Job Description

About NYLAG:

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. We can provide many services virtually, based on an individual client’s preference. NYLAG’s staff of 410 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.

Job description

NYLAG’s Employment Law Project (ELP) provides client-centered community-based legal advocacy for low-wage and immigrant workers facing exploitative labor practices, discrimination and harassment. Through court- and agency-based litigation, fierce negotiation, public education, policy advocacy and strong community partnerships, ELP strives to build the power of working-class communities across the city. The team is currently led by a Project Director and has two experienced attorneys and a paralegal. We are hiring a staff attorney to join the team.

The ideal candidate is committed to legal advocacy through a community lawyering and organizing lens and is motivated to think creatively about how to effect individual and systemic change in the lives of our clients and communities. We seek an attorney dedicated to providing the highest quality legal services to our clients, including advocacy in local, state, and federal agencies and courts, in coalition and partnership with other advocates and community-based organizations across the city. Your caseload will include a mix of representation styles, from doing intakes and giving advice and counsel, to writing demand letters and agency complaints, all the way through motion practice and full litigation. Other aspects of your work will include policy advocacy development and know your rights trainings.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintain an individual caseload representing clients in State and Federal court proceedings and before administrative agencies on employment law matters.
• Develop policy advocacy in collaboration with advocacy coalitions and community organizations to effect larger change rooted in the experiences of our clients.
• Work closely with community partners to develop case and advocacy strategies.
• Work collaboratively within ELP and across NYLAG to develop holistic advocacy strategies.
• Conduct community education and training.
• Mentor and collaborate with paralegals, interns, volunteers and pro-bono attorneys. Train, manage and mentor pro bono attorneys, clinic students, volunteers, and interns, as needed.
• Some work outside of regular business hours of 9-5 may be required on occasion for legal clinics and trainings with partner organizations.
• Continu writing, litigation, and community lawyering skills.
• Maintain up-to-date case notes, data tracking, and files.
• Track, draft, and generate reports for grant management as needed.
• Perform other duties as they arise based on client and organizational needs.

Qualifications

• Admission to New York State Bar required or pending.
• Second language fluency preferred, particularly in Spanish or Mandarin.
• 1-5 years of experience in employment law, or comparable experience.
• A minimum of 1 year of litigation experience.

Applicants are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet all the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated interest in social justice, worker’s rights, and building collective worker power.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing equity, internally (as a team leader) and externally (in the courts and on behalf of clients).
• Creative, proactive problem-solving skills and ability to pivot and reprioritize based on immediate need.
• Experience supervising paralegals and interns, or other staff in legal work.
• Ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and coalitions.
• Experience in federal court proceedings, arbitrations, and mediations.
• Excellent people and client counseling skills, preferably with experience in a high-volume legal services context.
• Demonstrated patience, empathy, persistence, and openness in delivering client services to diverse populations.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Highly organized and ability to juggle multiple priorities.
• Proficiency in Spanish or Mandarin.

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Employment type:

☒ Full-time

Professional Level:

☒ Professional

Salary Range:

NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current annual salary range for this position is between $90,262-96,436.

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care. Sick leave and generous paid time off.

Application Instructions: Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest and a resume. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. Please save your resume and cover letter as one pdf and submit as one document.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and interested candidates are encouraged to apply early.

Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.

NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.