Director of Litigation
The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, Florida’s sexual assault coalition, seeks a Director of Litigation. The Director of Litigation is responsible for providing civil legal assistance to sexual violence survivors in the state of Florida, supervising staff, and working with certified rape crisis centers and system-based agencies to uphold the rights of sexual assault survivors.
FCASV’s legal services program office is in Tampa, though services are provided statewide.
About FCASV
We envision a world free of sexual violence in which individuals together assure that all human beings are treated with dignity and respect for their physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual integrity.
Sexual Violence shatters lives, wounds communities and perpetuates injustice. The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence leads, informs, and inspires the people of Florida to create safe and just communities.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Coordinate all aspects of case management up to and including trial.
2. Provide competent and zealous civil legal advocacy for victims of sexual violence in areas including, but not limited to, safety, privacy, education, housing, employment, immigration, or financial issues, as well as victims’ rights advocacy.
3. Assist in development of and implementation of outreach throughout the state to ensure that sexual violence survivors in need of civil legal services are identified and properly referred to the Sexual Violence Legal Services project.
4. Participate in regular conference calls with pro bono attorneys, outside counsel, sexual violence victim advocates, and others to ensure competent representation of survivors and strengthen outreach.
5. Complete and submit performance reports as directed by the Associate Director/General Counsel.
6. Attend and participate in staff meetings and in-service trainings and perform other duties as assigned by the Associate Director/General Counsel.
7. Management oversight of legal services team, including:
a. Weekly case review meetings.
b. Assigning client cases, as appropriate, to legal staff and pro bono attorneys.
c. Supervising/mentoring legal volunteers, paralegals, and others, including one-on-one meetings, as needed.
d. Ensuring the written policies for legal services team (e.g., confidentiality policy, referral policies, serving minor clients, etc.) are up-to-date, consistent with State and Federal laws.
e. Ensuring the legal services team is following established policies.
f. Maintaining a consistent system of case management and conflict checks procedures.
8. Supervise legal interns from.
9. Assist Associate Director/General Counsel in expansion of legal services program throughout the state.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
This description of physical demands reflects management’s assessment of essential functions; it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals living with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to remain stationary, constantly operate a computer and other office productivity machinery such as copier/scanner, and computer printer. The person in this position frequently communicates with coworkers, funders, certified rape crisis program staff, and allied professionals and must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. The person in this position needs to occasionally move about inside the workplace to access file cabinets, office equipment, etc. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to ten pounds. This job requires the ability to travel to and from various locations within the State of Florida.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The work environment is that of a typical indoor office with windows, with some staff in the office five days/week and others working remotely some or all the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
REQUIREMENTS AT ENTRY:
1. Juris Doctorate; active member in good standing with the Florida Bar.
2. Experience practicing law for a minimum of 5 years, with preference given to applicants with experience providing civil legal representation.
3. Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to issues impacting victims of sexual violence.
4. Demonstrated experience working with victims of violence and commitment to pursuing justice through an anti-oppression lens.
5. Demonstrated understanding of how the overlap of various social identities (race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, etc.) contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual.
6. Commitment to recognizing and examining the ways in which one’s identity, and the identities of others, play out within the workplace.
7. Ability and willingness to work with people of different nationalities, gender, education, and experience.
8. Commitment to providing trauma-informed and professional services to victims and survivors who have experienced or are experiencing the effects of trauma.
9. Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate professionally with individuals of varying backgrounds and educational levels.
10. Ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced setting.
11. Strong attention to organization, detail, and accuracy.
12. Flexibility and ability to work independently.
13. Fluency in Spanish highly preferred.
14. Ability to travel required and occasional overnight travel may be included with this position. Must have valid Florida driver’s license and own means of transportation.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Jennifer L. Dritt, Executive Director, at [email protected], including “Director of Litigation” in the subject line. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis; initial review of applications will begin on January 18, 2022. Position will be open until filled. No phone calls, please.
FCASV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. FCASV is committed to the practice of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at FCASV are based on agency needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national, social, or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, familial status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and/or expression.