CCHEA Staff Attorney

Description

San Diego, CA  - Temporary Remote 

Must  Reside in San Diego County

Consumer Center for Health Education & Advocacy

Position Summary 

Demonstrated capacity to supervise and review cases generated through a legal advice hotline staffed by non attorney advocates.  Demonstrated capacity to maintain a large caseload which may include: Interviewing prospective clients; analyzing their legal problems; rendering legal advice; negotiation with opposing parties and agencies; preparing and submitting documents for clients; representing clients in various phases of litigation; attending community meetings; developing positive relationships with client communities; developing complex litigation; finding solutions to broader client problems through litigation; policy development or other strategies. 

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.  #justicebeginshere  

Essential Functions:  

• Interviewing prospective clients; rendering legal advice; preparation of legal documents; developing a caseload. 

• Supervising and reviewing cases generated through a legal advice hotline staffed by non-attorney advocates. 

• Support to non-attorney advocates through training, case review and review of written materials related to client 

advice and case management. 

• Representing clients in all phases of administrative hearings or court litigation, including research, drafting pleadings and briefs, discovery, trial and appeal. 

• Attending community meetings. 

• Developing positive relationships with the client community. 

• Maintain caseload of complex cases. 

• Assisting in the training and supervision of paralegals, law students and volunteers as appropriate. 

• Developing creative methods, litigious and non-litigious for dealing with recurring client problems. 

Requirements

• Cover Letter

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 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 of $73,000 per year.  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 loan repayment program, as well as, LASSD is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.  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 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. 

Hybrid Work Environment: 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, most Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) employees are primarily working remotely at the moment. LASSD has implemented detailed health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure and by early 2022, we plan to have a hybrid work environment in which most staff will be required to work in the office several days each week and permitted to work remotely the other days, provided their job duties allow.  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. While LASSD remains primarily remote or hybrid, all employees are issued LASSD computers and provided appropriate supplies. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make working remotely as efficient and connected as possible.  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. 

Mandatory Vaccination Policy: 

LASSD has implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. We will consider individual requests for exemption from the policy for: (1) medical reasons, and/or (2) based on an applicant or employee’s sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Any applicant or employee requesting an exemption should submit a completed exemption request form to Human Resources. Upon receipt of a completed exemption request form and any supporting documentation, LASSD will engage in an interactive discussion with the applicant or employee to determine whether an exemption is appropriate and can be granted without posing an undue hardship to LASSD or a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual making the request or others at LASSD. Any individual granted an exemption from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement may be subject to conditions and restrictions (such as being required to use additional personal protective equipment or submit to LASSD-provided COVID-19 testing) to mitigate the risk to the individual and others at LASSD. 

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. 

Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.