Housing Rights Fellow

Responsibilities

• Direct Services and Representation
• Conduct intakes and as necessary provide legal advice and counsel to tenants through clinics, held twice a month, and legal consultations
• Provide high-quality legal representation to tenants at all stages in unlawful detainer litigation, affirmative litigation, and administrative proceedings
• Represent and counsel tenant groups in organizing tenants or campaigns
• Manage active caseload of housing rights cases, including maintaining client files, records, and notes, as required by case needs and grant-reporting requirements
• Community Outreach
• Build and sustain relationships with grassroots community partners who support tenants and/or do anti-displacement work including in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sacramento, and other California counties.
• Conduct Know Your Rights trainings and other community legal education for tenants and community partners
• Participate in coalitions and provide training, technical assistance, strategy development, and accessible written materials to community organizations and other stakeholders whose work touches on low-income California immigrant tenants
• Impact Litigation, Narrative Change and Policy
• Support tenant-led campaigns and tenant organizing through strategic legal advocacy
• Identify systemic problems through direct services work and possibly participate in resulting impact litigation and advocacy efforts
• Contribute to legal research and analysis to inform or guide ALC strategies for litigation and advocacy to build power among immigrant Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Pacific Islander communities
• Develop policy analysis around housing issues that impact low income and immigrant tenants
• Develop and work on impact litigation cases -- including multi tenant and building-wide housing cases
• Collaborate with Communications staff to develop stories with ALC clients and their communities and execute narrative shifting strategies

Qualifications

• Minimum of two (2) year of direct services and legal representation (in any practice area) OR state court litigation experience
• Excellent legal research, analytical, written and oral communication skills, and strong interpersonal, organizational, and presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team and manage multiple tasks in a timely manner
• Ability to work independently, including managing a caseload, and values accountability
• Ability to think creatively, be strategic, and exercise good judgment
• Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion in changing environments and among varied community stakeholders
• Ability to think strategically and balance competing priorities with grace and reason
• Ability to work well under time pressure and meet deadlines
• Ability to work flexible hours, including some weekends and evenings
• Commitment to advancing the rights of low-income, people of color, immigrant, tenant, or worker communities

Highly Desirable

• Previous experience with housing law, eviction defense, fair housing
• Previous experience in direct services, litigation, policy advocacy, and/or community lawyering
• Previous experience working with low-income immigrant communities
• Previous experience working with clients who require interpretation and/or translation
• Fluency in a non-English language, particularly Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, or Vietnamese