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Director- Housing Unit

Description: 

Brooklyn Legal Services seeks a Director for its Housing Law Unit. The Housing Law Unit preserves affordable housing for Brooklyn’s low-income communities by preventing evictions, collaborating with community based organizations, and commencing affirmative litigation to challenge abusive and discriminatory behaviors that displace low-income families and eliminate affordable housing. The Unit is expanding its anti-displacement advocacy, focused on supporting Brooklyn communities facing rapid gentrification. Recent affirmative cases and community projects include a Fair Housing case against a landlord with a record of harassing Black tenants, numerous cases that seek to maintain the affordability of buildings that received tax breaks, and a coordinated campaign to protect rent regulated tenants in buildings in foreclosure.

Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS), part of Legal Services NYC, provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population. BLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients—preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income supports, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for the disabled.

The Director will be responsible for working with staff to develop a strategic vision for the Unit’s work and devising creative, high impact advocacy strategies to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement. The Director will collaborate with the Unit’s four Deputy Directors to supervise the Unit’s 30 attorneys and paralegals on a range of litigation including individual and group representation in Housing Court, administrative proceedings, and affirmative litigation in State and Federal Court. The Director will be responsible for supporting the housing advocacy of BLS’ population-based practices, including the HIV/LGBT and Elder Law units and the Veterans Justice

Project. The Director will also be responsible for strengthening relationships with community partners and elected officials; addressing systemic housing issues that perpetuate poverty; and handling administrative and grant responsibilities. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with a demonstrated ability to jump-start litigation or community-based campaigns and to collaborate with other staff to see such initiatives through to fruition. The Director will be expected to work collaboratively with and provide leadership for LSNYC’s city-wide housing practice.

 

Requirements: 

Experience and Qualifications

We seek an attorney admitted to the New York State Bar with:

  • A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance racial and economic equity;
  • Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills;
  • Strong interpersonal and organizational skills and the ability to provide supportive and consistent supervision to attorneys, paralegals, and support staff in a fast paced and high-volume practice;
  • Minimum of 5 years of litigation experience;
  • Fluency or strong proficiency preferred in Spanish, Russian, Haitian-Creole, Mandarin, or Cantonese;
  • Background in organizing or working with low-income communities preferred; and
  • Demonstrated expertise in housing law and policy, or experience with complex litigation.
To Apply: 

Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples to bkhiring@sbls.org. Please write “Housing Director” in the subject line of the email.

For more information, please contact Meghan Faux, Acting Project Director, at mfaux@sbls.org or (718) 246-3276

Legal Services NYC offers a generous benefits package. Salary is commensurate with experience. Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and people over the age of 40 are strongly encouraged to apply.

Job #36-2015; Posted: 5/14/15

Information

Submission Deadline: 
August 26, 2015
Organization Information: 
Legal Services NYC
United States