Description:
Job Summary: The Civil Legal Aid Staff Attorney focuses on seeking justice for our low-income clients whether it be providing consultations and legal triage during weekly walk-in sessions or providing limited representation in matters arising from consultations. This Staff attorney also supports Veterans needing legal assistance through partner referrals and Clients needing assistance with resolving tax issues with the IRS within our Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. The Staff Attorney is responsible for legal triage and (mostly limited scope) legal representation from intake to closure of cases in accordance with program goals and outcomes.Duties and Responsibilities:
- Represent and counsel the Clinic's clients within the Tax & Economic Justice program area and support the Clinic Consult with a Lawyer program, providing general civil legal assistance and limited scope representation as needed in civil legal matters including family law, consumer, Veterans justice, probate and estate matters, elder law, and driver's licenses reinstatements.
- Triage legal questions and issues arising in any matter discussed during consult with a lawyer legal triage sessions. This is mostly about issue spotting and assisting Clients in understanding their legal issues and creating a next steps action plan.
- Carry the Clinic's key messaging to internal and external parties
- Complete various assigned projects, including priorities identified by the Director of Legal Operations
- Work with members of other functional areas to lead preventive legal education workshops (PLEW), continuing legal education (CLE) courses, and other education events, including mentoring and oversight of volunteers within the CWAL program.
- Engage in outreach to the community to raise awareness of legal aid services provided by the Clinic .
- Participate in staff, department, 1:1 and team meetings
- Other duties as assigned
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Demonstrated passion for working with the homeless, poor, and marginalized
- Willingness to work in a nonprofit organization and sector and ability to support the necessary development activities that requires
- Growing knowledge of the civil legal issues facing the marginalized including, but not limited to the areas of law referenced above. Prior experience in all case types is not required, but an applicant should be able to demonstrate sufficient competence in one or more stated practice areas with the ability to articulate how that competence is transferable and may be developed in others.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong interpersonal skills with a broad range of people
- Ability to listen carefully and combine swift decision-making with calm discretion
- Ability to be creative and develop innovative solutions to problems
- Self-starter and collegial worker
- Competence in case management software (The clinic uses Salesforce) and the technological agility necessary to collaborate on software platforms such as MS Office (including teams and SharePoint)
- Passion for and alignment with the Clinic's mission and ministry
- Prior courtroom and/or trial experience is preferred.
Credentials And Experience:
- Four-year degree from an accredited college or university
- J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school
- Licensed and registered to practice law in the state of Indiana
- Prior experience working in the areas of law listed above and experience in a poverty law setting with diverse populations
- A high level of cultural competency will be required and should be demonstrated