Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. (LAW) is seeking to fill one full-time staff attorney position in our Student Legal Aid Project based at Milwaukee Area Technical College. The Student Legal Aid Project is focused on eliminating legal barriers to employment, including driver’s license recovery, record and conviction expungement, and debt for technical college students. This position coordinates and supervises pro bono clinics, pro bono law students, and paralegal students. This is a full-time position (40 hours/week).
LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN, INC.
Legal Action is a large, vibrant non-profit law firm funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, and other sources. Legal Action provides free legal aid to about 9,000 – 12,000 low-income persons annually in the southern 39 counties of Wisconsin with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Oshkosh, Green Bay and La Crosse. In addition, LAW operates a statewide farmworker project, and several other state-wide projects serving crime victims, including victims of sex and labor trafficking. LAW attorneys have expertise in a range of substantive areas, but the majority of our work is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer law, and family law. Legal Action attorneys specialize in specific areas of poverty law, maintain a direct service caseload on behalf of individual clients, and engage in law reform litigation and other impact work.
Legal Action believes that equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and people with life experiences or educational backgrounds that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid.
OFFICE LOCATION
The Milwaukee Area Office staff is housed at 633 W. Wisconsin Avenue and is comprised of 39 attorneys, 19 paralegals, and 13 other management, administrative, professional, and technical staff. Intake is done by telephone, on a walk-in basis, or at neighborhood outstations in Milwaukee and Waukesha. The Milwaukee Area Office also houses the Legal Action administrative staff, the SeniorLAW Project, the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic and a Volunteer Lawyers Project. Two attorneys are located at the Center for Driver’s License Recovery & Employment at Milwaukee Area Technical College and one attorney, and one paralegal are housed at the Student Legal Aid Project at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Due to COVID-19, Legal Action is limiting in-office and on-site work as much as possible; we prioritize staff and client safety by offering telecommuting options, flexible work hours, and remote access to job responsibilities.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The project is based at Milwaukee Area Technical College and Madison College and has expanded services to technical colleges throughout the state including Moraine Park, Southwest Tech, Western Tech, Northeastern Wisconsin Tech, and Gateway. The SLA (Student Legal Aid) recruits, trains, and supervises pro bono attorneys, law students, and paralegal students to expand legal services for low-income students who need record or conviction expungement, pardons, driver’s license recovery, and/or bankruptcy.
The Staff Attorney works closely with the Supervising Attorney and Project Paralegal to coordinate services among project partners, including the technical colleges, Wisconsin Community Services, other legal aid providers, court staff and social services agencies in implementing and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the project.
The Staff Attorney will coordinate in-person, virtual, and hybrid pro bono clinics on multiple technical college campuses, community partners, and will be on-site at MATC’s downtown campus. Adhering to the firm’s Attorney Performance Standards, the Staff Attorney provides representation in Circuit and Municipal Courts and case management.
All staff attorneys will be expected to perform intake duties and, where necessary, make appropriate referrals to other community agencies. Each staff attorney is responsible for serving on at least one Priority Committee.
Attorneys will be assigned additional duties, including participation and training in race equity alignment and anti-racism; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and effects of trauma and trauma-informed care.
COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY
At Legal Action of Wisconsin, health and safety is a top priority. We require all new, unrepresented employees and interns, law clerks, volunteers, and contractors from employment agencies or consulting firms to have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations and booster and to provide medical proof from Wisconsin’s Immunization Registry or from a medical provider of their fully vaccinated status as a condition of employment with Legal Action of Wisconsin within 28 days of their first day of employment. Individuals may request a medical or religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Exemption requests must be completed and approved on or before the first day of employment.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
This position involves sedentary work, including sitting at a desk on a computer for an extended period. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a regular basis to lift, carry, push, or otherwise move objects. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and/or laptop keyboard and use a telephone. Drives a motor vehicle while seated for extended periods of time. Occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, and stooping involved to retrieve various items and materials. This position works in an environmentally controlled office environment with moderate noise from phones, printers, and light office traffic in the LAW office.
