Family Law Attorney

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), founded in 1981, is the oldest and largest volunteer legal services organization in Maryland. MVLS removes barriers to justice through free civil legal help, community engagement, and advocacy for equitable laws.  Our vision is for a fair legal system that is free of injustice and equitably serves underrepresented Marylanders.  We achieve this goal primarily through our core pro bono program and more targeted programs that serve specialized legal needs. For more program information, visit our website: www.mvlslaw.org.

MVLS’s core values are teamwork, passion for MVLS’s mission, commitment to clients, volunteers, and community partners, initiative and commitment to eliminate systemic barriers to justice based on race and economic disparities. MVLS is committed to fostering an inclusive culture in the workplace. Our work to end barriers to justice starts with increasing the racial diversity of our staff to better reflect the communities we serve.

The family law staff attorney will support our Judicare program, which provides representation to clients with contested custody and divorce cases. The position will handle a small caseload of family law matters s, provide support and mentorship to MVLS volunteer attorney pool, organize and conduct trainings on family law topics, recruit Judicare attorneys and support overall family law services at MVLS.

Job Responsibilities

• Manage small case load of custody and divorce cases. This will include full representation, limited scope representation and counseling.

• Provide mentoring and support to MVLS pool of Judicare attorneys

• Create ongoing quarterly training series for volunteer attorneys

• Create and maintain educational materials, practice guides and template documents for volunteers

• Manage Judicare volunteer interactive listserv

• Participate in attorney recruitment and retention efforts, including regular participation in state and local bar association family law sections and presentations to such sections

• Provide support by answering family law legal questions for MVLS intake paralegals

• Assist in placing family law cases with MVLS volunteer attorneys

• Perform data analysis, outcome tracking, and grant reporting 

• Identify trends and prevalent issues among client population and participate in advocacy efforts around these issues

• Identify, develop, and support relationships with community partners 

• Provide Know-Your-Rights trainings

• Attend community events

• Work as a member of the MVLS team, supporting other staff and other areas of our work

Job Skills and Requirements

• Excellent written and oral communication

• Skilled in case management

• Ability to confidently communicate with diverse audiences

• Demonstrated networking and relationship management skills

• Willingness to learn and present about the legal services provided by MVLS

• Be a team player who is able to work with staff, volunteers, and community partners

• Strong planning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills

• Be self-motivated and self-directed

• Ability to manage multiple tasks, projects, and priorities

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

• Some travel may be necessary if determined to be safe in accordance with COVID-19 considerations

Education and Experience

• J.D. from an accredited law school

• At least 3 years experience in family law

• Admission to the Maryland Bar and in good standing

• Experience with nonprofits or legal services is a strong plus

• Demonstrated commitment through work experience, lived experience or volunteer experience to communities, such as:  Children, Domestic workers, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and refugees, Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, LGBTQ people, People of color, People with disabilities, People with HIV/AIDS, Sex workers, Victims of crime and abuse, and Women and girls. 

Compensation

Salary range is $65,000 -$70,000 commensurate on experience with excellent benefits including: 3 health insurance plans to choose from (MVLS fully covers the monthly premium for 2 of them), dental and vision insurance, a flexible spending plan to reimburse employees with pre-tax dollars for out of pocket medical expenses, group life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, short and long term disability coverage, a 403(b) retirement plan with a 2% match and the possibility of an additional contribution from MVLS, a monthly commuter stipend equal to the value of an MTA pass, 20 vacation days, 2 personal days,10 sick days and 14 paid holidays per year.

How to Apply

• Please email cover letter, resume, writing sample (no more than 5 pages) and three professional references with the subject line “Family Law Attorney” Applicants are encouraged to address the core values stated at the top of this job posting in their cover letters.

• Submissions should be received within 4 weeks from when the application is posted.

• Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

• No telephone calls, please.

The full description is available at https://mvlslaw.org/join-our-team/.

This application was posted on June 13, 2022. MVLS generally begins scheduling interviews after the four week application window has ended. Initial interviews with the hiring committee are scheduled for 45 minutes.  For advancing candidates, a second 60 minute interview is held with the hiring committee and the Executive Director.  Interview questions are provided in advance.  Reference checks are made for final candidates.  The interview process generally takes about four weeks.

MVLS is an equal opportunity employer. MVLS does not discriminate against any applicant for employment or any employee on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, age, religion, disability status, sex assigned at birth, gender identity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, or immigration status.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $65,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

COVID-19 considerations:
Job Location -

This position is currently partially remote and partially in office due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  When MVLS determines that conditions permit employees to return to the office full time, this will be an in-office position. 

Work Location: One location