Staff Attorneys - Multiple Positions, Multiple Offices

Staff Attorneys – Multiple Positions, Multiple Offices

Areas of Law may include:
Consumer, Barriers to Employment, Housing, Family & Public Benefits
Please see our website for more information about the specific positions available

Application Due Date:
We will review applicants on a rolling basis.

LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN: We are a large and vibrant non-profit law firm funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Victim of Crime Act funding, the Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, and many other sources. Each year, we provide free legal aid to about 9,000 – 12,000 low-income persons in Wisconsin’s southern 39 counties with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Oshkosh, Green Bay, and La Crosse. In addition, the firm operates a statewide farmworker project and a statewide legal aid to victims of human trafficking project. Most of our work is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer, family law, and victim rights.

OFFICE LOCATIONS: Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. (Legal Action) has openings in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Green Bay, Oshkosh and LaCrosse. Applicants should clearly state their preferred office assignment and whether they will consider employment in any other office in their cover letter.

AREA OF LAW: Since we have staff attorney positions open in multiple areas of law, applicants should clearly state their preference(s) for practice area and whether they would like to be considered for any other positions in their cover letter.

FLEX WORK: Legal Action will consider requests for flex work (remote work, compressed scheduling, or a combination.) However, these attorney positions will be required to be in the physical office for at least part of the work week. The incumbents will work with the Managing Attorney (and other supervisor, if applicable) on their flex work needs and requests.

AVAILABILITY OF POSITIONS: Immediate.

Legal Action believes that equal justice under the Legal Action can only be achieved through 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.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Legal Action staff attorneys are responsible for providing high quality and aggressive representation of clients in individual service cases and to undertake impact litigation and/or other advocacy (that which has impact on groups of low-income persons or the systems that have the most effect on the low-income community) and for performing all duties associated with such representation.
2. Attorneys must stay current with the areas of law that pertain to the low-income community as they change and develop, particularly in their area of specialization.
3. Attorneys are expected to share responsibility for the development and maintenance of good working relationships with community groups and with state and local bar associations and others.
4. Attorneys will be called upon to provide training and other assistance to volunteers who participate in Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyer Project.
5. Attorneys may perform some intake duties and, where necessary, make appropriate referrals to other community agencies.
6. All staff attorneys are responsible for serving on at least one of Legal Action’s Priority Committees: Housing; Employment; Consumer; Public Benefits; and Family. These priority committees are comprised of Legal Action staff practicing in those areas of law. They meet quarterly to discuss trends in the law and to strategize the firm’s work on particular matters and issues.
7. Staff 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, working in a stationary position for an extended period, operating a computer, and using a telephone. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision of a computer screen. This position may require driving a motor vehicle while seated for short trips and/or extensive travel. This position requires occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, and stooping to retrieve various items and materials and the need to exert up to 10 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, or otherwise move objects.

GOVERNANCE: Attorneys in our Madison office will be represented for collective bargaining by the United Legal Workers, a unit of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), UAW Local 2320, AFL-CIO. Legal Action’s personnel policies will govern where no provision is covered by the collective bargaining agreement, and the personnel policies are subject to unilateral change by the Legal Action Board of Directors.

Legal Action’s personnel policies govern the staff attorney positions in the, Milwaukee, Racine, La Crosse, Green Bay and Oshkosh offices. All personnel policies and salaries and benefits (for unrepresented employees) are subject to change by Legal Action’s Board of Directors.

SALARY:
Milwaukee, Racine, La Crosse, Green Bay and Oshkosh Office Staff Attorneys:
A Tier 1 staff attorney with 0 – 1 years of relevant work experience in these offices will earn a salary $50,000. A Tier 1 staff attorney in these offices with 4 - 5 years of relevant work experience in these offices will earn a salary of $60,500. A Tier 1 staff attorney in these offices with 9 – 10 years of relevant work experience will earn a salary of $75,500. 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.

Madison Office Staff Attorneys: As set forth by the collective bargaining agreement with the United Legal Workers, a unit of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), UAW Local 2320, AFL-CIO, the Madison office staff attorney, an attorney with 0 – 1 years of relevant experience would receive an annual salary of $45,727. An attorney with 5 years of experience relevant experience would earn a salary of $52,347. An attorney with 10 years of experience would earn a salary of $58,967. Salaries are not negotiable and will follow this scale. In addition, the position generally receives an annual step increase, subject to approval of the Board of Directors. The collective bargaining agreement expires on 5/31/22 and Legal Action and ULW will be bargaining a new agreement.

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 provides a generous fringe benefits package for this position, including employer-paid health and dental insurance for employees and eligible dependents with no premium contribution by the employee (Employees are required to contribute $200/month to the health insurance premium if the spouse has group health insurance available from the spouse’s employer and the employee elects to cover the spouse on the Legal Action health plan.) Legal Action also provides life and long-term disability insurance, a profit-sharing retirement plan, salary deferral options for retirement planning, low-cost employee-paid vision coverage, four weeks of annual leave per year, four days of personal leave, generous sick leave accrual, and four weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD: New hires in these positions are subject to a probationary period of 12 months. Newly hired attorneys are eligible to accrue and use their leave and other benefits during their probationary period. Legal Action may extend this probationary period.

REIMBURSEMENT FOR RELOCATION EXPENSES: Reimbursement for some relocation expenses may be available.