Litigation & Advocacy Director
Neighborhood Legal Services Program (NLSP), a private, non-profit law firm that provides high quality civil legal services to low-income residents of the District of Columbia from three offices, seeks a Litigation and Advocacy Director (LAD). NLSP has a long tradition of fighting for justice, combining direct representation to protect essential rights and opportunities for low-income DC residents with efforts to achieve broad-based impact.
The LAD is NLSP’s senior lawyer, whose overall mandate is to develop and maintain strategically focused, high quality and high impact legal work. The LAD will directly supervise attorneys who practice in the areas of housing, consumer and employment law as well as NLSP’s Managing Attorneys and will have supervisory responsibility for all of NLSP’s complex litigation and advocacy activities. The LAD must have prior housing law experience.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Directly supervise NLSP’s housing, consumer and employment law practices. This includes conducting regular file reviews, annual evaluations and day-to-day mentoring of staff attorneys and rotating “loaned associates” from a DC law firm. May have occasional cases of own.
- Develop, support and oversee NLSP’s affirmative litigation in federal and state courts. The LAD may serve as lead counsel, co-counsel or an advisor to attorneys to discharge this responsibility.
- Approve and participate in appellate work.
- Identify, shape and guide NLSP’s broad-based/high impact advocacy efforts.
- Play leadership role in developing and implementing litigation skills and substantive training programs.
- Ensure adherence to program and case handling standards, funder requirements and the highest professional standards.
- Participate in meetings and other activities of NLSP’s Management team.
- Work effectively with leadership and staff of the DC legal services community to coordinate litigation and advocacy.
- Serve as a resource on professional responsibility, ethical and procedural issues for attorneys.
- Establish and implement program policies relating to legal work.
- Work closely with NLSP’s Pro Bono counsel to promote community engagement strategies and use of volunteers in a manner that furthers NLSP’s overall advocacy goals and strengthens its capacity to serve clients.
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Other responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director.
Salary – Depends upon experience; excellent benefits.Reports to – NLSP Executive Director
Qualifications:
- JD, member in good standing of the DC Bar or eligible to waive into the DC Bar
- Prior substantial experience litigating housing cases
- Seven years of experience as a practicing attorney in a legal services environment preferred
- Experience as lead lawyer in complex state or federal litigation (federal litigation experience highly desirable)
- Appellate experience highly desirable
- Experience leading advocacy efforts other than litigation highly desirable
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Cross-cultural competence
- Management or supervisory experience
- A strong work ethic and commitment to working with a team
- Commitment to a flexible, comprehensive view of representation on behalf of low income people that values both individual and systemic advocacy
- Ability to identify and respond to shifting trends in legal practice and policies affecting the poor
- Other responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director
Submit letter of interest, resume, contact information for three professional references and two writing samples to: nlsp@nlsp.org. The position will remain open until filled; however, interested applicants are encouraged to submit applications by September 14, 2015.
NLSP is an equal opportunity employer.
It is the Neighborhood Legal Services Program policy that no employee or applicant for employment or services will be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, family responsibilities or family status, veteran’s status, or any other basis prohibited by law, including the DC Human Rights Act and Language Access Act. Applicants with diverse economic, social, cultural experiences, or relevant language skills are encouraged to apply.