Director of Legal Services for Seniors
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands (Legal Aid Society), announces an exciting full-time employment opportunity as Director of Legal Services for Seniors (Director). Position will be based in the Nashville office. Founded in 1968, the Legal Aid Society is a private, not-for-profit organization governed by a local board of directors comprised of attorneys and members of our client population. Legal Aid Society provides free legal assistance in civil matters in 48 Tennessee counties with a total eligible population of 440,000 serving primarily rural populations. We have offices in Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Oak Ridge, and Tullahoma with more than 80 employees.
Legal Aid Society and the three other major legal aid programs throughout the state and Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services have joined forces to launch the creation of an innovative, sustainable, and critically needed statewide network of attorneys and other legal professionals who will work together to meet the legal needs of Tennessee’s most vulnerable senior citizens, creating lasting local impact across all 95 Tennessee counties. This first-of-its-kind network, known as the Tennessee Senior Legal Services Consortium (Consortium), will partner with other organizations that serve seniors to strengthen and expand services to reach even the most rural and underserved areas of the state. The result will be a long-term solution to a pressing and growing problem; namely, how to sustain and improve the quality of life of our seniors. The Consortium will achieve this goal by helping seniors address legal core issues such as accessing benefits and healthcare; obtaining and maintaining safe and secure housing; avoiding or escaping abuse and exploitation; and engaging in important estate planning activities such as creating wills, advance directives, and powers of attorney. The Consortium and its partners will work together to ensure that Tennessee’s senior citizens can live their lives safely, securely, and with dignity.
The Director of Legal Services for Seniors will be a lawyer who oversees the implementation of all case work and outreach activity, including regional partner engagement and sustainability activities. The Director will monitor all outputs and communicate with each partner on their roles and responsibilities. The Director will work closely with Executive Directors, outreach coordinators and staff in each Consortium partner organizations. The Director will report directly to the Executive Director of Legal Aid Society. The position and project is funded through a court settlement for 3 years but is expected to be sustained beyond that time period.
Salary: DOE. Excellent benefits and loan forgiveness.
Qualifications:
• License to practice law in Tennessee or eligible for reciprocity and legal and management experience required.
• A minimum of four years legal and three years management experience preferred, expertise in elder and/or health care law, and prior supervisory experience in a legal services or similar program are highly desirable.
• Preferred experience to include a demonstrated interest in public interest law, supervising staff, and complying with federal and state grant regulations, including experience with the Legal Services Corporation.
• Preferred applicants will have a commitment to high quality representation and a desire to handle cases that benefit individual clients as well as those impacting their communities.
• Ability to relate to the needs of people of diverse backgrounds and adhere to confidentiality standards.
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form.
• Demonstrated ability in public speaking, written and oral communication, and outstanding interpersonal relations.
• Experience with Microsoft Office software and databases. (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Residence or intent to reside in the Nashville service area, the ability to work effectively with clients and colleagues and a sense of humor are preferred.
• Diverse economic, social and cultural experiences and Spanish fluency are a plus.
• Must have driver’s license and access to transportation.
Applications must include a cover letter, resume, writing sample and three references (with phone numbers). No phone calls, please. Send by mail or e-mail (in Word or PDF format) to: Director of Human Resources Re: Director of Legal Services for Seniors Legal Aid Society 575 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Suite 201 Oak Ridge, TN 37830 e-mail: HR@las.org Apply as soon as possible. Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.