Housing Staff Attorney

Max 3 yrs required

Full-time

No

Housing Staff Attorney

Organization is seeking a highly experienced attorney with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy. The successful candidate will represent low-income tenants in eviction proceedings, fair housing, and preservation of affordable housing.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:
• Learn and advocate for the diverse legal needs of communities affected by systemic and structural inequities in Santa Clara County and the broader Bay Area to reduce homelessness, enhance stability and address social injustice;
• Represent low-income tenants in administrative hearings and eviction proceedings at every stage of litigation, including motions, discovery, trials and appeals;
• Address access barriers and provide legal assistance to low-income tenants by providing call-backs to tenants seeking help through our Legal Advice Line or other partnerships;
• Advocate for tenants on issues of fair housing, substandard conditions, and VAWA;
• Identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ housing rights and address these challenges through affirmative litigation and policy work;
• Collaborate with the local and national tenant advocacy community;
• Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and client community on housing law, tenants' rights, and a broad range of civil legal issues;
• Develop relationships and engage in 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;
• Work with BayLegal's development, grants and contracts, and communications team to promote BayLegal's mission and resource development; and
• Engage in other tasks and projects that further 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.
• 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 and willing to take the bar exam at the next available sitting.
• Housing law experience or other transferable litigation skills preferred.
• Experience directly representing clients in litigation or another similar setting preferred.
• Language fluency and proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, or another language regularly used in services to our client community preferred (wage differential available upon passing test for fluency and written proficiency).
• Experience and skills maintaining organization of time, managing diverse activities, and meeting critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented.
• Experience and commitment to working collaboratively with a dynamic team.
• Curious and self-directed with an ability to anticipate what needs to be done.
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details.
• Sense of humor and proactive problem solver

Health & Safety and Hybrid Work Environment:
Organization is committed to the health and safety of their staff, clients, and community. Being accessible to their client communities and reducing barriers for them to access their services is integral to their mission and commitment as a direct services community-based law firm. Organization has health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure. Organization has an evolving plan to continue to safely increase in-person services and activities in their offices and community-based advocacy sites. Currently, most Organization 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 Organization base location, and to other service delivery locations as needed, during the standard work week.

Compensation and Benefits:
Organization offers a diverse, family friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package. Their benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 60% for dependents; Organization 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 Organization contribution following first year. Organization has a generous paid leave policy which includes sick leave; parental leave; 15 holidays each year; 3 floating holidays each year (flexible to be used throughout the year); and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment). This is a union position (Bay Area Legal Aid Workers, “BALAW”), the salary in 2023 ranges from $74,629 - $93,793 ($77,614 - $97,545 in 2024) depending on years of experience and the salary scale can be found on our Organization union positions salary scale for 2022-2026.

Application Process:
Organization thrives on their diversity, and they are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. They are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans,

100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 60% 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.

Spanish, Vietnamese

Advocacy, Litigation, Writing, Editing, Proof-reading, Time Management, Problem Solving, Multi-tasking

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 and willing to take the bar exam at the next available sitting.

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.

Qualification and Experience 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 and willing to take the bar exam at the next available sitting. Housing law experience or other transferable litigation skills preferred. Language fluency and proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, or another language regularly used in services to our client community preferred (wage differential available upon passing test for fluency and written proficiency).

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