Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. (SMRLS) is seeking a Bilingual (English/Spanish) Summer Advocate to assist its Agricultural Worker Project (AWP). The position will be located in AWP’s Saint Paul, Minnesota office with significant travel throughout Minnesota.
SMRLS provides free, high-quality legal help in critical civil matters to low-income people in southern Minnesota, as well as to eligible agricultural workers throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. For more than 100 years, SMRLS has helped individuals and families secure and protect their basic needs, maintaining freedom from hunger, homelessness, sickness, and abuse.
AWP provides free civil legal services to agricultural workers in Minnesota and North Dakota focused on improving clients’ working and living conditions through legal representation, outreach, and education. It handles cases involving wage theft, workplace health and safety violations, inadequate employer-provided housing, labor trafficking, employment discrimination and retaliation, H-2A contract violations, and other legal matters that specifically impact agricultural workers. Additionally, AWP educates agricultural workers in Minnesota and North Dakota regarding their legal rights through extensive outreach and presentations to agricultural worker communities.
The summer advocate will play a vital role in increasing the program’s outreach and legal education capacity throughout Minnesota during its busiest season. The applicant selected will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about, and contribute to the effective resolution of, the legal problems of agricultural workers under the supervision and guidance of AWP’s dedicated attorneys and paralegals.
Responsibilities:
*Perform outreach to agricultural workers throughout Minnesota, including during the evening, with other AWP staff in order to provide information regarding legal rights and AWP’s services and to conduct intake interviews
*Draft reports related to outreach
*Conduct legal research and draft memos, if a law student
*Draft letters in an effort to resolve legal disputes, if a law student
*Answer/return phone calls, conduct intake interviews by phone, and provide referrals as necessary
*Other duties as based on interest, education, and skill set
Position open:
May or early June 2018. End date is flexible but at least through August is preferred.
Time commitment:
Flexible although 25-35 hours/week is preferred. Willingness to conduct outreach approximately two evenings each week is necessary.
Compensation:
This is an unpaid position. AWP is happy to assist the selected applicant with seeking outside funding opportunities (through Equal Justice America, your law school, etc.). Outreach-related travel expenses will be reimbursed.
*Fluent in spoken and written English and Spanish
*Students who have completed their first year of law school are preferred but those not in law school will also be considered
*Demonstrated interest in serving the needs of low-income communities, preferably agricultural workers specifically
*Comfort working with individuals from varying economic, cultural, educational, and social backgrounds
*Strong oral and written communication skills
*Ability to remain calm and act professionally under pressure
*Computer proficiency
*Possession of a current driver’s license and vehicle is preferred but not required
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled; however, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by March 5, 2018.
To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to:
Jessica Grosz, Lead Attorney
Agricultural Worker Project
Southern MN Regional Legal Svcs.
55 East Fifth Street, Suite 1000
Saint Paul, MN 55101-1473
[email protected]