Employment Opportunities

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc, (“NLS”) the largest provider of free civil legal services in Western New York, is seeking to hire attorneys to join our Medical-Legal Partnership (“MLP”) program, a cutting-edge model of legal service delivery spanning all of NLS’ substantive practice areas through a lens of individual and public health.

NLS, a trauma-informed workplace, has partnered with multiple local community healthcare providers to deliver wraparound civil legal services to underserved communities.  Our MLP work aims to improve health outcomes for low-income members of our community by providing legal solutions to health-harming legal needs. Your clients will include people living with low incomes, disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people experiencing homelessness.  The attorney selected for this position will have the unique opportunity to gain experience and provide representation across multiple practice areas.

As an MLP Neighborhood Legal Services attorney you will have the opportunity to do the following:

• Direct legal services work: Provide a spectrum of legal assistance from advice & counsel to full representation for our clients in a wide-range of civil legal matters, including areas such as housing, family, public benefits, health insurance, Social Security, basic estate/life planning work, and advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community;
• Establish and maintain partner referral networks: Establish and/or maintain NLS’ onsite presence with one of our partner providers, coordinate with our provider partners to assure effective referrals and holistic service delivery and to identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ rights and address these challenges;
• Training: Conduct community outreach, education and training for and with our provider partners; and
• Develop relationships: engage in collaborations with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing our client community.

Core Competencies:

• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision;
• Willingness to handle a case load involving varying areas of practice, to address the legal needs of low-income people, and to find the health-harming barriers to optimal health-outcomes our clients face;
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof‐reading skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic and multi‐sector team;
• Curious and self‐directed with an ability to anticipate client and healthcare partner needs;
• Cultural humility in working with low‐income clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio‐economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and limited English proficiency; and
• Familiarity with diverse communities.

Salary and Benefits

• $60,387 to $98,981 per year salary, dependent upon experience and in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (law graduates pending admission are welcome to apply).
• Full-time position with a 35-hour work week and shorter summer hours.
• Excellent benefits including health, dental and vision insurance, 3 weeks of vacation, 12 paid holidays plus paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s, sick and personal leave, eligibility for public student loan forgiveness, paid $50,000 life insurance, pension plan, HSA and Flexible Spending Accounts, and paid memberships.

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited law school, membership in New York State Bar or pending admission.
• Applicants are expected to have knowledge of legal principles of civil practice
• Strong personal work ethic, interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team;
• Ability to organize and meet deadlines with minimal supervision, effective communication; and
• Cultural competency to work with clients challenged by poverty across the spectrum of diversity.

How to Apply

Please send resume, cover letter, 3 references, and a writing sample to [email protected] and lwaters@nls.org, with the subject line “MLP Attorney Application.”

Organization Overview

 

Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) is the largest provider of civil legal services in Western New York, with a central office in Buffalo and offices in Batavia, Lockport, and Niagara Falls. NLS helps thousands of clients each year in many different areas. We represent clients who are about to be evicted or need money for food or rent. We represent victims of domestic violence, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and veterans. We represent people with disabilities who cannot work or are trying to return to the work world. We help children with profound physical disabilities who need medical equipment to live day-to-day. We invite you to use your talents and skills to help people and change systems

 

Summary of Responsibilities:

Maintains a caseload serving low-income clients relating to Housing law, including evictions, conditions and discrimination. Handles all aspects of legal representation including client contact, pleading preparation, research, file maintenance, working with support staff, and hearing and trial work. Implements grant and contract requirements through casework and fosters pro bono involvement with the private bar.

 

Essential Responsibilities / Functions:

• Provide a spectrum of legal assistance from advice/counsel by phone to affirmative litigations in a wide range of issues;
• Identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ rights and address these challenges through affirmative advocacy, impact litigation, and policy work;
• Collaborate and coordinate with other NLS staff and community partners to assure effective referrals and holistic service delivery;
• Conduct community outreach, education and training;
• Ensure that all written work product is grammatically correct, carefully edited, well written, and appropriate for its audience;
• Develop relationships and engage in collaborations with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing our client community;
• Demonstrate cultural competency to work with low‐income clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio‐economic status, age, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and limited English proficiency;
• Develop a substantive knowledge of all areas of law that impact our clients;
• Maintain a current knowledge of developments in law, civil procedure, and civil litigation law and strategies; and
• Develop a substantive knowledge of the social and economic forces that create poverty and inequality in the United States.

Consistent demonstration of proficient skills, including the following:

• Communicate with clients (including groups of clients), co-workers, community partners, opposing counsel, judges and court staff effectively;
• Analyze applicable legal issues, perform legal research skills, plan case strategy;
• Gather facts, give appropriate advice and referral, draft all necessary documents, negotiate settlements if appropriate;
• Try cases effectively in city, county, state and/or federal court and administrative hearings;
• Address issues in a timely manner;
• Organize and maintain appropriate documentation of activities;
• Show commitment to bringing justice to low-income WNY residents.
• Use computers as needed, including word processing and email;
• Demonstrate good judgment, ability to handle stress, and initiative on a consistent basis,
• Demonstrate a willingness to work as a team, and an overall positive attitude;
• Engage in progressively more complex litigation and show creativity in advocacy;
• Maintain contacts with community agencies and local client groups;
• Speak to community groups and others and prepare materials for presentation;
• Prioritize and implement NLS policies and procedures appropriately;
• Follow instructions from a supervisor; and
• Other appropriate functions when necessary.

 

Core Competencies

• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision;
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof‐reading skills, with ability to be detail‐oriented;
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic and multi‐sector team;
• Curious and self‐directed with an ability to anticipate client and healthcare partner needs;
• Cultural humility in working with low‐income clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio‐economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and limited English proficiency; and
• Familiarity with the diverse communities is a plus.

 

Salary and Benefits

• $60,387 to $98,981 per year salary, dependent upon experience and in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (law graduates pending admission are welcome to apply).
• Full-time position with a 35-hour work week and shorter summer hours.
• Excellent benefits including health, dental and vision insurance, 3 weeks of vacation, 12 paid holidays plus paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s, sick and personal leave, eligibility for public student loan forgiveness, paid $50,000 life insurance, pension plan, HSA and Flexible Spending Accounts, and paid memberships.

 

Qualifications

• J.D. and New York State Bar Membership (may be pending)
• Previous experience working with low-income and/or underserved communities preferred
• Second language fluency preferred
• Legal services background, or knowledge of general civil legal work;

 

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Work in an office environment including working at workstation, attending meetings;
• Traveling to meetings and hearings off-site;
• Use of computer and other office machines such as fax, photocopiers and telephones; and
• Ability to work in the evenings and weekends as required to serve clients.

 

How to Apply

Please send resume, cover letter, 3 references, and a writing sample to [email protected]  with the subject line “Housing Attorney Application.”