STAFF ATTORNEY –– HOUSING UNIT (SHELTER Project)

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Accessible Employer and strives to ensure that our staff members reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

Greater Boston Legal Services seeks an attorney with 2 to 7 years of experience preferred, to work in the Housing Unit, focusing on enforcing and expanding the rights of homeless families to shelter.

Responsibilities:

This is a Staff Attorney position that mainly involves representing clients who seek access to state shelter benefits, who face termination of shelter benefits, or those seeking accommodation of disability-related needs or other rights within the state shelter system. The Staff Attorney, supervised by a Senior Attorney and working as part of GBLS’s Shelter Team, will use individual cases to promote systemic change. The Staff Attorney will also work with Shelter Team advocates on implementing the settlement terms of a class action lawsuit, Garcia vs. DHCD, and may also participate in other homelessness prevention tasks within the Shelter Team, such as representation of families in eviction cases, advocating for homeless families seeking permanent affordable housing, and preservation, or access to, other housing benefits.

The position involves responsibility for client cases including interviews, factual investigation, research and analysis of law, development of written and oral legal arguments, negotiation with agency officials and staff, preparation for and handling of administrative, and court hearings. The position may also include legislative advocacy, policy advocacy, and supervising law students and volunteers.

Additionally, this position may also include some of the full range of activities of the Housing Unit, including support for tenants who live in public and subsidized housing, helping tenant organizations preserve affordable housing, impact litigation, and any other work of the Housing Unit. Should funding for this position change, the attorney may be required to assume work in a different area of law within GBLS.

Qualifications:

Current or pending admission to the Massachusetts Bar is required. Experience in representing homeless families, housing law, and/or negotiation experience preferred. Applicants with written and oral fluency in Spanish, Haitian Creole, or another language spoken by GBLS’s clients, and attorneys with lived experience of displacement are encouraged to apply.

Salary is based on a union scale. For an attorney with 2 years of experience, starting salary is $77,000 and starting salary of $83,000 for an attorney with 6 years of experience, with additional annual increases based on the Collective Bargaining Agreement. GBLS offers a generous benefits package, retirement contribution, a student loan repayment assistance plan for eligible attorneys, and generous PTO leave.

Candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and a brief writing sample to the Human Resources Department via e-mail at jobs@gbls.org. Please refer to Job Code: HU-SHELTER-ATT when applying for this position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after September 23, 2024.

GBLS values diversity and encourages applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.