Staff Attorney (Health Law - Medical Legal Partnership)

Staff Attorney - Health Law/Medical Legal Partnership

Hybrid remote work schedule: 3 days in office/field and 2 days remote

Base office in Asheville with travel to Mars Hill, NC

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status:  Exempt

Job Posting

Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) is a community-based non-profit legal aid agency governed by a local Board of Directors. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina (WNC), Pisgah Legal Services provides free civil legal assistance to low-income people in WNC. The organization currently has offices in Asheville, Brevard, Burnsville, Hendersonville, Highlands-Cashiers, Marshall, Newland, and Rutherfordton.  With over 120 dedicated staff, including over 30 attorneys plus program staff, and an active group of 200 volunteer attorneys, the program provides free services to over 20,000 people per year to meet their basic needs, primarily in the poverty law areas of housing, public benefits, domestic violence prevention, health care, immigration, and consumer law. 

Pisgah Legal Services is seeking a full-time Health Law/Medical Legal Partnership attorney who will represent the organization in a multidisciplinary team as the primary staff attorney in two medical legal partnership programs.  The position will represent clients who are a part of RHA Health Services’ Comprehensive Care Management (CCM) Program and clients referred by Hot Springs Health Program in Mars Hall, NC, handling cases with an emphasis on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability and SOAR (Social Security Outreach, Access and Recovery).   In addition to these areas of law, the staff attorney will address civil legal issues involved in the social determinants of health:  health care insurance and services through Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, housing law, consumer law, and family law. This position will be primarily housed at RHA Health Services in Asheville and Hot Springs Health Program in Mars Hill.

Passion for promoting justice and overcoming barriers facing low-income people, being a creative and zealous staff member and a team-player and demonstrating commitment to achieving lasting results for clients and low-income communities are all important. By ensuring that the lowest-income people in Western North Carolina have access to holistic services we will increase opportunities for positive outcomes at the individual and community levels.

Responsibilities

• Commitment to PLS’ mission, values and vision.
• Carry a varied caseload including Social Security Disability, SSI Disability cases and/or NC SOAR cases.
• Ability to work independently, as well as part of a team in a fast-paced environment – including with non-lawyers.
• Strong organizational skills and adept at managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• An understanding of the civil legal needs of low-income people, including the unique needs of populations that experience particular barriers to access to justice systems.
• Ability to effectively communicate, to motivate others, and to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people with varying perspectives, and experience and expertise.
• Ability and willingness to learn and integrate new technologies and methodologies to efficiently perform responsibilities.
• Document all work in Legal Server case management software.
• Organize and conduct outreach and educational presentations.
• Develop and maintain community relationships including other non-profit agencies, government officials, government employees, community leaders and others.
• Travel within our service area and also to meetings or conferences in other parts of NC.
• Adhere to program priorities and case handling policies, procedures and standards of practice, as well as the highest professional and ethical standards.
• Keep abreast of developments in the law and disseminate information to staff, volunteer attorneys and the public.
• Work with volunteers, including volunteer attorneys, on a regular basis.
• Assist in fundraising in coordination with PLS Development Team.

Qualifications

• N.C. licensed attorney.
• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people and communities.
• Demonstrated skills at socio-economic and cultural sensitivity and ability to assist upset or ill people.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well with teams and independently.
• Excellent writing, analytic, interpersonal, and public speaking skills.
• Fluency in Spanish would be an asset.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.

Salary/ Benefits

Salary ranges from $60,000 - $108,000 depending on experience. Up to $3,000 in additional compensation for bilingual language skills needed on the job, depending on results of proficiency testing.

Our salary scale is predetermined based on the years of relative professional work experience that qualify for this position to ensure equity in pay.  Pisgah Legal Services is a Living Wage Certified Employer.

Employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverage the 1st of the month following the start date.  Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) pays 100% of the Employee and 50% of the Dependent Cost for BCBS Medical and Dental coverage.  PLS pays 50% of the Employee Coverage Cost for BCBS Vision coverage.   PLS pays 100% of Long-Term & Short-Term Disability Coverage, Life Insurance Coverage of 5x base salary + an additional $15,000 Life & AD&D Coverage.  401k Retirement Plan after 6 months of employment.  Additional Fringe Benefits includes Pet Insurance, Paid Parental Leave, Paid Bereavement Leave, 13.5 Company Holidays, 22 Paid Leave Days, Paid Sabbatical Leave for eligible staff, Employee Assistance Program for entire household and a great working environment with work life balance! 

To Apply

Submit your online application with resume and cover letter through our Career Center located at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/jobs.

PLS invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice.

Pisgah Legal Services is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are encouraged to discuss ADA accommodations with our Human Resources department.