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Managing Attorney

Description: 

SUMMARY

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (“LASP”) seeks an attorney to manage its Bristol Office in lower Bucks County.  LASP serves low-income individuals and families in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties out of seven offices.  This position involves supervising, training and motivating Bristol Office staff to provide the highest quality legal services in accordance with LASP program guidelines, the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Services and the Code of Professional Responsibility.  The Managing Attorney will also carry a caseload commensurate with his or her expertise and managerial responsibilities.  The position’s caseload will focus on domestic violence victims in Bucks County, but will also require knowledge of all issues facing clients, including public benefits, consumer law and bankruptcy, employment, expungements, housing, family law and other areas.  The position is full-time.

MANAGERIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  1. Supervise legal services to low-income clients and client groups, including the provision of advice, brief service, negotiation, litigation. and administrative advocacy;
  1. Through training, supervision, and feedback, ensure that staff have accurate and timely information about the legal issues within the office’s scope of responsibility;
  1. Evaluate staff and develop individual work plans on an annual basis which focus on reviews of substantive work, assessments of caseloads, productivity, and community involvement, and identification of training needs;  Guide the professional development of staff through co-counseling of cases;
  1. Conduct regular case review and staff meetings to make case assignments consistent with LASP priorities, policies and procedures, receive updates on case statuses, hear concerns from staff, and share information on program-wide issues;
  1. Maximize the use of LASP’s limited resources to the fullest extent in service to clients;
  1. Attend LASP management meetings prepared to provide updates on local office casework, events, activities and accomplishments;
  1. Ensure services are provided in compliance with Legal Services Corporation (“LSC”), Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (“PLAN”) and Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (“IOLTA”) requirements as well as requirements of other grants and contracts with which the Bristol Office may be involved; Work with LASP’s grants and compliance teams to accomplish this objective;
  1. Coordinate staff participation in local community education events relating to legal rights and supervise the preparation of materials for these presentations;
  1. Foster a cohesive, coordinated and robust program-wide advocacy effort by consulting with program advocates outside of Bristol on cases and issues in areas of the manager’s special expertise, through participation in LASP program-wide affinity groups and task forces, and by providing opportunities for advocates to participate in those program-wide activities;
  1. Act as LASP liaison with the local community, including the Bucks County Bar and Judiciary, and work with LASP management and stakeholders to set priorities;
  1. Lead local office efforts to recruit and enhance pro bono representation of clients;
  1. Address client grievances consistent with LASP policy;
  1. Assist the Executive and Deputy Directors with recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and retaining qualified staff and work with LASP’s Human Resources Manager to ensure that new employees receive appropriate orientation and comply with LASP personnel policies and procedures;
  1. Support LASP’s Finance Department in ensuring adherence to sound fiscal policies and LASP’s development, communications, and other senior management staff in seeking grants and contracts to support LASP’s work.

CASEHANDLING AND DIRECT SERVICES DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:

  1. Interviewing clients, assisting in determining eligibility for services, and ascertaining and investigating facts;
  1. Conducting legal research and interpreting statutes, case law, regulations, and other sources of law;
  1. Providing advice to clients;
  1. Preparing legal documents, including but not necessarily limited to: briefs, pleadings, motions, notices, correspondence, memoranda, discovery and documents responsive to discovery requests;
  1. Developing strategy and arguments for presentation of cases and assisting in preparation of witnesses for hearings and trials;
  1. Representing clients at hearings, in trial and appellate courts, and before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies;
  1. Reviewing decisions and consulting with management team to determine the merit of potential appeals;
  1. Participating in external professional and community organizations relevant to casework;
  1. Conducting clinics, community education, and workshops;
  1. Developing knowledge of community referral resources and assessing community and client needs;
  1. Enhancing skills and substantive knowledge through training, CLE, and other educational opportunities;
  1. Abiding by all applicable professional standards of ethics and practice;
  1. Completing required administrative tasks including entering of notes and timekeeping in LASP case management software, and maintaining of physical files;
  1. Performing other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.

SUPERVISING: Staff Attorneys (Currently 2), paralegal, support staff, and other employees and volunteers in the local office.

SUPERVISOR:  Deputy Director for Advocacy

LASP is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate in the recruitment, selection, or advancement of employees on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, creed, age, religion, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or on any other basis prohibited by law. 

 

Requirements: 

QUALIFICATIONS: License to practice law in Pennsylvania or admitted in another jurisdiction and eligible for admission to Pennsylvania.  Three years minimum experience managing a law office and staff or equivalent experience.  Three years minimum litigation experience, preferably in a non-profit legal services environment.  Demonstrated proficiency in word processing, Outlook products, case management software, and online legal research tools and technology.  Passionate commitment to public interest law and service to low-income individuals and vulnerable populations.  Strong written and oral advocacy and organizational skills.  Ability to meet deadlines and perform multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail. Willingness to accept complex and challenging cases, develop creative strategies to assist clients, and identify systemic legal problems and develop and implement impact litigation.  Spanish language proficiency is desirable.

To Apply: 

TO APPLY:  Send resume and writing sample to Kesha James, Deputy Director for Advocacy at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania by email to Hiring@lasp.org.  Position will remain open until filled.

Information

Submission Deadline: 
November 22, 2019
Organization Information: 
Legal Aid of Southeastern PA
625 Swede Street
Norristown, PA 19401
United States
Phone: 610-275-5400