Description:

Position Description: The staff attorney will advise and represent low-income clients in family law and other cases but could also include related legal work. All staff attorneys are expected to develop and maintain good working relationships with community groups, as well as with state and local bar associations. Staff attorneys may also be called on to provide training and assistance to community agencies. Between these traditional and non-traditional responsibilities, staff attorneys are expected to work a minimum of 40 hours per week.

Key Responsibilities: The staff attorney provides advice and full representation to clients in family law cases, including, but not limited to, restraining orders, paternity cases, and divorce cases. The La Crosse Office also takes Guardian ad Litem appointments in family cases. Other areas of law may be worked in as well as family based on then need of the office and/or the interest of the staff attorney. Key responsibilities include:

Provide high-quality representation of clients in individual service cases and impact work. Impact work is work expected to have long-term positive effects on low-income persons or improve systems that impact the low-income community.
Perform all duties associated with such representation as defined by our attorney performance standards.
Remain current with the areas of law that pertain to the low-income community as they change and develop, particularly in this attorney's area(s) of specialization.
Develop and maintain positive working relationships with community groups, state and local bar associations, and others.
Train and assist volunteers who participate in Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyer Project and other Legal Action staff attorneys.
Perform intake duties and, where necessary, make appropriate referrals to other community agencies.
Serve on at least one of our Priority Committees: Housing; Barriers to Employment; Consumer; Public Benefits; and Family law. Priority committees are comprised of Legal Action advocates practicing in those areas of law. They meet quarterly to discuss trends in the law and practicing in that area of law and to strategize the firm's work. This Wausau area office staff attorney priority committee assignment is to be determined.
Participate in regular case review by the managing attorney.
Travel to each of the La Crosse office's 10 counties for hearings as scheduled as well as case work and outreach activities.
The staff attorney may be assigned additional duties from time to time.

Required Qualifications:

Juris Doctor.
Admission to Wisconsin Bar.
Strong oral and written communication and advocacy skills.
Experience working with low-income clients and/or victims of violence.
Ability to interact professionally and work cooperatively with staff, clients, and the public.
Ability to use basic computer systems, including email, word processing software, and internet-based applications.
Willingness and ability to learn job-specific procedures and systems during the probationary period.
Ability to manage multiple tasks and maintain accuracy in a busy office environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

Prior experience in a role working with persons with disabilities, those living in poverty, or individuals with a minority status or affiliation.
Experience with client advocacy in a court setting.
Experience working in a nonprofit, client-facing environment or legal services.

Salary/Compensation: Legal Action's salaries are not negotiable: Our salary scales are based solely on years of experience with each step on the scale equivalent to one full year of experience. We strongly encourage applicants to include detail in their resume about the duties they performed and the months they worked at each employer and in each position so that we can accurately calculate experience and salary. If we make an offer to an applicant, we depend on the resume that the applicant submitted, and we do not allow for revisions after submission. The salary steps for this position range from:

Tier 1 and tier 2 staff attorney description & scope of authority:
All staff attorneys are required to utilize and follow Legal Action's attorney performance standards in performing their duties.

Tier 1 Staff Attorneys are:

Relatively new to providing legal services to low-income clients.
Closely supervised and practices law under close control and structure.
Closely adhering to Legal Action's guidelines, rules, policies, and procedures and have little or no authority to deviate from them without supervisor's approval.

Tier 2 Staff Attorneys have:

At least 3 years of post-J.D. experience that includes work relevant to the skills required for staff attorneys and;
Skills and abilities to:
consistently perform most Tier 1 Staff Attorney duties with minimal assistance or direction, a high level of efficiency and/or independent initiative, and less immediate, regular supervision than a Tier 1 Staff Attorney;
consistently carry a caseload of substantial size and complexity suitable to an experienced attorney;
consistently adhere to Legal Action administrative and programmatic procedures such as, but not limited to contemporaneous timekeeping and accurate completion of administrative and client service forms; and

Demonstrated initiative and ability to undertake the additional duties that the Tier 2 Staff Attorney level requires such as, but not limited to mentoring, training, and otherwise supporting Tier 1 staff attorneys and others. (Tier 2 Staff Attorneys do not have the authority to discipline others and are not confidential management positions.)

Legal Action's organizational structure does allow for additional career advancement opportunities, such as: Attorney Managers; Managing Attorneys; Project Managers; Supervising Attorneys; and Priority Coordinators. Legal Action posts these opportunities as they become available.

Fringe Benefits: All Legal Action employees receive a full package of fringe benefits. It currently includes: employer-paid health and dental insurance for employee, spouse, and family with a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance; employee-paid income protection benefits; a profit-sharing plan; generous sick leave accrual; and at least four weeks of vacation leave and four personal holidays per year. (Legal Action policies require employees with a spouse to contribute $200/month to the health insurance premium if the spouse has other health insurance available to them.)

Spanish or Hmong Language Frequency Premium: Legal Action's Salary Administration Plan includes additional pay of either $2,400 annually or $4,800 annually to those employees who are fluent in Spanish or Hmong.

Flex Work: Legal Action supports flexible work arrangements that meet the goals of the organization and the employee. All employees are eligible to request flexible work, including flextime, compressed work week, and remote work.

Supervision: This position is supervised by the La Crose Office Managing Attorney.

Probationary Period: This position is subject to a probationary period of up to six months.

How to Apply/Deadline for Applications: Applicants must submit the following application materials via Legal Action of Wisconsin's online applicant portal: https://secure2.entertimeonline.com/ta/7988.careers?ShowJob=805462978

Cover letter
Resume
Names and contact information for three professional references

Deadline for Applications: This position will be open until filled. We will review applicants on a rolling basis. To assure early consideration, please submit application materials by February 15, 2026.