Team Manager (Education)

The Education/Special Education Practice Team Manager oversees the delivery of services to parents and students to ensure that schools provide free and appropriate public education. Priorities for this team include school discipline cases, special education, restraints and seclusions, McKinney-Vento/enrollment cases, and Title IX cases.   

The Practice Area Team Manager has the overall responsibility for the direction and smooth functioning of the Practice Area team they manage. Team Managers make personnel and legal decisions on a regular basis. 

Primary duties and responsibilities of this position include: 

1. Supervises the legal work of the staff assigned to the Practice Area, including regular spot checks of closed cases and quarterly case reviews; 

2. Schedules Duty Attorney assignments for team members to assure that for every day there is at least one attorney responsible for reviewing intake and making case disposition decisions; 

3. Reviews intake disposition decisions on a regular basis to assure that equitable treatment is extended to all clients and that disposition decisions are made in a manner that is consistent with TRLA policies and priorities; 

4. Reviews and approves Significant Case Litigation Approval forms submitted by team members for new litigation involving significant cases to be undertaken by the Practice Area team, and approves such case closings; 

5. Approves litigation expenses of up to $500 per case; 

6. Reviews all Significant cases on a regular basis to assure that the quality and timeliness of legal work by team members is maintained; 

7. Enforces compliance with funding regulations and program policies; 

8. Maintains coordinated communications among team members on case developments, co-counsel assignments, and developments in the law in the practice area through regular meetings and/or conference calls and email or other written materials; 

9. Coordinates continuing legal education activities for members of the team to assure that each member is availing herself of training opportunities; 

10. Coordinates community legal education and outreach activities for the team; 

11. Identifies cases and clients in the Practice Area that do not readily access the intake system and assures that all clients have equal access to program resources; 

12. Prepares routine forms and default legal advice, developing modules and procedures, and making recommendations for other improvements to Legal Server that enhance the efficiency of program operations; 

13. Monitors and reviews changes in laws, and coordinates forums to review such changes; 

14. Analyzes case trends and issues affecting clients; 

15. Submits an annual report of Practice Area activities to the Litigation Director and Executive Director on December 1 of each year; 

16. Implements policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Directors or promulgated by the Executive Director; 

17. Approves leave requests of team members, in coordination with branch managers; 

18. Participates in the recruitment and hiring of attorneys and other team members; 

19. Approves case-related training and travel requests of team members; 

20. Has a public relations role with the bar, community, and client organizations, representing TRLA in appropriate matters. 

21. Takes all actions necessary or appropriate to bring team resources to bear on the legal problems of clients, in a manner that is consistent with program rules and policies. 

Qualifications: 

1. Licensed to practice law or has extensive experience in the subject area 

2. Practice experience in the area of the team to which assigned 

3. Preferably have some staff supervision or management experience 

4. Preference is given to persons bilingual in English and Spanish 

Requirements:

To be considered for this position, we request a cover letter detailing:  

• Why you are interested in the position?  

• Share your experience and qualifications for managing this practice area.  

• What attributes do you believe are important in team and practice supervision and management?

TRLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

This position requires, consistent with TRLA’s policy and subject to applicable law, a candidate to provide proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination prior to commencing employment.