time
Job Location
1663 Mission Street, Suite 225, San Francisco, California, 94103, United States
Date posted
August 31, 2021
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