Team Manager (Veterans Advocacy Project)

Team Manager | Veterans Advocacy Project TRLA SERVICE AREA Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) seeks a full-time attorney Team Manager for our Veterans Advocacy Project. The Veterans Advocacy Project represents veterans and active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces, along with their spouses, widows and widowers, and dependent children, in a wide range of legal matters including: 

• Helping low-income veterans receive well-deserved benefits, including assistance from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as SNAP (food stamps), MEDICAID and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission; 

• Assisting homeless veterans in obtaining disability benefits, housing benefits, and other assistance aimed at ending veteran homelessness; 

• Conducting public education about benefits available to low-income veterans and their families, and about their rights when applying for and receiving those benefits; 

• Providing legal representation, advice, and counsel for veterans in a wide range of civil legal matters involving housing, consumer, civil rights, employment, and family law; 

• Conducting Ask-a-Lawyer sessions at VA facilities and events sponsored by veteran service organizations, which provide veterans with immediate legal advice and identify veterans who need extended TRLA representation; 

•  Helping veterans clear the legal hurdles to obtaining new driver's licenses. 

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

Primary duties and responsibilities of this position include:  

• Supervising the legal work of the staff assigned to the Veterans Advocacy Project, including regular spot checks of closed cases and quarterly case reviews;  

• Scheduling 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;  

• Reviewing 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;  

• Reviewing and approving Tier Approval Litigation Requests in Legal Server for specified cases to be undertaken by the Veterans Advocacy Project, and approving such case closings;  

• Approving litigation expenses of up to $500 per case;  

• Reviewing all significant cases on a regular basis to assure that the quality and timeliness of legal work by team members is maintained;  

• Enforcing compliance with funding regulations and program policies;  

• Maintaining 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;  

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

• Coordinating community legal education and outreach activities for the team;  

• Identifying consumer cases and clients that do not readily access the intake system and assuring that all clients have equal access to program resources;  

• Preparing routine forms and default legal advice, developing modules and procedures, and making recommendations for other improvements to the client tracking system that enhance the efficiency of program operations;  

• Monitoring and reviewing changes in laws, and coordinating forums to review such changes;  

• Analyzing case trends and issues affecting clients;  

• Submitting an annual report of Veterans Advocacy Project activities to the Litigation Director and Executive Director on December 1 of each year;  

• Implementing policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Directors or promulgated by the Executive Director;  

• Approving leave requests of team members, in coordination with branch managers;  

• Participating in recruitment and hiring of attorneys and other team members;  

• Disciplining and terminating employee team members, when case-related;  

• Responding originally to client grievances when a grievance arises over the quality of service of the manager’s team;  

• Responding originally to team member’s substantive complaints;  

• Approving case-related training and travel requests of team members;  

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

• Taking 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.  

Compensation and Benefits: 

Salary is commensurate with experience and includes an excellent fringe benefits package, including law school loan repayment, generous paid leave, healthcare insurance, a retirement plan, and training & travel stipends.   

TRLA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

At TRLA, we are committed to offering fair and equal employment opportunities to all job applicants and employees. We strictly prohibit any form of discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.