New Mexico Legal Aid Seeks Attorney to Be Assistant Director for Statewide Intake Team
New Mexico Legal Aid (NMLA), the state's largest provider of civil legal services for low-income clients is seeking an Assistant Director of the Intake, Referral and Advice Unit to work with the director and the New Mexico Legal Aid staff.
This position can be based anywhere within the state of New Mexico in close proximity to one of the New Mexico Legal Aid established offices. The successful Applicant must be able to work with many areas of the law, including: family law (including domestic violence), landlord/tenant, foreclosure, public benefits, employment and wage theft problems, low-income taxpayer disputes, and consumer law. There will also be applicants whose questions involve tribal law, veterans issues, agricultural worker issues, and other civil law problems. The successful applicant need not have the entire spectrum of experience at the outset, but must be a committed learner.
The successful applicant must also become familiar with requirements of NMLA funders. NMLA has multiple and varied funding sources, many of which have specific requirements. The Legal Services Corporation is our main funder with a specific set of regulations. Other federal and state funding sources have special requirements.
The successful applicant will learn to conduct consultations with the staff of the Statewide Intake, Referral & Advice Unit throughout the day in the following areas:
From Intake Screener/Specialists regarding:
Potential conflicts of interest,
Whether Applicant's legal situation is within program case priorities and, if not, identifying alternative resources which might be provided to the Applicants
Financial eligibility factors;
Citizenship/Immigration eligibility factors;
Complex potential conflict situations;
Review of new intakes for potential assignment to staff, including
Notifying staff of urgent applicant situations;
Managerial-level review of intakes recommended for rejection
Consultation requests are posed throughout the entire working day. Currently 5 of the 6 attorneys assigned to the Statewide Intake, Referral & Advice Unit assist with the above described duties on a limited basis and one other Managing Attorney assists the Unit's Managing Attorney with processing Income & Asset Waiver requests on a part-time basis and this new Assistant Director will assume these responsibilities.
The Intake Team is fast-paced and requires quick and confident decision-making about the best response that can be given to a client. The position requires an experienced, innovative, and highly motivated person who is passionate about justice and strongly committed to helping NMLA better serve our client community, including effective use of web-based systems and other technologies to deliver legal assistance. At least five years prior experience in a legal aid program or other relevant practice environment is preferred. Working knowledge of the Case Management System, LegalServer, is a plus.
Candidates must be attorneys licensed in New Mexico or licensed in another state and eligible for admission by reciprocity admission and/or limited licensing to providers of legal aid. Candidates must possess excellent written and oral communication skills, the ability to manage multiple tasks, occasionally accept cases for advice and referrals, and build collaborative relationships within the staff. Proficiency in Spanish or tribal languages spoken in New Mexico is a plus.
Send a current resume and a brief (two pages maximum) letter of interest explaining what you would like to accomplish if you are selected for this position to: [email protected]