Staff Attorney (Special Education & Elder Law)
MetroWest Legal Services (“MWLS”) provides legal advocacy to protect and advance the rights of the poor, elderly, disabled and other disenfranchised people in our service area and to assist them in obtaining legal, social and economic justice. MWLS seeks to hire a staff attorney to fill a full time position which is grant funded for one (1) year with the possibility of permanence. MWLS is an exciting workplace with dedicated social justice advocates—join us!
Responsibilities:
- Represent the parents of children with special needs in all phases of special education and school discipline cases.
- Represent elders in a variety of civil substantive areas including housing and benefits.
- Work closely with community-organizations that serve elder communities to identify legal issues important to clients and provide advice via community-based legal clinics.
- Conduct outreach and work closely with community and parent groups of school-aged children to provide advocacy for special education services.
Qualifications/Competencies include:
- Proven interest in and commitment to advocacy for the legal rights of low-income and other vulnerable populations.
- Experience representing clients in special education proceedings and school disciplinary cases is required.
- Interest in and some experience working with elder populations providing assistance with housing matters and benefits issues, with Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, and Conservatorships, Nursing Home issues, bankruptcies and consumer rights and domestic relations.
- Demonstrated understanding and commitment to anti-bias principles, cultural competency and addressing systemic racism and other forms of oppression.
- Enthusiasm, creativity, good judgment, initiative, and willingness to work collaboratively.
- Bilingual in Spanish or Portuguese helpful.
- One to three years of legal experience preferred. Admitted to Massachusetts bar or entitled to practice under SJC Rule 3:04. (Recent Law School Graduates who are planning to sit for the October 2020 bar exam will be considered).
**An applicant who is admitted to the bar of another state must become a member of the Mass. bar within 2 years.
Salary/Benefits: Salary is based on a union scale with a starting wage of $50,000. Benefits package include generous PTO leave, 100% employer paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, employer match on retirement contributions, student loan repayment assistance program for eligible attorneys and extensive professional development opportunities.
Candidates should submit a cover letter addressing your interest and experience in poverty/public interest law, resume, and brief writing sample via email to jobs@mwlegal.org. Please send and attach PDFs only. Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be considered on a rolling basis.