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Director of Advocacy for Family Law

Description: 

The Statewide Advocacy Support Unit of Maryland Legal Aid announces an immediate opening for a full-time director of advocacy for family law to qualified applicants. The Director of Advocacy for Family Law is responsible for the statewide coordination of the work of Maryland Legal Aid on family law matters.

The Director of Advocacy for Family Law will have a desire to advance Maryland Legal Aid’s mission and Human Rights framework. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of legal experience representing family law litigants. Prior supervisory experience in a legal services or similar program is highly desirable. Appellate experience is strongly preferred. Excellent mentoring and oral and written communication and administrative skills are required, as is a thorough understanding of Microsoft Office and other legally-focused applications. Must be admitted to practice in the State of Maryland, or admitted in another jurisdiction and willing to take first available bar examination. Must be a graduate of an ABA approved law school and eligible for admission in the State of Maryland.

 

Requirements: 

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Work closely with Maryland Legal Aid advocates across Maryland to ensure high quality representation of litigants in domestic matters and divorce proceedings with a particular focus on cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, contested custody, and denial of fundamental parental rights such as visitation;

2. Assist in management of grants and contracts, particularly those relating to crime victims and violence against women. Develop new and innovative projects designed to improve the rights of low-income family law litigants.

3. Work with the firm’s development and staff to craft funding proposals and provide reports to current funders to monitor Maryland Legal Aid’s performance and evaluate the effectiveness of the grant/contract;

4. Provide leadership, coordination and supervision of appeals in the family law arena, impact litigation and advocacy, and other legal work on behalf of family law clients, including co-counseling litigation;

5. Support efforts to enhance pro bono and private attorney involvement on family law cases;

6. Provide advice, consultation, support, mentoring, research assistance, informal training and substantive law updates to staff on issues affecting families;

7. Conduct, and assist staff with, permissible legislative work and community education, outreach and clinical efforts;

8. Work closely with appropriate statewide task forces and workgroups to identify systemic barriers experienced by clients across the state; develop strategies to address those barriers; work in collaboration with staff to implement the strategies and monitor the outcomes;

9. Provide leadership and assist in the planning and provision of appropriate formal training of advocacy staff on family law issues, domestic violence, and victims’ rights;

10. Coordinate interaction and collaborative advocacy efforts with other legal services providers and advocacy groups, government agencies, the bench, the bar, and community groups on behalf of Maryland Legal Aid’s clients;

11. Assist with external and internal communication efforts on issues affecting families, including the production of scholarly articles, reports, brochures and other publications focusing on families;

12. Incorporate Maryland Legal Aid’s Human Rights framework and strategic plan into advocacy affecting families;

13. Other duties as assigned.

 

 
To Apply: 

Apply with an updated résumé and cover letter to C. Shawn Boehringer, Chief Counsel, at our website at https://www.mdlab.org/careers/  or copy this URL https://workforcenow.adp.com/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=9156664a-1a51-4897-90b5-51213a0ce138&jobId=221155&lang=en_US&source=CC4&ccId=1997542647_11688 or click here.

Information

Submission Deadline: 
July 12, 2018
Organization Information: 
Maryland Legal Aid
500 East Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States