Organizational Background:
Open City Advocates (OCA) provides and promotes a mentoring-enhanced lawyering approach to legal representation and support for children and youth in the juvenile justice system. With this approach as our foundation, we assist our clients to reintegrate into their families and communities while fighting for a fair and compassionate justice system, both in the District of Columbia and nationwide.
OCA provides this mentoring-enhanced lawyering to youth who have been committed to the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). We tackle racial inequity in our juvenile justice system where it is most extreme, as 100% of youth who are committed to DYRS are youth of color. Based on the knowledge we gain from our direct client services, we then spearhead systemic reform efforts to end the revolving door of the juvenile and criminal justice systems, safeguard and expand due process protections, and encourage individualized, trauma-responsive services for court-involved youth. In 2020, the DC Court of Appeals ruled in our favor in our longstanding impact litigation case, In re N.H.M. (224 A.3d 581 (2020)). As a result of this decision, youth in DC’s juvenile justice system now have a clearly established right to an attorney throughout their commitment to DYRS.
To actualize this right to counsel, OCA is launching a pilot project in conjunction with DC’s Family Court as part of its plan to create a Post-Commitment Juvenile Attorney Panel, in which OCA’s staff attorneys will provide specialized, court-appointed representation to youth committed to DYRS. OCA is now hiring two attorneys to implement this pilot. Our other staff members currently consist of our Chief Executive Officer, Penelope Spain, and our Chief Operating Officer, Whitney Louchheim.
Position Overview:
Through zealous representation and holistic mentoring, the Staff Attorney’s primary role is to represent youth committed to DYRS as part of the pilot launch of DC Family Court’s Post-Commitment Juvenile Attorney Panel. As part of this role, the two new Staff Attorneys will work together to hone OCA’s signature model of mentoring-enhanced lawyering to work most effectively in this new pilot structure. Staff Attorneys will also assist in training attorneys who are subsequently admitted to the Family Court’s Post Commitment Juvenile Attorney Panel.
The Staff Attorney is expected to provide effective and trauma-responsive legal representation, which requires accurate and timely case management. This individual also will provide informal advocacy and reentry assistance to OCA’s adult clients.
Lastly, the Staff Attorney will identify client-related issues in need of policy reform, communicate these issues to OCA’s leadership, and will have the opportunity to take part in client-related systemic reform and youth empowerment efforts.
Key Functions & Responsibilities: The Staff Attorney is a full-time position, and will be supported and supervised by OCA’s Chief Operating Officer, Whitney Louchheim.
• Provide client-centered, post-commitment (i.e., post-sentencing) defense, including reentry planning, to OCA’s clients in the delinquency system, incorporating mentoring into all aspects of client interactions.
• Provide informal advocacy, reentry planning, and mentoring to clients who are no longer in the delinquency system.
• Represent youth in court hearings, administrative proceedings, team meetings, reentry meetings, and any appeals of those proceedings.
• Maintain regular contact with clients, family members, caseworkers, and service providers, including regular visits with incarcerated clients.
• Address collateral issues, such as education, employment, housing, immigration, mental health, and record sealing, either directly or through client referrals.
• Formally and informally advocate for clients’ release from secure settings.
• Draft sentencing mitigation letters on behalf of clients as needed.
• For clients returning from both juvenile and adult incarceration, assist clients with comprehensive reentry planning.
• Support the incorporation of youth voice and experience into OCA’s systemic reform efforts.
Number of Clients Served: This is a new pilot project. We estimate each Staff Attorney will handle 20-25 clients with active representation and 10-15 clients with less frequent contact.
Compensation & Benefits:
• Salary is $75,000 - $89,000, depending on experience.
• Benefits include:
o Health benefit allowance.
o Sick leave, three weeks paid vacation, federal and DC holidays including Juneteenth.
o 401(k) matching program (1% after first year, 3% after 5 years).
o Employer-sponsored short and long-term disability after one year.
o Up to 12 weeks of parental leave, and professional development opportunities.
o Flexible, hybrid work schedule with at least 2 days per week in person (office location TBD; will be in DC).
Qualifications:
• Juris Doctorate; membership in the District of Columbia Bar or pending application for admission to the DC Bar through reciprocity.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Collaborative, detail-oriented, and able to work independently.
• 2-3 years of relevant legal experience is strongly preferred, particularly experience in juvenile and/or criminal justice. Relevant law school clinical experience will be considered.
• Experience with the communities and/or demographic of OCA’s clients is also strongly preferred.
• Experience working directly with teens and young adults is a plus.
• Experience in non-profits or government is a plus.
• Experience in a start-up environment is a plus.
How to Apply: Please submit cover letter, resume, and legal writing sample (preferably an advocacy piece) to Whitney Louchheim at [email protected].
Application Deadline: Applications accepted on rolling basis until April 15, 2022. Ideal start date: June 1, 2022.
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