Housing Attorney - Alameda County (LAL) (requires bilingual ability)

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Job location
1735 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
Organization information
Organization name: 
Bay Area Legal Aid
Street address: 
1735 Telegraph Avenue
City: 
Oakland
State: 
California
ZIP: 
94612
Job type: 
Legal - Civil
Position Description: 

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: We are seeking a Housing Attorney to join our dynamic Housing Law practice group, which focuses on the preservation of fair and affordable housing, and represent clients who are homeless or at risk of homelessness --one of the most critical issues facing low-income families in Alameda County. This position is based in our downtown Oakland office, which serves low-income individuals across Alameda County.

The Housing Attorney will:
• Primary responsibility will be to provide advice and counsel, brief service and representation to clients on the phone through a call center model and in person, when necessary;
• Opportunity to provide advocacy to low-income tenants in eviction proceedings at various stages, including in Superior Court; 
• Represent tenants in Housing Authority administrative proceedings; 
• Conduct community outreach, trainings, and provide pro per assistance to tenant at self-help and community sites county-wide

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.

Requirements: 

Core Competencies: 
• Membership in good standing of the California State Bar
• Bilingual ability in Spanish, Mandarin or Cantonese required 
• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time and manage diverse activities
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team
• Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be done
• Excellent verbal communications skills and demonstrated ability to convey critical legal advice in a concise and comprehensible manner 
• Cultural competency in working with low‐income clients from diverse backgrounds, including clients with physical and mental disabilities, LEP clients, and LGBT clients

To apply: 

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 on a rolling basis, but applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please send a cover letter, resume, writing sample, diversity statement (see BayLegal.org/employment for details) and list of references to: Human Resources Department, e-mail to [email protected]. Be sure to refer to the posting "TRL Housing Attorney--Alameda County" 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.

Notes: 
Equal Opportunity Employer