School & Juvenile Law Attorney

Job description

Under general direction of the Earl Carl Institute Director and the law school Dean, the Staff Attorney acts as attorney for the Juvenile Justice Project providing legal representation of juveniles involved in the juvenile justice, school discipline, and foster care systems from intake to litigation. This position also proves oversight of all ECI youth based initiatives.

Responsibilities

Provides legal representation in the Earl Carl Institute Juvenile Justice Project cases from intake to litigation.
Supervises, assesses and structures the practice work of students working as investigators or providing other legal support on school discipline or juvenile court cases being handled by the attorney.
Responsible for direct case handling, to include communication with courts, clients, opposing counsel and other professionals as well as filing pleading and participating in motions hearings and trials.
Conducts legal investigations and provides advice to juveniles involved in delinquency cases, school disciplinary actions and foster care proceedings. Drafts and files motions and pleadings in state court on behalf of clients of the law school clinic. Responsible for all aspects of the litigation of cases.
Responsible for development of educational and outreach programs in furtherance of ECI’s Youth related work. Also, supports research, writing, oral advocacy and other reform efforts related to school discipline and the criminalization of students.
Handles administrative activities associated with the JJP as directed by an Associate Director or Executive Director.
Provide day-to-day support on advocacy initiatives, and facilitation of the Safe and Supportive Schools Collaborative (SSSC)
Attends events and meetings with community partners who work in youth justice, school reform, and criminal justice spacesBuilds and maintains relationships with community partners
Coordinates research and other activities, including data collection and analysis, with partners to minimize redundancies and to align strategies and actions, including conducting individual outreach and education as needed
Works with Executive Director to coordinate with other related projects and coalitions (i.e. in the same field) to maintain a full understanding of the current landscape of local and regional activities, and integrating their work into Steering Committee and workgroup processes
Develops, maintains, and monitors set of pending and potential policy priorities from the SSSC Strategic Plan, to support development of annual legislative agenda, policy and funding recommendations
Provides support to partner organizations in aligning their work to the Strategic Plan (e.g., identifying opportunities for program work to support specific goals)
Coordinates advocacy supporting activities of partners
Performs other job-related duties as required.

Qualifications
EDUCATION, Juris Doctor (J.D) degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited Law school.
LICENSED to practice by the State Bar of Texas.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Requires a minimum of one year of practice experience, with strong preference given to candidates with substantial experience in Juvenile practice, school disciplinary actions and special education law and Criminal Law defense

SKILLS
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Ability to work with a diverse multi-cultural population of clients, students and staff
Ability to use personal computers and Microsoft Office software and case managment software