Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the pro bono service arm of the Houston Bar Association, is seeking a full-time staff attorney to assist in providing legal aid to low-income individuals. The mission of HVL is to provide free legal services to low income people in Harris County and to promote volunteerism among lawyers. HVL assists with family law, guardianship, estate planning, probate, tax disputes with the IRS, landlord/tenant disputes, homeownership, consumer issues, and bankruptcy. We do not assist with criminal, traffic, immigration, or fee-generating cases.
Primary Responsibilities:
The Staff Attorney will:
• Meet with and interview clients facing various issues.
• Conduct Outreach to low income communities of Greater Houston.
• Prepare and Conduct CLEs to volunteer attorneys on various subjects for HVL cases.
• Review client applications for eligibility in accordance with HVL policies and priorities.
• Staff regular legal advice clinics, which includes conducting legal intake interviews with applicants and mentoring volunteer attorneys who are also conducting legal intake interviews.
• Prepare cases for referral to volunteer attorneys, which includes, but not limited to, interviewing the client, drafting a summary of the facts, and drafting a summary of the work required.
• Provide direct legal assistance to clients when necessary. This may include serving as a back-up when volunteer attorneys are not available.
• Provide substantive mentoring to volunteer attorneys who are providing direct legal assistance to clients, including troubleshooting matters.
• Provide legal information to pro se family law litigants at HVL’s Courthouse and/or Law Library Pro Se Assistance locations
• Maintain timely documentation of all legal assistance activities in central case management database.
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Legal Director, or Executive Director.
Salary and Other Support:
The Staff Attorney will receive an annual salary as well as these other benefits:
• Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance, disability and life insurance.
• 401(k)
• Employer-paid monthly parking and reimbursed travel expenses.
• Bar Dues
The Staff Attorney may be eligible to apply for a Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program through the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will possess:
• A demonstrated commitment to public interest work and desire to assist indigent clients
• Strong writing, communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
• An ability and desire to work collaboratively in a variety of contexts and with multiple organizations
• Prior experience in managing independent projects or assignments
• Legal experience in issues pertaining to family law or other relevant area of law
• Law school clinic, externship, summer or other relevant practice experience a plus.
• Proficiency in Spanish preferred
• Licensed to practice law in Texas
Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to [email protected], subject: Staff Attorney.