Description:

Description:
Milwaukee Office Managing Attorney

8/24/2026

Open until filled but with a minimum of 14 days posting.

Summary:
Legal Action of Wisconsin (Legal Action) is seeking an experienced leader to serve as Managing Attorney of our Milwaukee office, our largest office and a major part of our statewide legal aid program.

This is a hands-on leadership position for an attorney who wants to develop people, strengthen the delivery of high-quality legal services, and help shape impactful advocacy on behalf of low-income clients and communities.

The Milwaukee Office Managing Attorney leads a large and diverse team serving Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. The Managing Attorney works closely with the Chief Operating Officer, Legal Action's six other Managing Attorneys, administrative leadership, and Milwaukee office staff. The position also has a significant external-facing role, building relationships with courts, community organizations, funders, law firms and lawyers, and other partners.

The position is open because our previous Milwaukee Office Managing Attorney was recently appointed to the Milwaukee County bench.

The position is available as soon as September 8th.

Description of Legal Action
http://www.legalaction.org/Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. (“Legal Action”) is a non-profit law firm, funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, and many other sources and supporters. Legal Action provides free civil legal aid to low-income persons and to Wisconsin's 11 federally recognized Native American tribes statewide with offices in Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Racine, and Wausau. Legal Action attorneys, lay advocates, legal advocates, and paralegals have expertise in a range of substantive areas, but most of our direct representation is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer law, and family law.

Mission Statement: Deliver exceptional civil legal services and structural change advocacy, free of cost, to those most in need. Our core values (equity, advocacy, client-centered, integrity and community) guide our work and actions. Please see our website for a description of the core values and vision that guides our work.

Milwaukee Office: Our Milwaukee office provides free legal aid to thousands of low-income clients in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. It is located at 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2000, Milwaukee, WI 53203. It is Legal Action's largest office. The total staffing currently consists of the following: 10 supervising attorneys or project managers, 17 staff attorneys, 12 paralegals, and 17 other administrative, professional, and technical staff. (The Milwaukee Office Managing Attorney does not directly supervise all these positions.

Key Responsibilities:
Office Leadership, Supervision, and Staff Development

Lead, supervise, mentor, and develop attorneys, paralegals, and other employees assigned to the Milwaukee office, consistent with Legal Action's supervisory standards.
Provide effective onboarding, regular supervision and case review, performance-based goal setting, performance management, professional development, and offboarding.
Ensure that attorneys provide high-quality, assertive, client-centered representation; maintain and develop expertise in their areas of practice; and participate appropriately in impact litigation, other advocacy, outreach, and community engagement.
Ensure that non-attorney staff receive the training, support, supervision, and accountability necessary to perform their work successfully.
Promote an inclusive, equitable workplace in which employees can do high-quality work and continue to develop professionally.

Legal Services and Advocacy

Lead the delivery of legal services in the Milwaukee office and ensure that the office responds effectively to Legal Action's priority areas of law and the legal needs of clients in its service area.
Advance Legal Action's strategic impact litigation and other advocacy efforts, including the firm's racial justice legal work.
Support high-quality legal analysis, litigation, advocacy, and professional responsibility throughout the office.
Respond to significant client complaints, grievances, and concerns regarding services or denial of services.
Provide training and support to attorneys participating in Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyer Project as needed.

Labor and Employee Relations

Ensure management compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements covering Milwaukee office employees.
Maintain effective working relationships with AFSCME and ULW representatives and participate in labor-management matters affecting the office.

Office and Program Management

Manage the Milwaukee office's budget, funding, expenditures, accounts, and invoice approvals in coordination with Legal Action's administrative leadership.
Participate in grant development, grant management, and reporting, and ensure compliance with Legal Services Corporation requirements, grant requirements, Legal Action policies, professional responsibility obligations, and other applicable laws and regulations.
Oversee office operations, implementation of firmwide and office procedures, and special projects and organizational initiatives affecting the Milwaukee office.

External Leadership and Relationships

Represent Legal Action and the Milwaukee office with community partners, courts, funders, legal organizations, bar associations, and other stakeholders.
Build and maintain relationships that strengthen Legal Action's ability to serve clients, respond to community needs, and advance access to justice.

Required Qualifications:

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
Current license to practice law in Wisconsin or ability to become licensed within three months of hire.
Three years of experience supervising other attorneys and non-attorney staff.
Experience practicing civil law.
Demonstrated commitment to civil legal aid, access to justice, and client-centered representation.
Demonstrated success supervising, mentoring, developing, and holding employees accountable.
Strong legal judgment and skills in case analysis, research, and legal writing.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and persuasively with employees, clients, community partners, and other stakeholders.
Experience appearing in or managing matters before Wisconsin state courts and familiarity with applicable Wisconsin law.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a high-volume legal-services environment.
Demonstrated commitment to racial justice, equity, inclusion, and serving diverse communities.
Ability to travel throughout Legal Action's service area, including occasional overnight travel, and to travel out of state occasionally as required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Five or more years of experience supervising employees and managing delivery of legal aid.
Experience practicing in more than one area of civil law that our clients typically encounter.
Experience supervising hybrid or remote employees.
Experience developing training materials and providing training.
Experience building productive relationships with community organizations, funders, government agencies, courts, bar associations, or other stakeholders.
Experience managing grant-funded programs, budgets, or other aspects of program administration.