Description:
Position Summary:A Nonprofit Legal Services Organization is seeking a dedicated individual to join our Education Program as a Staff or Senior Attorney. This is an exempt, full-time paid position.
What Your Impact Will Be:
The Education Program prides itself on providing its team members with the support and resources necessary to be successful. We believe that education (including early intervention) services are essential in creating opportunity for youth, especially those facing systemic barriers to success, including those who face multiple barriers such as children of color and children with disabilities – both of whom are disproportionately overrepresented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We ground our advocacy in our clients' goals and our vision for creating education equity from an intersectional perspective.
Key Responsibilities:
The Attorney will support children with disabilities and their families, within the education, early intervention, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems to secure the education services our clients have identified as necessary to their success in school and in life, by providing zealous advocacy in IFSP and IEP meetings, informal dispute resolution, and mediations. The position will include training and supervising pro bono attorneys, interns, and law clerks. The Attorney will also assist in the development and delivery of community trainings and tools to support clients, caregivers, and other stakeholders (e.g., CASA, social workers, probation officers) in understanding special education and/or early intervention rights.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- JD degree required.
- 0-3 years of legal experience for the staff attorney position or 4-7 years of legal experience for the senior attorney position.
- California bar admission in good standing (applicants with pending bar results are welcome to apply).
- Personal, educational, or professional experience in: regional center early intervention advocacy, school district special education advocacy; child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or education systems (e.g., former teacher or social worker, CASA,); and/or working with diverse populations, towards goals of equity and racial justice.
- Bilingual Spanish language skills highly preferred.
Experience and Skills:
- Excellent advanced written and oral communication, active listening, and presentation skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorneys, medical staff, child welfare and probation professionals, the judiciary, and members of the public
- Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work independently and manage competing tasks in a fast-paced environment
- A strong work ethic, dedication, and enthusiasm for taking on responsibility
- Demonstrated ability to work as a team member with a pleasant and collegial approach
- Commitment to social justice
- Experience and comfort building rapport and working effectively with families, children, and young adults
- Experience with early education, education, juvenile dependency or delinquency courts is helpful
- Familiarity with law, legal procedures and protocols, and court system
- Proactive and flexible, with the ability to work in an environment with shifting priorities and demands.
- This job description is of a general nature and is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties of the position.
