Contact Us

MIE
PO Box 27010, 7782 Crittenden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19118
(267) 277-3404 (phone)

Email Us

Litigation and Advocacy Director

Description: 

Central California Legal Services, Inc. (CCLS) seeks a Litigation and Advocacy Director. The Litigation and advocacy Director reports to the Deputy Director-Legal. The Litigation and Advocacy Director:

●       develops, initiates and shapes major advocacy activities, including litigation and administrative advocacy;

●       directs the litigation work of the CCLS advocacy staff;

●       ensures the delivery to clients of the highest quality legal services;

●       plans, arranges for and manages the training and education of the CCLS advocacy staff in their duties and responsibilities;

●       meets client needs through a thoughtful, affirmative, aggressive, and client-centered advocacy program.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Established almost 50 years ago, CCLS provides free legal advice and representation in civil matters to eligible low-income individuals throughout its six-county service area.  Our mission is “To Advance Justice and Empower People.”  The organization’s clients are the working poor, families with young children, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, senior citizens, and other low-income individuals.

CCLS employs attorneys, paralegals and support and administrative staff with additional significant program support from pro bono attorneys, law students, interns and other volunteers. We provide services through fully staffed offices located in the cities of Fresno, Merced and Visalia. Services are available to low-income residents of Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Merced, Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties.  In addition, through our partnership with the Health Consumer Alliance, we also serve residents in the counties of Madera, San Luis Obispo, Stanislaus, Monterey, and San Benito regarding their specific healthcare concerns.

CCLS works in the community to help people when their rights are restricted, compromised, limited, and/or denied.  Our work significantly benefits the general public by fostering community leadership and development of clients and staff.  CCLS enhances its service delivery by combining efforts with other organizations and diverse communities to provide quality services.

*For further information about CCLS please visit our website at www.centralcallegal.org

Requirements: 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  1. Monitor and coordinate CCLS civil litigation and advocacy efforts;
  2. Implement and or improve litigation management systems.
  3. Facilitate substantive and procedural litigation and advocacy education, training and technical assistance to program staff;
  4. Assist Supervising Attorneys and Team Leaders in evaluating work of advocacy staff, conduct case reviews, and review advocate caseloads (i.e., quality, quantity, priorities, and compliance with Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and other applicable laws and regulations);
  5. Mentor staff attorneys and advocates;
  6. Participate in identification, development, implementation and co-counseling of impact litigation cases and on occasion so-counsel cases with junior attorneys;
  7. Ensure maintenance of legal reference libraries and creation of pleading and brief banks;
  8. Promote and pay particular attention to viewing legal issues through the lenses of Race Equity and Community Economic Development and promoting appropriate policies and systems change.
  9. Provide guidance and direction in identifying and resolving legal issues affecting the    community; help fashion effective approaches to their solution or amelioration through litigation, advocacy, community legal education and/or other tools;
  10. Perform additional duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION:

  1. Active member in good standing of the State Bar of California;
  2. Knowledge of poverty law, LSC regulations and ABA standards for delivery of legal services;
  3. Experience in the operation of a Legal Services program and effective use of its resources for provision of legal assistance to low-income and diverse ethnic and racial minority clients;
  4. Minimum ten years of legal practice with significant court and jury trial experience;
  5. Appellate experience;
  6. Minimum five years of management experience;
  7. Proven organizational, leadership and management skills;
  8. Excellent oral and written communication skills;
  9. Decision-making and teaching skills;
  10. Ability to work well under pressure;
  11. Professional image and public relations skills;
  12. Proficiency with computer software, including word processing, spread sheets and data bases, as well as internet skills;
  13. Ability to work with diverse population of professionals;
  14. Ability to travel as needed, proof of liability and property insurance on vehicle used;
  15. Department of Justice-Live Scan-finger printing clearance required.
To Apply: 

Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and three references along with a writing sample of some of your work (no more than 10 pages) to:

Manuel Romero, HR Director

mromero@centralcallegal.org

Information

Submission Deadline: 
April 7, 2016
Organization Information: 
Central California Legal Services
2115 Kern Street, Suite 1
Fresno, CA 93721
United States
Phone: (559) 570-1200