Bilingual Housing Attorney
Legal Aid Justice Center seeks a Bilingual (Spanish-English) Attorney for its Economic Justice Program, primarily to support and further its efforts to join the community’s fight for fair and affordable housing in Northern Virginia. This person will be based out of our Falls Church office, which engages in advocacy on behalf of a largely immigrant clientele. A successful candidate will bring a creative and community-focused lens to reducing evictions and maintaining or increasing the stock of quality affordable housing through close liaisons with community members and groups and will be unafraid to engage in bold advocacy and impact litigation on behalf of the low-income community we serve. Over time, the position may evolve to include other areas of poverty law, such as consumer, public benefits, employment, etc.
Job Duties:
- Make connections with community members and groups concerned with housing-related issues, and take direction from the needs of client groups as appropriate, while working closely with organizers on our team
- Engage in well-rounded advocacy efforts focused on reducing evictions and increasing affordable housing at the local and state level
- Represent individuals in housing cases
- Bring impact litigation focused on reducing evictions and maintaining or increasing the supply of quality affordable housing
- Strong commitment to social, economic, and racial justice
- Demonstrated commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income communities of color
- Ability to maintain organization and focus while advancing a variety of cases or campaigns
- Ability to speak Spanish well enough to engage with individual Spanish-speaking clients and groups of clients
- Active bar membership with either (1) confirmed eligibility to waive into membership in the Virginia bar, or (2) willingness to sit for the February 2022 Virginia bar (LAJC provides bar study leave and application fees) (Please note that a proposed new rule would, if enacted, make it much easier for attorneys licensed in other states to waive in so long as they are employed by a licensed legal aid.)
Preferred Qualifications:
- Virginia bar membership
- Familiarity with a variety of advocacy strategies
- Experience with direct client services
Salary:
Salary range is $61,600 to $78,400 based on years of relevant experience and LAJC’s formal salary scale.
Benefits:
Our mission is compelling, and our team members are passionate about their work, and so we recognize the need to provide generous benefits and encourage rest and a healthy work environment. For example, we provide:
- Generous paid time off every year, including 3 to 6 weeks of vacation, 12 days of health leave, 6 weeks parental leave, and 14 holidays (not including bonus holidays/rest days allocated as needed)
- 100% employer paid health, dental, and vision insurance, plus excellent family insurance with annual max of $2,400 premium contribution to LAJC-sponsored health plan
- 403(b) retirement plan with 4% employer contribution (no required match)
- Strong commitment to professional development
- Law school loan repayment assistance and full reimbursement for VA bar and CLE expenses
- Relocation package
Email a cover letter, a relevant writing sample, and resume to Brenda Castaneda at hiring@justice4all.org. If you’re able, please submit your application as a single PDF titled “[date submitted in yyyy.mm.dd format][last name][first name][position sought].” Please include "Bilingual Housing Attorney” in the email subject.