Supervising Attorney (Housing - Affirmative Litigation/Policy)
The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is seeking a full-time Supervising Attorney for its Housing Department, focused on supervising its affirmative litigation and policy work. Over the past year and as a part of our Strategic Plan, the Law Foundation consolidated its housing legal practice into a unified, mission-driven program. There is a renewed and strong focus on the prevention of displacement of low-income individuals and communities of color through both direct legal services, including unlawful detainer defense, and system change work, including impact litigation and policy advocacy. Our Housing team has built on our longstanding expertise and success to develop new approaches to training, supervision, and support of staff as well as creating innovative service delivery models.
The Supervising Attorney will supervise the Housing Department’s robust affirmative litigation and policy work. This work includes engaging in policy campaigns at the local level to advance policies that protect tenants from displacement, preserve affordable and naturally-occurring affordable housing, and boost the production of affordable housing.
Affirmative litigation includes Plaintiffs’ side litigation on behalf of low-income tenants, and communities of color, including, but not limited impact litigation and class actions.
The Supervising Attorney will report to the Directing Attorney and will work closely and collaboratively with the two other Supervising Attorneys in the Housing team.
PRIMARY DUTIES- Along with the Directing Attorney, lead the systemic change efforts in the housing unit;
- Supervision of affirmative litigation, including impact litigation and class-action litigation;
- Supervision of Attorneys working on both affirmative litigation and policy campaigns;
- Hiring, training, mentoring, and professional development of staff;
- Collaborate with other Law Foundation team members to assist with program design, development, oversight, and administration of the Housing Department;
- Work closely with the direct services and community worker teams to support the Law Foundation’s systemic change efforts in the housing context;
- Direct representation of clients in affirmative litigation;
- Support program and organization-wide initiatives, including race equity;
- Oversee and participate in education and outreach to community about legal issues confronted by low-income tenants;
- Training and establishing training protocols for attorneys engaging in systemic advocacy;
- Advancing a community lawyering strategy in the housing practice;
- Developing and maintaining public relations with government agencies, decision-makers, and the community;
- Oversee and manage contracts;
- Assist with supervision of other units as needed;
- Provide support to pro bono attorneys and the pro bono housing program;
- Participate in fundraising activities including events and grant writing and reporting.
Highly competitive nonprofit salary; excellent benefits including generous paid time-off, fully paid employee health insurance and 401(k). More information regarding the Law Foundation is available on our website: www.lawfoundation.org.
The Law Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage people of color, women, people living with disabilities, older people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to apply. It is the policy of the Law Foundation to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, medical condition or genetic information, veteran status, national origin, disability, marital or other protected status. The Law Foundation will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.
- Deep commitment to and passion for the vision and mission of the Law Foundation;
- Minimum of five years of experience in public interest law or advocacy services;
- Legal supervision experience;
- Litigation experience, including affirmative litigation and class-action experience;
- Experience with local policy advocacy;
- Experience managing and assigning work to a team;
- Ability to effectively supervise legal work;
- Ability to effectively develop a team and collaborate with other entities, both internal and external to the Law Foundation;
- Ability to work with community-based organizations, government agencies, and decision-makers such as City Council;
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to create a culture of feedback and continual improvement;
- Experience in Community Lawyering and willingness to incorporate community lawyering into the housing practice;
- Commitment to Race Equity work and incorporating race equity principles systemic change work;
- Demonstrated commitment and ability to work with underrepresented communities, including people living with mental health disabilities, HIV/AIDS, or other disabilities and clients of diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds;
- Strong organizational skills;
- Strong written and verbal communication skills;
- California Bar Membership or ability to practice law in California;
- Bilingual in English and Spanish or Vietnamese preferred.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until position is filled. Please submit the following via email to teresam@lawfoundation.org: (1) a resume, (2) three professional references, and (3) a coelenterate explains your interest and also addresses the question below.
In order to best serve our clients and our community, the Law Foundation is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How has your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, race equity and diversity among our staff?