Description:
TakeRoot Justice (“TakeRoot”) seeks applicants with at least five (5) years relevant substantive legal experience for the position of Senior Staff Attorney to join TakeRoot's Workers' Rights practice, which currently includes a Director, four Senior Staff Attorneys, and an Advocacy Coordinator/Paralegal.The Workers' Rights practice partners with community-based worker centers (“partner organizations”) in all five boroughs of New York City to provide legal services to their members including domestic workers and home health aides, construction workers, restaurant and food service workers, retail workers, cleaners, and other low-wage workers. Our legal work includes federal and New York state court litigation, administrative agency filings, and pre-litigation negotiations of minimum wage and overtime violations, tip theft, retaliation, discrimination, sexual harassment, sick leave, and labor trafficking claims. We also aim to support the organizing campaigns of our partner organizations and provide Know-Your-Rights trainings to their members.
The successful candidate will be passionate about client-centered lawyering, building collective worker power, and advocating for low-wage workers, particularly immigrants and people of color connected to grassroots organizing campaigns.
What you will do:
- Represent low-wage workers in wage-and-hour, anti-discrimination, and other employment actions in federal and state court, before administrative agencies, and in pre-litigation negotiations with employers
- Provide Know-Your-Rights trainings to community groups and their members on workers' rights
- Participate in internal governance functions of TakeRoot
Qualifications:
- Admission to the New York State Bar
- At least five (5) years of relevant substantive legal experience
- Dedication to a client-centered approach to legal representation
- Significant federal and/or state court litigation experience
- Experience working with a diverse team in a collaborative model that uplifts all voices on the team and prioritizes professional development
- Ability to work with individuals from various cultural and professional backgrounds
- Strong communication and writing skills
- Strong strategic thinking and problem solving skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Competency in a language other than English (strongly preferred)
- Experience working with low-wage, immigrant workers or other vulnerable communities
- Experience working with or in worker centers or other community-based organizations
- Legislative and/or policy advocacy experience
