BDS is one of the largest public defense providers in the New York City. We represent more than 45,000 clients per year in a variety of legal proceedings in New York City, primarily indigent criminal, family, and immigration defense. We believe all people—regardless of economic means—deserve respect, individualized care, and the fullest extent of legal protections whether accused of a crime or facing a civil legal obstacle to justice and opportunity.
The Civil Justice Practice aims to reduce the civil collateral consequences for low-income clients who have had interaction with the criminal, family or immigration justice systems. Through representation in administrative and civil court proceedings and through legal advocacy with various agencies, we assist some of the city’s most vulnerable residents to remain in their homes, maintain their public benefits, protect their consumer rights and reclaim their NYPD seized property. In order to achieve these ends we practice in almost all of New York City’s courts at every level from trial to appellate courts. CJP also serves as a resource to the other practice areas: assisting criminal defense attorneys and their clients by identifying potential civil ramifications of guilty pleas and strategizing ways to minimize the risk of eviction and other collateral consequences; helping our family defense practice to reunite parents and children by ensuring uninterrupted access to public assistance and stable housing; and working with our immigration attorneys to make sure our clients receive access to necessary services and benefits. Our growing Civil Justice Practice provides a full range of legal services to our clients. The unit has was designed to provide legal assistance to BDS’s clients—identified in-house through our criminal family and immigration defense practices—with an unmet need of representation in the fields of housing, public benefits and economic justice. Philosophically, the unit aims to mitigate the real life consequences of justice system contacts and ensure that criminal or family court contact does not result in broader and often more permanent harm. Finally, in addition to our in-house work, we will engage with the community and hold external educational clinics in close partnership with numerous community-based organizations.
Qualifications
We seek a dynamic lawyer admitted to the NY bar with experience advocating for low-income populations. This experience could be in public benefits hearings, housing court or administrative hearings before City and State agencies. We seek an individual with a demonstrated commitment to immigrant rights, criminal justice, and/or social justice issues. The ideal candidate would also have a strong desire to develop a multi-disciplinary practice and be comfortable with an approach dedicated to best serving a population with contacts with the criminal justice system as opposed to focusing on a single practice area. The job requires the ability to proactively solve problems under time pressure, with enthusiasm, and with the strongest commitment to clients. The applicant must possess a demonstrated ability to perform nuanced legal research and writing, clear and effective oral advocacy skills, , be a team player willing to collaborate with other attorneys working with the same client, and , and have the organizational skills required to manage their own case load and represent numerous clients in multiple forums at the same time. A clinical or professional background in family, housing immigration, and/or criminal law is preferred. Experience in SSI and other SSA hearings is strongly preferred. Language(s): Fluency in a second language is preferred.
Juris Doctorate, bar admission in New York, commitment to social justice.
Applicants should email a cover letter, resume, references, and a writing sample to Sergio Jimenez at [email protected]. Include "BDS Civil Justice Attorney" in the subject line. No phone calls, please.