Youth Justice Staff Attorney
Youth Justice Team works to advance the needs and rights of youth by providing wrap-around civil legal services to young people experiencing homelessness, systems-involved youth, and youth with high rates of sexual exploitation. The Team believes that all young people should be treated with respect and have the resources they need to meet their goals. To that end, we engage in civil legal representation, social work, community collaborations, and systemic advocacy, in partnership with the young people we serve.
Position: BayLegal seeks an attorney with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice to join our Youth Justice Team, which advocates for vulnerable youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. The attorney will work on a diverse range of legal issues, including foster care entry, public benefits, probate guardianships, education advocacy, immigration relief, and other civil legal practice areas. This position is based in our Oakland office and involves traveling throughout the county and potentially the Bay Area as necessary to best serve our low-income clients. See COVID-19 Temporary Remote work below.
- Membership in the California State Bar, or admitted to practice in another state and eligible to practice in California for 3 years under the California State Bar rules for the Registered Legal Services Attorney Program (must pass CA bar at a later date)
- Bilingual preferred, but not required
- Experience working with and interviewing youth preferred
- Experience working with exploited, trafficked, abused and neglected youth preferred
- Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision
- Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented
- Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team
- Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be done
- Ability to simultaneously manage cases in different practice areas
- Humility in working with colleagues and clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency
Temporary COVID-19 remote work: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, all BayLegal employees are currently working remotely. While BayLegal has implemented detailed health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure and has an evolving plan for reopening our local offices, we anticipate remaining primarily remote at least throughout the rest of 2020. All employees are expected to be able to primarily work remotely until BayLegal determines it is safe to reopen offices. All employees are issued BayLegal computers and provided appropriate supplies. BayLegal has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make working remotely as efficient and connected as possible. All employees receive a flat-rate monthly amount to reimburse for work-related use of personal IT equipment, including internet, and home. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on personal lives, BayLegal is open to providing flexibility regarding work schedules and part-time or full-time employment to the extent feasible for the position.
BayLegal thrives on our diversity and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, persons of color, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Please send (1) cover letter including response to question below (no page limit), (2) resume, (3) references, and (4) writing sample to: Human Resources Department, e-mail to jobs@baylegal.org. Please reference “Youth Justice Attorney” in the subject of your email.
As part of your cover letter, please address the following:
BayLegal's clients are low- and very low-income members of our communities. They include people of color, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, seniors, people with lived experiences of homelessness, veterans, people with disabilities, and people from other underrepresented groups. BayLegal is committed to enhancing the provision of our services to all clients, increasing positive client outcomes, and creating an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. BayLegal promotes and supports policies that enable us to work effectively in cross-cultural situations with our clients, coworkers, and the community.
How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to: (1) serve our diverse client base effectively, (2) work effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds than your own, (3) acknowledge the systemic barriers that our clients face, and (4) contribute to our efforts to fight for racial justice? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, provide examples, and apply various aspects of your life and personal experiences.