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Staff Attorney (Domestic Violence Advocacy/Immigrant Justice Project)

Description: 

Position Summary

New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) seeks a Staff Attorney to work on our Domestic Violence Advocacy Project (DVAP) and Immigrant Justice Project (IJP). DVAP work will involve representation of survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking in protective order and family law cases, with a special focus on representing immigrant survivors. The IJP work will emphasize Special Immigrant Juvenile proceedings. We seek to represent clients, who may present with multiple different civil legal issues, in a holistic and trauma informed manner. The Staff Attorney will also be responsible for occasional community engagement and education work, as well as occasional work in other law practice areas.

The Staff Attorney will be based in NHLA’s Manchester office and responsible for handling work throughout New Hampshire, including particularly the Manchester, Nashua, and Seacoast regions. NHLA has a remote work policy, and as noted above, will consider a hybrid of remote and on-site work for this position. All NHLA staff members are provided with the necessary equipment (such as laptop computers) to work from their homes. Candidates should keep in mind that NHLA is a statewide organization and extensive travel throughout New Hampshire is a requirement of the position. Occasional travel out of state, for example to national conferences, is anticipated. Travel reimbursement including mileage is provided.

NHLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a diverse staff that reflects the communities of low-income and older (age 60 plus) people NHLA works alongside, and we value equity and inclusion in our workplace. NHLA actively seeks applications from Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people of diverse national origin, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, people who have lived experience with poverty, and other people belonging to communities that have historically experienced injustice. 

 

About New Hampshire Legal Assistance:

NHLA is a statewide nonprofit law firm that helps low-income and older individuals and families with civil legal problems that impact their basic needs, such as housing, economic security, and safety from violence. As a civil legal aid provider, we represent clients in all of New Hampshire’s state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies. We advocate for low-income and older people in the New Hampshire Legislature and offer training and education to our client communities as well as fellow service providers. NHLA is a cornerstone New Hampshire nonprofit marking our 52nd anniversary in 2023.

 

 

Requirements: 

Duties:

  • Advise and represent clients in protective order and family law cases;
  • Advise and represent clients in Special Immigrant Juvenile proceedings;
  • Actively learn and consistently implement NHLA’s holistic, client-centered approach to civil legal aid, including trauma-informed lawyering practices;
  • Provide and affirmatively further language access and cultural humility in work with immigrant clients;
  • Engage with allied community organizations, including presenting community education programs; and
  • Participate as an active member of the Manchester office, including a mix of remote work and on-site work.

Qualifications and Competencies:

  • Law degree and license to practice in New Hampshire, or eligibility for admission on motion;
  • At least 3 years of experience in either domestic violence and/or immigration law experience;
  • Ability to travel extensively within New Hampshire;
  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a team;
  • Current technology skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe;
  • Experience working alongside low-income clients and communities a plus;
  • Ability to speak Spanish or another language in addition to English a plus.

 

Position Salary/Benefits:

This is a full-time position. Full-time is defined as 37.5 hours per week. This position is considered exempt for the purpose of federal wage/hour law.

The anticipated salary for the position depends on prior law-related work experience. As an example, the salary would be $66,913 for candidates with 5 years of prior law-related work experience. The position is eligible for the NHLA employee benefits package including medical/dental insurance, retirement plan, and generous paid time off.

To Apply: 

Please send your resume with a cover email summarizing your interest in the position and your qualifications to: officemanager@nhla.org. A separate cover letter is not required in addition to the cover email. Applications that do not include a cover email may not receive full consideration. We strongly encourage you to apply via email.

If you are not currently admitted in New Hampshire, please let us know when and how you plan to seek admission.

In your cover email, please feel invited to tell us anything that will help us communicate respectfully with you, including your pronouns, the pronunciation of your name, any communication access needs or reasonable accommodations requested during the hiring process, or any other relevant information.

If you would like further detail about NHLA’s usual hiring process, it is outlined in detail below. However, please note that because this position is currently vacant, we are reviewing applications and scheduling interviews on a rolling basis.

NHLA’s Application Process and Timeline:

NHLA will appoint an Interview Committee including 2-3 NHLA staff members and the NHLA Human Resources Manager. NHLA occasionally asks people who are not NHLA staff members to serve on an Interview Committee.

We expect the Interview Committee to conduct first interviews with no more than 6 candidates. Interviews are 45 minutes in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. Candidates selected for first interviews will receive a list of the interview questions at least 24 hours in advance. No other questions will be asked at the interview, but it is possible that not all questions will be asked if we run out of time. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions at the conclusion of the interview. For candidates who speak a language in addition to English, a portion of the interview may be conducted in that language, with interpretation provided for other participants as needed.

The Interview Committee will recommend no more than 2 finalist candidates for the position to the Executive Director for second interviews. Second interviews are 30 minutes or shorter in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. The Executive Director may conduct the second interview alone or with 1 other NHLA staff member, who may be a member of the Interview Committee. Questions are not provided in advance for second interviews. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions.

After the second interview, we will ask a finalist candidate to provide 3 references and a brief writing sample of no more than 10 pages. We will contact the 3 references as quickly as possible, asking all references the same questions. Candidates with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations should they be offered the position are invited to request them, in writing, at this stage of the process.

Based on information gathered in the entire hiring process, we will make an offer to 1 candidate with salary and benefits information. The offer is contingent on completion of a criminal record background check. Not all criminal records are disqualifying.

Once a candidate has accepted the position, we will notify all candidates who had a first interview (or a first and second interview) that they have not been selected.

For candidates hired for attorney positions, we will work with attorneys who have previously worked at other law firms to gather information necessary for conflicts checking purposes pursuant to the New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct.

Please note that NHLA does not expect to receive thank you notes from candidates selected for first or second interviews and does not place any weight in the hiring process on receiving (or not receiving) thank you notes.

Information

Submission Deadline: 
June 22, 2023
Organization Information: 
New Hampshire Legal Assistance
117 North State Street
Concord, NH 03301
United States
Phone: 603-224-4107