Description:
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc., (SMRLS) is seeking an experienced attorney to lead its Metro Region Family Law Unit. The unit currently has three staff attorneys and one paralegal and provides high-quality legal services to low-income persons and eligible client groups in family civil matters.SMRLS values, welcomes, and promotes diversity in all aspects of its work. SMRLS serves clients from a wide range of backgrounds. SMRLS Board approved a Racial Justice policy to guide the firm's legal work.
Responsibilities:
The Lead Attorney is responsible for the leadership and general supervision of the Metro Family Law Unit, including the quality of the legal work. The Lead Attorney supports and supervises the work of the Unit's attorneys and paralegal, and oversees community education, outreach, and related activities.
Specific responsibilities include:
- representing clients in contested court proceedings;
- developing unit and individual work plans;
- case reviews with staff attorneys;
- job performance evaluations;
- legal advocacy and counseling in custody, marital dissolution, domestic abuse, and other civil legal matters;
- encouraging staff development;
- ensuring appropriate staff participation in client, private bar, and community activities;
- making case acceptance decisions in accordance with SMRLS' case acceptance policies;
- resolving client grievances;
- communicating policies and procedures to unit staff and the client community;
- working to ensure collaboration and effective referrals between all substantive units;
- handling day-to-day personnel issues;
- participating in supervisor meetings for the Metro region and firmwide family law leadership meetings;
- meeting grant requirements and assisting with writing grant applications and reports;
- ensuring compliance with SMRLS' policies, and state and federal law;
- working with other members of SMRLS' leadership team in maintaining and building a positive, productive, open, and helpful work environment; and,
- fully implementing SMRLS values and policies.
Community education, outreach, bar participation and community involvement are also expected activities. Assignments may change over time based upon client and firm needs. Other types of cases and responsibilities may be assigned depending upon client and program needs.
Required Qualifications:
- At least five years of attorney experience.
- Must be licensed to practice law in Minnesota.
- A broad-based knowledge of poverty law issues.
- Experience working in the areas of custody, domestic abuse, and marital dissolution law.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with low-income clients of diverse backgrounds.
- Good communication skills; ability to work constructively with others as a team; good judgment; ability to learn quickly and to work hard, independently, and under pressure; and ability to handle contested hearings.
- Basic computer competence.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior legal work supervision or other relevant management experience.
- Experience as a supervisor and working constructively on personnel issues.
- Non-academic experience working in low-income communities, or other activities that demonstrate an interest in working with low-income clients, will be given great weight. Fluency in a second language, particularly Spanish or Somali.
Salary:
The salary is $96,755+ DOE, pursuant to scale. Good benefits provided.
Starting Date
As soon as possible. Position is open until filled.
Smrls Is Committed to Equal Employment Opportunities for All Workers, Regardless of Race, Gender, Disability or Other Protected Class Status. Smrls Is Committed to Compliance with All Federal, State, and Local Anti-Discrimination Laws and Regulations. All Interested Applicants Are Encouraged to Apply.