Description:

Position Summary:
With minimum supervision, effectively represents clients in all phases of litigation; supervises, advises and co-counsels with lesser experienced staff/lead/supervising attorneys to improve their litigation skills, in delivering legal services to our client community in a specific substantive area of law, as well as, supervising advocates. Is responsible for all required administrative functions and requirements of their team. Responsible for the optimum functioning of a specialized law team in a legal aid environment.

About the Organization:
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients' legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere

Essential Functions:

Competently plans and handles complex litigation.
Evaluates the work of, and creates professional development plans for, staff underneath his/her direct supervision.
Timely and accurately performs all team administrative duties, including assuring accurate entry of staff time slips and reports for accounting and management. Personally, as required, conducts meaningful staff evaluations, case review, and team meetings.
Develops and implements mid- and long-term strategies for resolution of identified systemic barriers to our clients' economic security and social wellbeing.
Interview prospective clients, rendering legal advice, maintaining a complex caseload, and representing clients in all phases of Federal administrative hearing litigation (including research, drafting of briefs, and appeals to Federal Court).
Assists less experienced attorneys with becoming effective in representation of their clients through trial preparation, drafting of pleadings, discovery, effective research, case preparation, and litigation strategy.
Develops a positive working relationship with our client communities and partners.
Presents community education at outreach events.
Works with our client communities to develop and implement new strategies for resolution of systemic problems which adversely affect them.
Directly supervises the substantive law team and recruited volunteers.
Handles team and staff administrative duties and reviews the accurate completion of said duties as delegated for Management and reporting requirements.
Proposes new funding strategies and solicits increased funding via grant proposals and submissions for their team.
Works in such a way as to be an example for team members and other program personnel.
Meaningfully reports on all the above to the Board of Directors annually.
Assists in preparation of routine correspondence, reporting, audits, and site visits.
Compliance with all program and grant requirements.
Other duties as assigned by management.

Requirements:
Qualifications:

Must have five (5) years' experience as a practicing attorney, three (3) of which must be in public interest including working with county indigent programs, administrative law and/or litigation experience.
Must lead the development and implementation of new strategies for resolution of systemic problems which adversely affect our client communities.
Must have demonstrated capabilities in using basic tools of the litigating attorney: federal administrative hearings, appeals, discovery, remedies, and all phases of motion practice and/or administrative law as well as trial experience.
Must have demonstrated knowledge, skills and experience in the proposed area of practice with the ability to develop procedural and substantive strategies to effectively represent clients and undertake resolution of structural inequities affecting our client population.
Must have demonstrated capacity to train and mentor less experienced attorneys.
Must have a thorough knowledge of, and experience in, Social Security regulations and related laws, as it related to the team's substantive practice area
Must be a member of the California Bar and Federal Bar.
Demonstrated experience in working with and representing our client communities.
Demonstrated skills in managing others in a regulated climate and ensuring personal and team compliance with such regulations.
Excellent Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with the public and with volunteers.
High level of attention to detail required.
Skill in working independently and following through on assignments with accuracy and minimal direction.
Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as required by events and deadlines.
Education and/or experience that demonstrates an understanding of the needs of low-income persons, immigrants and/or other under-served, under-represented populations.
Ability to understand and leverage technology to promote effective and efficient work/litigation on the team.
Strong organizational skills to handle high-volume caseload.
Ability to gather and complete information from clients in a telephonic interview or in-person interview, using trauma- informed techniques.
Ability to respond to clients in a calm, empathetic, and professional manner while courteously directing the conversation to the pertinent issues.
Ability to work independently, support team efforts, strategize, and plan so as to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements.
Must have reliable transportation.
Experience in client customer service including intake, interviews, and research related to legal issues, or experience in the field and understanding of related systems, laws, and regulations.
Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.
Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred

Pay and Benefits:
The Managing Attorney is an exempt position with an annual salary range of $110,000 – $165,000. The starting salary is $110,000. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision, and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program and is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive health decision making, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Hybrid Work Environment:
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week (a minimum of two days per week) and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work.

LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD's normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.