BayLegal seeks an attorney with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy to represent low-income tenants in asserting their rights in eviction proceedings, fair housing, and preservation of affordable housing. In this position you will have the opportunity to join a small collaborative local team based out of San José and BayLegal’s regional housing practice and social justice team. This position is based in our San José office and requires travel to all parts of the county as necessary to best serve our low-income clients. There may be travel within BayLegal's broader service areas for the purposes of meeting with clients in transportation challenged areas and as necessary for training and broader advocacy.
As a Housing Staff Attorney, you will have the opportunity to:
Learn and advocate for the diverse legal needs of communities affected by systemic and structural inequities in Santa Clara County and the broader Bay Area to reduce homelessness, enhance stability and address social injustice;
Represent low-income tenants in administrative hearings and eviction proceedings at every stage of litigation, including motions, discovery, trials and appeals;
Address access barriers and provide legal assistance to low-income tenants by providing call-backs to tenants seeking help through our Legal Advice Line or other partnerships;
Advocate for tenants on issues of fair housing, substandard conditions, and VAWA;
Identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ housing rights and address these challenges through affirmative litigation and policy work;
Collaborate with the local and national tenant advocacy community;
Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and client community on housing law, tenants' rights, and a broad range of civil legal issues;
Develop relationships and engage in collaboration with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing BayLegal's client community;
Work with BayLegal's development, grants and contracts, and communications team to promote BayLegal's mission and resource development; and
Engage in other tasks and projects that further BayLegal's mission and operations as a non-profit.
Health & Safety and Hybrid Work Environment: BayLegal is committed to the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community. Being accessible to our client communities and reducing barriers for them to access our services is integral to our mission and commitment as a direct services community-based law firm. BayLegal has health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure. BayLegal has an evolving plan to continue to safely increase in-person services and activities in our offices and community-based advocacy sites. Currently, most BayLegal employees work a hybrid model including on-site and in-person work and working from home on a part-time basis. Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical BayLegal base location, and to other service delivery locations as needed, during the standard work week.
Compensation and Benefits: We offer a diverse, family friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package. BayLegal's benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 60% for dependents; BayLegal student debt reimbursement program; long term disability insurance; employee assistance program; wage differentials for multi-lingual employees whose non-English language skills are regularly used in the provision of work tasks and pass a request test of fluency and/or proficiency; dependent childcare employer contribution program; employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees; and 401k retirement plan with BayLegal contribution following first year. BayLegal has a generous paid leave policy which includes sick leave; parental leave; 15 holidays each year; 3 floating holidays each year (flexible to be used throughout the year); and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment). This is a union position (Bay Area Legal Aid Workers, “BALAW”), the salary in 2023 ranges from $74,629 - $93,793 ($77,614 - $97,545 in 2024) depending on years of experience and the salary scale can be found on our BayLegal union positions salary scale for 2022-2026.
Humility in working with colleagues and clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity,
sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.
Membership in good standing in the California State Bar or 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 and willing to take the bar exam at the next available sitting.
Housing law experience or other transferable litigation skills preferred.
Experience directly representing clients in litigation or another similar setting preferred.
Language fluency and proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, or another language regularly used in services to our client community preferred (wage differential available upon passing test for fluency and written proficiency).
Experience and skills maintaining organization of time, managing diverse activities, and meeting critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented.
Experience and commitment to working collaboratively with a dynamic team.
Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be done.
Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details.
Sense of humor and proactive problem solver
BayLegal 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, LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, veterans, individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees pursuant to applicable law. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact BayLegal’s Human Resources Manager at: (510) 250-5225.
BayLegal will begin reviewing applications upon receipt and continue until the position is filled. Please submit (1) cover letter including response to question below (no page limit), (2) resume, (3) references, and (4) writing sample through BayLegal’s career application portal.
As part of your cover letter, please address the following:
BayLegal’s clients are low-income and very low-income members of our communities. They include LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, the working poor, seniors, people who are limited English proficient, veterans, persons with disabilities, survivors of abuse and exploitation, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, and people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and persons from other underrepresented groups. 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 across cultures, 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 experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to serve our diverse client base effectively, work effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds than your own, and to contribute to our commitment to humility, inclusion, and diversity? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.