Description
Position Summary
COVID-19 related laws and protections are rapidly changing and LASSD is looking for an attorney to represent eligible tenants with COVID-19 related housing and fair housing issues. The Staff Attorney will be responsible for creating educational material and encouraging landlords and tenants to work together to reach mutually agreeable solutions and utilize litigation as a last resort. Other duties include but are not limited to: conducting remote outreach and education presentations, conducting intake of suspected housing discrimination cases and advising clients on their rights, and assisting in the preparation of cases for litigation as deemed appropriate by the Senior Attorney.
About the Organization
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere
Essential Functions:
• Interviewing prospective clients regarding housing and fair housing issues, analyzing legal problems, rendering legal advice, preparing legal documents, and rendering other legal assistance.
• Preparing for, assisting, and engaging in alternative dispute resolution and litigation as appropriate.
• Developing an increasingly complex caseload.
• Negotiation with opposing parties and agencies, including but not limited to: pay-and-stay agreements, move-out agreements, reasonable accommodations, and other voluntary agreements that may be applicable.
• Developing creative methods, litigious and non-litigious for dealing with recurring client problems.
• Collaborating with other teams and outside organizations to provide holistic services.
• Staying up to date on substantive developments in the housing field.
• Attending community meetings and networking with other community groups for referrals.
• Conducting outreach and education events and training potential clients, community groups, and other service providers about Covid19 Eviction Moratoriums, Fair Housing laws, tenant rights, and the services that the Fair Housing Team and LASSD provide.
• Attending appropriate trainings and keeping up to date on developments in federal, state, and local fair housing laws, regulations, guidelines, and court cases, as well as emerging issues.
• Maintaining data, records, case files in compliance with funding and programmatic requirements and preparing periodic activity reports for funders.
• Sharing in the organization’s development, administrative, and reporting tasks as needed.
• Compliance with all program and grant requirements; adherence to all LASSD policies and procedures.
• Participating in mandatory staff trainings and meetings.
• Other projects and duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
• Admitted and in Good Standing with the California State Bar
• J.D. degree from an ABA accredited law school
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan so as to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements
• Must have reliable transportation
Requirements
Desired Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred
• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people
• Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds
• Experience in or knowledge of Mediation
• Knowledge of applicable local, state, and federal housing and fair housing laws
• Experience conducting investigations and/or legal advocacy
• Must be able to relate to and work with all segments of the client community and understand the objectives and purposes of housing and fair housing laws
Salary and Benefits:
The Fair Housing Staff Attorney position is an exempt position with a salary range of $73,000 – $87,000. The starting salary is $73,000. LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as, dental, vision and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). LASSD has its own loan repayment program, as well as LASSD is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.
LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.
Hybrid Work Environment:
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.
Mandatory Vaccination Policy:
LASSD has implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. We will consider individual requests for exemption from the policy for: (1) medical reasons, and/or (2) based on an applicant or employees sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Any applicant or employee requesting an exemption should submit a completed exemption request form to Human Resources. Upon receipt of a completed exemption request form and any supporting documentation, LASSD will engage in an interactive discussion with the applicant or employee to determine whether an exemption is appropriate and can be granted without posing an undue hardship to LASSD or a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual making the request or others at LASSD. Any individual granted an exemption from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement may be subject to conditions and restrictions (such as being required to use additional personal protective equipment or submit to LASSD-provided COVID-19 testing) to mitigate the risk to the individual and others at LASSD. LASSD will require employees to be up to date on their vaccinations which will include at least one booster.
Diversity and Inclusion:
It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve. LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge. We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives. We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.