Legal Action employees are required to wear a mask that always complies with CDC recommendations when is a Legal Action office or when representing Legal Action in a professional capacity.
SALARY
As set forth in Legal Action’s Salary Administration Plan, from hire until 5/31/22, a staff attorney with 0 – 1 years of relevant work experience would earn a salary of $45,727. A staff attorney with 5 years of relevant work experience would earn a salary of $52,347 from hire until 5/31/22. A staff attorney with 10 years of relevant work experience would earn a salary of $58,967 from hire until 5/31/22. Salaries are not negotiable will follow this scale.
Legal Action’s Salary Administration Plan also increases salaries for staff attorneys and creates Tier 1 Staff Attorney and Tier 2 Staff Attorney salary ladders, beginning on 6/1/22. After 6/1/22, a Tier 1 staff attorney with 0 – 1 years of relevant work experience will earn a salary $50,000. A Tier 1 staff attorney with 4 - 5 years of relevant work experience will earn a salary of $60,500. A Tier 1 staff attorney with 9 – 10 years of relevant work experience will earn a salary of $75,500. (Tier 1 and Tier 2 duties and qualifications are not yet determined.) Legal Action’s salary plan provides for annual step increases as long as the attorney is meeting performance expectations. Salaries are not negotiable and will follow this scale.
SPANISH OR HMONG LANGUAGE FLUENCY PREMIUM
In addition, Legal Action’s Salary Administration Plan includes additional pay for those employees who are fluent in Spanish or Hmong and utilize their language skills in performing their work. Legal Action is currently developing the structure for the language differential pay.
FRINGE BENEFITS
Legal Action offers a generous fringe benefit package, including employer-paid health and dental for employees and eligible dependents. Some employees are required to contribute to the health insurance premium for their spouse, if the spouse has group health insurance provided by their employer. Legal Action also provides life, and long-term disability insurance; a 401K retirement plan, a profit-sharing plan; and four weeks of vacation leave, four days of personal leave per year and 12 days of sick leave per year. New employees and any employee classified as part-time, receive a pro-rated allotment of annual (vacation), personal and sick leave upon hire. The firm also provides four (4) weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees.
GOVERNANCE AND SUPERVISION
The position is subject to a probationary period of up to one year. This position is governed by Legal Action of Wisconsin’s personnel policies which are subject to unilateral change by the Legal Action Board of Directors. As with any Legal Action position, there is no guaranteed period of employment and employment is “at will,” subject to termination at any time.
This position will be supervised by Attorney Megan Sprecher, Supervising Attorney for Student Legal Aid.
• J.D. Required, license in Wisconsin upon hire.
• A minimum of 1 year’s legal practice experience.
• Strong communication skills to engage key stakeholders, clients, and pro bono attorneys.
• Ability to manage a high-volume case load.
• Ability to prioritize and organize resources while maintaining quality and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with courtroom procedure (state and municipal) desired.
• Possess a valid driver’s license and maintain it throughout employment.
• Excellent oral and written communication, organizational, interpersonal, and multitasking skills.
• Commitment to inclusion of all, including our clients’ and our staff members’ race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstances.
• Willingness and enthusiasm for staffing and providing clinics during weekends and evenings.
Applicants must submit the following materials via Legal Action of Wisconsin’s online applicant portal by using this link: https://secure.entertimeonline.com/ta/7988.careers?ApplyToJob=436376724
• A cover letter summarizing qualification and interest in the position.
• Resume.
• A recent legal writing sample.
• The names and contact information for three professional references.
• Law school transcript which is required for applicants who graduated in 2019 or later
Please submit and upload all the documents required. If the required documents are not submitted on or before the deadline, your application will be considered incomplete, and we will not be able to consider you for this position.
Attorney Maggie Niebler-Brown, Volunteer Lawyers Project Director, is the hiring manager for this position.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
The position will be open until filled. To ensure early consideration, please submit application materials no later than midnight Friday, April 1, 2022.
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