Managing Attorney for Eviction Defense Team

In December of 2021, the Heartland Center played a pivotal role in winning Right to Counsel for all Kansas City tenants facing eviction. Now, we are expanding our team of attorneys to help carry out the work. We started doing eviction work in 2017 and have been on the frontlines of the eviction crisis ever since. We are finally seeing some real relief for tenants, who were previously evicted swiftly and en masse. We have stopped nearly 500 evictions from occurring since 2020 and have helped other organizations stop many more.

We are seeking an experienced attorney to oversee a talented team of four eviction defense lawyers housed within the Heartland Center. A brief overview of the position and duties includes:

· Learn and master Missouri housing law;
· Meet weekly with the eviction defense team to conduct case reviews;
· Assign cases to attorneys;
· Help attorneys develop legal strategy around their cases;
· Review and revise attorneys’ court fillings;
· Handle bench trials and motion hearings with attorneys;
· Help identify legal challenges that can strengthen tenants’ rights and establish favorable law in the courts of appeal;
· Help coordinate court hearings and tenant outreach.

The Heartland Center does eviction work because it so deeply impacts low-wage workers, who constantly fall behind on rent despite working hard for multi-billion dollar industries. It is our mission to create opportunities for low-wage workers to learn and exercise their rights, realize their collective power, and develop the leadership skills necessary to advocate for a racially and economically just society.

For those unfamiliar with this area: Kansas City is an extremely diverse, liberal city with a lively art, theater, food, and music scene. We have a rich history of worker and tenant organizing. Because the midwest and south play such an important role in determining the direction of our nation this is also an extremely important and impactful place to do social justice work.