Housing Staff Attorney

Join the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) and become part of an energetic team of advocates that provides a wide-range of legal services aimed to address issues that disproportionately impact the poor.   These services include litigation, providing litigation, training, policy advocacy, technical assistance, and community education.

 

NLSLA is currently seeking an attorney to work in the Antelope, San Fernando and San Gabriel

Valleys. The attorney will be part of a team of advocates focused on serving the needs of people experiencing homelessness and those at-risk of homelessness. The ideal candidate will be a skillful attorney who can excel in a fast-paced, dynamic anti-poverty law practice and is capable of fiercely advocating on behalf of clients on their housing matters. The candidate must have a demonstrated passion and commitment to public interest law and prior experience assisting low-income individuals and client groups, with a sensitivity to those in crisis. The ideal candidate must possess strong research and organizational skills; the ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing; and well-developed analytical skills. The candidate should be self-motivated with the ability to multi-task. Bilingual proficiency in Spanish is strongly preferred.

 

 

Position:

Staff Attorney

 

Availability:

 

Availability is Immediate.

 

Salary:

 

Starting at $60,000 + commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits which include: choice of medical, dental, vision; life and disability insurance plans; 125 plan; 403(b) with employer contribution, loan reimbursement, bilingual pay supplement, sick and vacation pay, and 13 employer-paid holidays.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

The candidate will be expected to focus on housing advocacy including but not limited to: representation of clients at all levels of a housing case such as intake, negotiations, administrative hearings, trial, and appeal; Addressing systemic issues through impact litigation in state and federal court; Working with community partners to develop resources and strategies for protecting homeowners and tenants; providing outreach and education to tenant and community groups; and assist with some training of support staff.  Advocacy may also include litigation and/or policy work in substantive legal areas other than those described here as needed, depending upon skills to be acquired, client needs and NLS program priorities.

 

Qualifications:

Must be licensed and eligible to practice law in California with two or more years of experience in public interest law as well as experience working with low-income organizations and client groups. Some prior practice in housing, employment law and/or assisting indigent clients with clearing their criminal record preferred. Bilingual-Spanish preferred.

 

About NLSLA:

 

Founded in 1965 as part of our nation’s War on Poverty, NLSLA is now one of the largest and most prominent public interest law firms in California. NLSLA provides free assistance to more than 150,000 low-income residents of Los Angeles County each year. Its operating budget for 2020 will reach $22 million, with a staff of more than 160, including 80 attorneys.

 

NLSLA serves all of Los Angeles County with a special emphasis on the poverty communities of the San Fernando, San Gabriel, Pomona and Antelope Valleys, as well as the central county cities of Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena.  NLSLA staff members are housed in four regional offices located in Pacoima, El Monte, Boyle Heights, and Glendale - where the program’s administrative offices are also located.  In addition, NLSLA advocates are co-located in courthouses in Van Nuys, Lancaster, Chatsworth, Pomona and Downtown LA; Hospitals and health centers in Sylmar, Van Nuys, North Hollywood and El Monte; and with social services providers in the Antelope Valley.

 

Advocates specialize in areas of the law that disproportionately impact the poor, including affordable housing and eviction defense, access to public benefits, support for domestic violence victims, access to healthcare, worker and consumer rights, as well as employment and training. NLSLA is particularly known for its innovative programs and collaborative models for delivering services across the County. Among those are the NLSLA Health Consumer Center (HCC) and Medical Legal Community Partnership projects ensuring that everyone receives the health care they need; Shriver Housing - LA providing right to counsel for evictions; Self-Help Legal Access Centers assisting the un-represented with domestic violence, family law and eviction cases in nine courthouses; Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project (PEHP) providing legal help to the homeless in Antelope, San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys; and Disaster Legal Assistance providing support and help to low-income disaster survivors.