Legal Director
LEGAL AID OF WEST VIRGINIA SEEKS LEGAL DIRECTOR West Virginia's largest poverty law firm, Legal Aid of West Virginia (LAWV), has an exciting leadership position for an experienced and dynamic attorney to serve as its next Legal Director, leading strategic advocacy and legal services statewide. LAWV, supported by an excellent Board, management team and staff, provides critical legal services to West Virginia's poorest and most vulnerable citizens. LAWV has seen tremendous growth in the last five years and is now better positioned than ever to strategically address the problems of individuals and communities in poverty.
THE LEGAL DIRECTOR WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR:
Leading, planning and implementation of an articulated strategic advocacy vision to ensure the continued thoughtful development of LAWV’s litigation and advocacy efforts;
Ensuring the continued provision of high quality legal assistance and effective systemic advocacy, with an emphasis on excellence and creativity;
Leading the legal management team and staff to ensure the organization is agile and responsive to changing conditions, new trends, and unexpected challenges impacting clients and the low income community.
Serving as general counsel to the LAWV Board and Management Team, ensuring firm legal ethics standards and lawyer disciplinary rule compliance, and oversight of funder compliance, human resource issues and contractual transactions; and
Serving as an effective ambassador to LAWV's public and key stakeholders.
THE LEGAL DIRECTOR MUST:
Be a licensed West Virginia attorney in good standing or have the ability to become a member of the West Virginia State Bar within 6 months of hire. (See WV Rules of Professional Conduct.)
Have a minimum of 7 years practice as an attorney with substantial and/or complex litigation experience, 7 years as a manager and a demonstrated commitment to the rights of low-income individuals.
Possess an extensive and varied litigation background, ideally with a demonstrable history of creative and high impact advocacy.
Be passionate about the mission of LAWV and demonstrate a commitment to advocating for the legal rights of low-income persons;
Possess exceptional leadership skills and have successful management experience in a legal services program or similar organization;
Exhibit excellent communication skills and the ability to inspire the trust and confidence of the LAWV staff, board and client communities, and the public;
Convey vision, integrity, intelligence, creativity, energy and humor equal to the challenges of this demanding position.
Demonstrate experience in nonprofit finance, compliance, ethics and personnel management; and Have experience working in and supporting a team environment.
APPLICATION PROCESS: Screening of applicants begins immediately and will continue until the time of selection. To receive full consideration, you are encouraged to submit your application materials by July 31, 2020, or sooner if possible athough the posting will remain open until the position is filled.
Please submit a letter expressing your interest in the position, your qualifications for the job, and your vision of the future for LAWV. Please include a resume and cover letter; and the names and contact information for three professional references. Initial applications are confidential. Our goal is to make a final decision in August - September 2020 with an anticipated start date by October, 2020.
Materials should be submitted online to: jobs@lawv.net
The salary depends on experience based on a competitive public interest salary scale. Benefits include a generous leave policy, excellent family health insurance, life & disability insurance, and a 403(b) plan. LAWV is an equal opportunity employer that strives to hire a diverse staff to increase its potential to serve a diverse community. All applications are welcomed and encouraged and will receive consideration.
ABOUT LEGAL AID OF WEST VIRGINIA: Our mission is: Legal Aid of West Virginia seeks fairness and equal access to justice through legal services, advocacy, and system change. The Board of Directors and Staff of Legal Aid of West Virginia believe and are dedicated to:
Identifying and addressing the needs of our client communities
Empowering clients through education and advocacy
Providing high quality and effective services
Being a voice of strength, integrity, and unique expertise concerning legal issues that impact our clients
Respecting, supporting and caring for our clients, staff, and board members
Ensuring involved and committed leadership and governance by LAWV's board of directors
Since its founding as a statewide poverty law firm in 2002, LAWV has gained a strong reputation for high quality legal services and advocacy. LAWV is now a fiscally sound, administratively strong, stable agency supported by a dedicated staff, management team and Board of Directors.
This position presents an interesting legal opportunity with LAWV's Legal Director serving as the agency's lead lawyer. LAWV has a nationally unique management structure as a legal aid organization with an experienced, non-attorney executive director. LAWV has a strong statewide presence with more than 150 staff and 60 attorneys working out of 12 regional legal offices and three advocacy sites. With a total budget of more than $12 million, LAWV receives revenues from a variety of public and private sources. READ MORE ABOUT LAWV's WORK AT: www.lawv.net QUESTIONS: For questions about the position, contact Executive Director Adrienne Worthy at 304-343-3013 x 2128 or aworthy@lawv.net .