New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) seeks a Domestic Violence Advocacy Project (DVAP) Staff Attorney based in our Claremont office. We are open to a hybrid work arrangement. We are eager to fill this position as soon as possible.
NHLA is a statewide organization and the DVAP Staff Attorney will be responsible for providing DVAP legal services under NHLA’s Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) grant initiative, an interdisciplinary project with WISE, which provides crisis services to and advocates for victims/survivors of gender-based violence in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley region. The LAV grant initiative focuses on serving victims/survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking who experience mental illness and/or have a history of substance misuse. Clients receive a holistic array of services from both WISE and NHLA.
The DVAP Staff Attorney will provide holistic and trauma-informed representation to victims/survivors referred by WISE. Representation focuses primarily on divorce and parenting matters, but can include other related civil legal issues. The DVAP Staff Attorney will work closely with WISE staff members, including providing consultation and training around legal issues. The DVAP staff attorney will also be responsible for community engagement and education in the WISE service area, including building partnerships with culturally specific community groups, courts, and police departments.
NHLA has a remote work policy, and as noted above, will consider a mix of remote and on-site work for this position. All NHLA staff members are provided with the necessary equipment (such as laptop computers) to work from their homes. Travel throughout New Hampshire, concentrated in the Upper Valley region, is a requirement of the position. Occasional travel out of state, for example to national conferences, is anticipated. Travel reimbursement including mileage is provided.
Duties:
- Advise and represent victim/survivor clients in civil protective order cases, divorce and parenting cases, and occasionally in other case types;
- Implement NHLA’s holistic, client-centered approach to civil legal aid, including providing trauma-informed representation (training is provided) and providing culturally-competent representation (training is provided);
- Partner closely with WISE staff to deepen the interdisciplinary partnership between WISE and NHLA, including presenting training programs, leading roundtable discussions, and working to continuously improve both legal and non-legal services to clients;
- Build relationships with other allied organizations providing services to victims/survivors, including implementation of a multidisciplinary team focused on improving outcomes;
- Coordinate and implement the requirements of the LAV grant, including deliverables and reporting;
- Participate as an active member of NHLA’s Claremont office, including a mix of remote work and on-site work.
Position Salary/Benefits:
This is a full-time position. Full-time is defined as 37.5 hours per week. This position is considered exempt for the purpose of federal wage/hour law.
The anticipated salary for the position depends on prior law-related work experience, expected to range from $57,065 per year (for candidates with 0 years of prior law-related work experience) to $66,913 per year (for candidates with 5 years of prior law-related work experience). The position is eligible for the NHLA employee benefits package including medical/dental insurance, retirement plan, and generous paid time off.
- Law degree and license to practice in New Hampshire, or eligibility for immediate admission on motion. If you are not currently licensed in New Hampshire, your cover email should specify your plans for being admitted in advance of or as soon as possible after your start date.
- Ability to travel extensively within New Hampshire.
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within legal teams and with professionals working in other disciplines;
- Commitment to and interest in expanding knowledge about domestic violence, poverty, and access to justice.
- Current technology skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe.
- Experience working alongside NHLA’s client communities and/or experience working with victims/survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking a plus.
- Ability to speak Spanish or another language in addition to English a plus.
Please send your resume with a cover email summarizing your interest in the position and your qualifications to: [email protected]. A separate cover letter is not required in addition to the cover email. We strongly encourage you to apply via email rather than using a third-party application service.
In your cover email, please tell us why you are interested in this position and summarize your qualifications. Please also provide the following information:
- If you are not presently admitted to practice in New Hampshire, your plan for seeking admission. Please note that NHLA will reimburse newly-admitted attorneys for the cost of admission, up to $725.00.
- In light of your current commitments, your preferred timeline for beginning work with NHLA should you accept an offer of employment with our firm. NHLA is eager to fill this position as soon as possible.
- Anything that will help us communicate respectfully with you, including your pronouns, the pronunciation of your name, any communication access needs or reasonable accommodations requested during the hiring process, or any other relevant information.
Application Process and Timeline:
NHLA will appoint an Interview Committee including 2-3 NHLA staff members and the NHLA Human Resources Manager. NHLA occasionally asks people who are not NHLA staff members to serve on an Interview Committee.
We expect the Interview Committee to conduct first interviews with no more than 5 candidates. Interviews are 45 minutes in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate
other scheduling preferences if necessary. Candidates selected for first interviews will receive a list of the interview questions at least 24 hours in advance. No other questions will be asked at the interview, but it is possible that not all questions will be asked if we run out of time. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions at the conclusion of the interview. For candidates who speak a language other than English, a portion of the interview may be conducted in that language, with interpretation provided for other participants as needed.
The Interview Committee will recommend no more than 2 finalist candidates to the Executive Director for second interviews. Second interviews are 30 minutes or shorter in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. The Executive Director may conduct the second interview alone or with 1 other NHLA staff member, who may be a member of the Interview Committee. Questions are not provided in advance for second interviews. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions.
After the second interview, we will ask a single finalist candidate to provide 3 references and a brief writing sample of no more than 10 pages. We will contact the 3 references as quickly as possible, asking all references the same questions. Candidates with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations should they be offered the position are invited to request them, in writing, at this stage of the process.
Based on information gathered in the entire hiring process, we will make an offer to a single candidate with salary and benefits information. The offer is contingent on completion of a criminal record background check as well as a records check through the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services State Registry. Not all criminal records are disqualifying.
Once a candidate has accepted the position, we will notify all candidates who had a first interview (or a first and second interview) that they have not been selected for the position.
Please note that NHLA does not expect to receive thank you notes from candidates selected for first or second interviews and does not place any weight in the hiring process on receiving (or not receiving) thank you notes.