Community Engagement Staff Attorney

About the role

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (“LASP”) seeks an attorney to provide legal services and community outreach in its Community Engagement Unit. LASP provides free civil legal services to eligible clients in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The Community Engagement Unit focuses on community outreach and collaboration with a broad and expanding network of community partners.

Responsibilities

• Interviewing clients, assisting in determining eligibility for services, and ascertaining and investigating facts;
• Conducting legal research and interpreting statutes, case law, regulations, and other sources of law;
• Providing advice and counsel to clients and making appropriate referrals;
• Preparing legal documents, including but not necessarily limited to briefs, pleadings, motions, notices, correspondence, memoranda, discovery and documents responsive to discovery requests;
• Developing strategy and arguments for presentation of cases and assisting in preparation of witnesses for hearings and trials;
• Representing clients in trial and appellate courts and before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies;
• Reviewing decisions and consulting with LASP’s management team to determine merit of potential appeals;
• Participating in external professional and community organizations relevant to casework and developing and strengthening relationships with community partners;
• Conducting clinics, community education, training, and workshops;
• Recruiting and managing LASP volunteers, including pro bono attorneys, law students, undergraduates, and others;
• Becoming engaged in LASP team efforts to achieve office and program goals, including participation in program-wide affinity groups and task forces;
• Developing knowledge of community referral resources and assessing community and client needs;
• Working with LASP’s Communications Director to create and update LASP legal resources, including flyers, brochures, and information for self-represented litigants, with particular emphasis on resources for the Spanish speaking community in LASP’s service area.

Qualifications

• License to practice law in Pennsylvania or admitted in another jurisdiction and eligible for admission in Pennsylvania;
• At least two (2) years’ experience as a lawyer preferred;
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office products, case management software, and online legal research tools;
• Passionate commitment to public interest law and serving low-income individuals and vulnerable populations;
• Strong written, and oral, advocacy and organizational skills are required;
• Spanish language fluency is desirable.

Compensation and Benefits

Competitive salaries, beginning at $65,500 for attorneys. Salaries are commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits, including a 401K retirement plan with generous employer contributions, health insurance option in which 100% of premium costs are provided, ancillary benefits, and generous leave provisions including paid holidays, floating holidays, personal leave, vacation, sick, and parental leave.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate in the recruitment, selection, or advancement of employees based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all employment practices within LASP, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. LASP makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and current business needs.

To Apply

Send resume and cover letter that includes job title (Community Engagement Staff Attorney) to Carolyn Johnson, Chief Counsel at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, to Hiring@lasp.org. Position will remain open until filled.

For additional career opportunities based in multiple locations

Please visit lasp.org/careers.