Safe Housing/Serving Veterans Program Manager

Safe Housing and Serving Veterans Programs Manager

Overview: The Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program (BBVLP) inspires and supports lawyers to improve access to justice through pro bono work. We make volunteering easy by executing innovative programming, training, support, and case management that results in the greatest possible number of low-income people obtaining immediate help to solve life-altering legal problems. Last year, 2,700 low-income people received legal assistance through the BBVLP.

Reports to:  Executive Director

Basic Functions: The Safe Housing and Serving Veterans Program Manager specifically manages and implements programming to:

1.    Keeping low-income people housed by stopping wrongful evictions and resolving unjust foreclosures;

2.    Ensuring safe living conditions by enforcing  landlords’ obligations to maintain habitable housing;

3.    Resolving legal barriers to end homelessness;

4.    Focusing on veterans’ legal issues;

5.    Ensuring veterans receive benefits to which they are entitled; and

6.    Improving access to the courts by facilitating affordable court costs.

Attorney Recruitment

Recruit attorneys to volunteer at a Help Desk or to accept an extended representation case by conducting presentations to law firms and companies, speaking at events where attorneys are gathered, and recruiting volunteers one-on-one.

Maintain an accurate form that attorneys interested in volunteering can complete and indicate their volunteering preferences.

Ensure that all attorneys who have volunteered with the BBVLP or would like to volunteer have their information entered correctly and kept current in the Attorney Database in LegalServer.

Be proficient in using the LegalServer Attorney Database to identify volunteers for Help Desks and extended representation cases. (Information in the database should include at minimum: Help Desks where attorney would like to volunteer and has volunteered, types of cases attorney wishes to accept and has already accepted, whether the attorney can serve as a mentor, the firm/company where the attorney works, and how many hours the attorney has volunteered with the BBVLP.)

Provide regular reports to the ED on all attorney volunteering activity including: list of attorneys who have volunteered ranked by time volunteered and accepted cases, attorneys who currently are working open cases, and firms/companies that have volunteered ranked by time volunteered and accepted cases.

For eBrief weekly, provide photos of volunteer attorneys with correct names/firms, completed closed case information for “Attorney Spotlight” with photos, and names/firms of attorneys who have accepted cases with photos.

Use Sign-Up Genius and Sign-Up Genius calendar to manage Help Desk attorney volunteering.

Send thank you letters to all attorneys who have closed cases.

Attorney Training

Provide attorneys sufficient client information and materials through LegalServer, including income, demographical information, and pertinent case information to be able to provide service at a Help Desk and/or accept a case for full pro bono presentation.

Provide simple “cheat sheets” including pleadings, court fees, and other information that explains what an attorney at a Help Desk or an attorney accepting a pro bono extended representation case should do if their client has any of the Safe Housing and Veterans legal issues:

o   Wrongful eviction

o   Fighting foreclosure/ejectment

o   Making landlords maintain habitable housing

o   Helping homeless client and/or homeless veteran obtain ID which enables them to obtain housing by facilitating community service or waivers to reduce/dismiss old fines and warrants

Maintain simple attorney trainings on the key Safe Housing and Veterans legal issues that can be delivered to law firms/companies so attorneys will feel confident volunteering at Help Desks and accepting pro bono cases.

Hold at least two full CLE trainings a year on Safe Housing and Veterans legal issues.

Help Desk Management

Ensure that the BBVLP is serving low-income clients most in need by managing at minimum one Court Help Desk a week and at least four neighborhood/social services Help Desks a year to ensure potential clients have access to the BBVLP’s services. As part of the Help Desk management, ensure

o   Adequate volunteer attorney staffing and intake staffing

o   All computers, hotspots, printers are working

o   Forms and materials are up-to-date and available

o   Help Desk is managed in a professional manner and all clients are treated with respect

Maintain contact and good relationships with the courts including intentional contact with Civil and Municipal Court judges, the clerk’s offices, judicial assistants, and other court personnel.

Case Management (Intake, Ongoing management, Closing)

Leverage LegalServer at Help Desks to facilitate efficient check-in while obtaining necessary eligibility, case, and reporting information.

Use the LegalServer Attorney Database to identify potential volunteer attorneys for pro bono extended representation cases.

Write accurate and compelling case summaries to be included in eBrief to market cases.

Develop and facilitate a referral network from social service agencies to be able to send clients efficiently to the BBVLP and for the BBVLP to be able to refer clients in need of more than legal help to the social service agencies.

Intentionally contact attorneys who have accepted extended representation cases on a regular basis to provide assistance and support.

Use LegalServer to accurately manage cases with notes and next steps to successfully shepherd cases to conclusion.

Leverage LegalServer to quickly close cases, noting successful conclusions.

Reports

Develop and run client service reports on each of the Safe Housing and Veterans core cases including number of clients served, clients assigned to a pro bono attorney, outcomes of cases, and include relevant information such as homeless/veterans clients who were jailed due to nonpayment of fines and other data identified as key to measuring success.

Marketing

Maintain up-to-date and accurate Help Desk flyers, website presence, and posters.

Ensure that stakeholders have marketing materials and are encouraged to use them to market the BBVLP’s services.

Americorps Members and Law Student Intern Supervision

Provide detailed job descriptions and processes to Americorps and interns.

Manage Americorps and interns to leverage their full potential.

Comply with all Americorps and school requirements. 

Other Duties as Assigned

Continually seek ways to improve by benchmarking to other programs, being involved in Safe Housing and Veterans organizations, and building relationships with other nonprofits with similar goals.

Serve as back-up attorney at Domestic Relations, District Court, and Bankruptcy Help Desks.