Dependency Staff Attorney

About the Role

Legal Services for Children is seeking a Dependency Staff Attorney with current California Bar Membership in good standing and 0-5 years of experience in legal practice. The attorney will be part of the EDGE (Education, Dependency, Guardianship, and Emancipation) Team, handling a caseload of child clients in juvenile dependency proceedings. Experience in dependency, family law, or representing youth is preferred. Fluency or conversational ability in Spanish is strongly preferred. The salary range is $80,474–97,357, based on years of relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Represent children in dependency court in San Francisco, with a possible small caseload in guardianship, education, or emancipation cases.
• Address ancillary issues such as education, immigration, and government assistance to protect clients’ interests.
• Participate in contested and non-contested appearances, pre-court staffings, hearings, and trials, adhering to strict timelines.
• Engage in trial practice, including witness contact, legal research, writing, and subpoenaing relevant witnesses.
• Prepare writs and notices of appeal when seeking appellate relief from Juvenile Court decisions.
• Meet and interview clients in various settings, including homes, placements, and schools, to assess their well-being.
• Advise clients of their rights, explain legal proceedings in a developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed manner, and empower clients to reach their goals.
• Communicate with interested parties such as relatives, opposing counsel, service providers, and social services personnel.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams, including in-house social workers and senior attorney mentors.
• Participate in regular meetings, program development, and staff activities.
• Engage in ongoing trainings to build legal knowledge, trauma-informed lawyering skills, and courtroom expertise.
• Maintain electronic files and enter case information into the Juvenile Court Automated Tracking System (JCATS).
• Make public appearances or presentations to advance issues benefiting clients.
• Mentor law student interns and represent LSC in local coalitions and collaboratives as needed.

Qualifications

• Current California Bar Membership in good standing with 0-5 years of legal practice experience.
• Experience in dependency, family law, or representing youth preferred.
• Fluency or conversational ability in Spanish strongly preferred.
• Lived experience with foster care or guardianship preferred.
• Energy, optimism, and passion for serving children and youth.
• Diversity of personal and professional experience.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to cultural humility and valuing diversity in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and record of arrest or conviction.

Benefits

• Fully paid health insurance for employees and majority-paid for child dependents (medical, dental, and vision).
• Retirement contribution.
• Generous paid leave (vacation, sick, holiday, and sabbatical).
• Flexible spending account for qualified health expenditures.
• Hybrid work model (field, home, and office).

About Legal Services for Children

Founded in 1975, Legal Services for Children is one of the country’s first non-profit law firms dedicated to providing free legal representation and social work services to children. Our mission is to ensure all children in the San Francisco Bay Area are raised in a safe environment with equal access to education and services necessary to thrive. We deploy attorney-social worker teams to assist children in legal matters involving guardianship, dependency, school discipline, immigration, and other civil issues. LSC is committed to maintaining a diverse staff and providing services with cultural humility. We strongly encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities, including People of Color and LGBTQ individuals, to apply.