Subject to continued funding and staffing priorities, The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking experienced and talented lawyers with a deep commitment to public interest practice and policy to serve in the Disability Advocacy Project (DAP). The staff member will have a primary responsibility to represent individual clients who have been denied benefits and who have lost first-level administrative appeals, with second-level administrative appeals to the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council, and judicial review of final unsuccessful appeals in federal district courts. The staff attorney may also be called upon to work with pro bono attorneys and to represent clients in first-level administrative appeals before Administrative Law Judges, and with other DAP activities and government benefits.
In this position, you will: represent clients in City, State and federal court proceedings, administrative proceedings and affirmative litigation; train and engage in community outreach and education to individuals, local community-based organizations and education and housing advocates; engage in policy advocacy on behalf of clients; coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations; represent the Civil Practice and The Legal Aid Society in the community; conduct community education, training and outreach and promote the work of the office, Disability Advocacy Project and the Civil Practice; work with pro bono lawyers; conduct off-site intake, including evening hours; and other duties as assigned.
The ideal candidate: must be Law Graduates or Attorneys; preferably have experience in Social Security law, but it is not required; should have proficiency in languages other than English, but it is not required; must have excellent written and oral advocacy skills are required; must have the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and manage a high volume of cases; and have excellent organizational skills.
To Apply: The Legal Aid Society is reducing its carbon footprint and therefore paper applications are not accepted. All applicants must submit a cover letter, résumé, current writing sample, transcript, references, the Applicant Questionnaire (http://www.legal-aid.org/questionnaire.html) and an Applicant Information Form (http://www.legal-aid.org/info_form.html) electronically in a single PDF document by 6/30/16 to: [email protected] and include the Job Reference Code: CIVIL-2016-026 in all correspondence and in the subject line of your email. IF ONE OR MORE OF THE REQUIRED ITEMS ARE MISSING OR IF THE APPLICATION IS NOT IN A SINGLE PDF, YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.