Description:

For over 50 years, Legal Aid Chicago has provided free civil legal assistance to people living in poverty in metropolitan Chicago. Each year our attorneys, volunteers, and staff help resolve civil legal problems, including domestic violence, consumer fraud, and unfair evictions. Legal Aid Chicago was founded on the philosophy that all individuals are entitled to quality civil legal representation, regardless of their income. We work to ensure that poverty is not an impediment to justice.

Legal Aid Chicago offers a hybrid work environment. Our office, located in downtown Chicago, is ADA accessible and has convenient access to public transportation and local expressways. This position will require travel to court, meetings, and other outreach events in the greater Chicago area.

The Children & Families Practice Group advocates for students whose right to an education is threatened, represents survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in protective order and domestic relations cases against their abusers, and defends parents against unwarranted intrusions by the State into their right to parent.

Position: Legal Aid Chicago has an opening for a full-time supervisory attorney in the Children & Families Practice Group with an immediate start date. This attorney will work primarily on the family defense team, which works to protect families from unwarranted intrusion by the state child welfare system. This includes representing parents and caregivers in:

DCFS investigations and related legal services to prevent an indicated finding and/or the filing of a petition in juvenile court;
DCFS administrative hearings seeking to expunge wrongful indicated findings of abuse/neglect;
Service appeals in which our client has a legal right to appeal a placement or service decision with DCFS; and
Juvenile court cases involving systemic issues of particular concern to Legal Aid Chicago's client population including poverty-based allegations of neglect, domestic violence, the State's provision of reasonable efforts to assist in reunification, and the fundamental right to due process.

Responsibilities include:

Maintain a reduced individual caseload of family defense cases and provide full and effective legal representation to parents and caregivers. This position may also involve providing representation in protective orders, allocation of parental responsibilities, divorce, and education law cases, particularly when addressing those co-occurring legal issues can strengthen the family defense advocacy
Supervise attorneys who handle a full caseload in the above areas of law, including editing their written work, providing guidance on case strategy, co-counseling complex cases, conducting regular case reviews, providing training in substantive areas of law as well as litigation skills, and completing performance evaluations
Manage grant reports and grant compliance, as needed
Maintain accurate time records and ensure supervised staff do as well
Maintain knowledge in other areas of law handled by Legal Aid Chicago such as housing, immigration, public benefits, and consumer law, to ensure that clients' legal needs are identified and met in those areas
Participate in complex litigation or advocacy to address systemic issues
Work collaboratively with Legal Aid Chicago supervisors, staff, students and volunteers to provide comprehensive legal services
Collaborate on projects that could involve outreach to community groups, developing new strategies for serving our clients, or address systemic issues through litigation, negotiation or advocacy
Participate in training agencies, advocates, clients, or community groups about legal services and rights impacting low-income persons
Participate in other activities related to poverty law including publication, permissible legislative and administrative advocacy, media relations, and fundraising
Other duties as assigned by the Director

Requirements:
Legal Aid Chicago encourages applications from individuals with relevant experience, particularly those who have direct experience with communities we serve or perspectives that help us understand and serve our clients better.

Applicants must have a J.D. degree and be licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and with a minimum of 5 years of experience in family defense law preferred.
Strong oral and written communication skills, organizational skills, and client counseling skills are necessary.
The ability to work well independently and as part of a team is important.
The successful applicant will demonstrate a commitment to and experience with our client communities and/or people living in poverty.
The applicant's background and experience should reflect an ability to work effectively in cross-cultural situations with clients, co-workers, and the community we serve.