Organization: Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) ensures fairness in the civil justice system for the most vulnerable members of our community. From Silicon Valley to Napa Valley, we help clients protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, and persons with disabilities. Through our regional county offices, our mobile advocacy clinics, and our nationally-recognized Legal Advice Line, BayLegal prevents domestic violence and sexual assault, increases economic stability, protects consumers, expands access to healthcare, and prevents homelessness. For our clients, BayLegal makes the difference between staying in poverty and thriving toward a brighter future.
Position: Our Alameda County office in Oakland is currently looking for a legal services attorney working primarily on economic justice issues, particularly related to state and county public benefits programs. This attorney will focus on the following activities:
♦ Client representation primarily in public benefits matters, including CalWORKs, CalFresh, General Assistance, and other benefits programs.
♦ Developing partnerships and coordinating collaborative efforts with community partners serving our client populations; promoting connections with government agencies that serve our client populations and participation in state and county meetings and workgroups;
♦ Engaging in impact advocacy and litigation to remove systemic barriers to accessing public benefits for client populations, including for particularly vulnerable groups such as refugees, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, homeless individuals, and people with disabilities;
♦ Conducting community education presentations and outreach focused on civil legal issues.
Compensation and Benefits: Compensation is based on a competitive public interest salary scale. Generous benefits package includes medical, dental, and life insurance; long term disability; paid holiday, vacation, and sick leave; law school loan repayment; bilingual stipends; and 401k retirement plan.
♦ Candidates admitted to practice in another state and eligible to practice in California for 3 years under the California State Bar rules for the Registered Legal Services Attorney Program.
♦ Candidates that have recently passed the CA Bar or law school graduates that will be taking the bar exam at the next sitting are welcome to apply
♦ Passion for and deep understanding of working with a diverse community of low-income individuals;
♦ Familiarity with government benefits programs;
♦ Excellent communication, writing and public speaking skills;
♦ Strong organizational skills and ability to work independently and as part of a dynamic team; Strong community outreach and training skills.
♦ Bilingual in Spanish or an API language.
Bay Area Legal Aid thrives on our diversity and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, persons of color, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Please send cover letter, racial diversity statement (see below), resume, references, and writing sample to [email protected]. Be sure to refer to the “Bilingual Economic Justice Legal Services Attorney – Oakland, CA” in the title of your email.
In a separate page from your cover letter, please address the following:
BayLegal’s clients are low- and very low-income members of our communities. They include the working poor, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. To ensure our organization is best serving these populations, BayLegal strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued.
How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural humility and diversity amongst our staff? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.