Health Consumer Center (HCC): The HCC is a regional office focused on removing barriers to accessing health care in seven counties in the Bay Area – Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma. The HCC is part of a network of ten community-based legal services organizations across California whose mission is to protect consumers' health care rights and ensure a stable health care delivery system for all through systemic advocacy and direct representation. As part of its model, the HCC operates a hotline that provides immediate access and legal assistance to address client's needs related to health care. HCC attorneys also participate in various stakeholder workgroups with state agencies as well as other health advocate groups. In addition, the unit engages in impact work via affirmative lawsuits challenging the application of administrative procedures and informal advocacy due to our relationships with government stakeholders on coverage and enrollment issues affecting Californians.
Position: BayLegal seeks a Staff Attorney with a strong commitment to public interest, social justice advocacy, and health care access. This position is based in our Oakland or San Joseoffice serving clients throughout seven counties in the Bay Area.
BayLegal Health Consumer Center Staff Attorney - Duties and Responsibilities:
- Represent individuals in administrative hearings and plan grievance proceedings at every stage of litigation, including negotiating with plans and providers for coverage of services and/or access to treatment;
- Assist callers through BayLegal’s health legal advice hotline providing immediate legal assistance to try to resolve the client’s needs to access healthcare.
- Help identify patterns and systemic legal barriers facing low-income individuals in need of healthcare and engage in advocacy to bring systemic change through impact litigation and policy work.
- Learn and assist with the diverse legal needs of underserved and marginalized communities throughout the Bay Area to access healthcare, reduce homelessness, enhance stability, and address social injustice.
- Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and client community on health access issues and a broad range of civil legal issues.
- Engage, advance, and develop relationships and collaboration with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing BayLegal's client community; and
- Engage in other tasks and projects that further the interest of fostering BayLegal's mission and operations as a non-profit.
Requirements/Qualifications/About the Successful Candidate:
- 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.
- Must have received or be willing to receive and maintain up to date COVID-19 vaccination (including boosters) by date of hire to be considered. Proof of vaccination required.
- Successfully clear a live scan background check required by funders given the position involves access to confidential information.
- Membership in good standing 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.
- Language fluency and proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, Hindi, Punjabi, Mandarin, or Cantonese preferred (wage differential available upon passing test for fluency and written proficiency);
- Demonstrated working knowledge of or willingness to learn health care related issues, including Medicare, Medi-Cal and managed care;\
- Interest in or demonstrated commitment to public interest law and social justice advocacy;
- Positive attitude, sense of humor and proactive problem-solver;
- Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with the ability to be detail-oriented;
- Experience and commitment to being organized, managing multiple projects while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details, learning, and asking questions, engaging in research and follow-through, and calendaring and meeting critical deadlines.
- Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented; and
- Commitment and demonstrated experience working collaboratively with a dynamic diverse team.
COVID-19: BayLegal is committed to the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community. Being accessible to our client communities and reducing barriers for them to access our services is integral to our mission and commitment as a direct services community-based law firm. BayLegal has health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure. BayLegal has an evolving plan to continue to safely increase in-person services and activities in our offices and community-based advocacy sites. Currently, most BayLegal employees work a hybrid model including on-site and in-person work and working from home on a part-time basis. Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical BayLegal base location, and to other service delivery locations as needed, during the standard work week and in compliance with public health advisories.
Compensationand Benefits: We offer a diverse, family friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package. BayLegal's benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 40-50% for dependents; BayLegal student debt reimbursement program; long term disability insurance; employee assistance program; wage differentials for multi-lingual employees whose non-English language skills are regularly used in the provision of work tasks and pass a request test of fluency and/or proficiency; dependent childcare employer contribution program; employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees; and 401k retirement plan with BayLegal contribution following first year. BayLegal has a generous paid leave policy which includes sick leave; parental leave; 15 holidays each year; 3 floating holidays each year (days chosen by employee); and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment). This is a union position (Bay Area Legal Aid Workers, “BALAW”), and the salary ranges from (Attorney/Social Worker: $74,629-$93,793, depending on years of experience. The salary scale for 2022-2026 can be found HERE.
Applications: 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, LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, veterans, individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees pursuant to applicable law. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact BayLegal’s Human Resources Manager at510) 250-5225.
BayLegal will begin reviewing applications upon receipt and continue until the position is filled. Please submit (1) cover letter including response to question below (no page limit), (2) resume, (3) references, and (4) writing sample through BayLegal’s career application portal.
AS PART OF YOUR COVER LETTER,PLEASEADDRESS THE FOLLOWING:
BayLegal’s clients are low-income and very low-income members of our communities. They include LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, the working poor, seniors, people who are limited English proficient, veterans, persons with disabilities, survivors of abuse and exploitation, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, and people who are experiencing or at risk of homeless, and persons from other underrepresented groups. To ensure our organization is best serving these populations, BayLegal strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively across cultures, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued.
How do you think your experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to serve our diverse client base effectively, work effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds than your own, and to contribute to our commitment to humility, inclusion, and diversity? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.