Community Economic Justice Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor

East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is a non-profit legal services organization, the community-based clinical program for U.C. Berkeley Law School, and one of the Bay Area’s largest and most effective systems disrupters. With a dual service and teaching mission, EBCLC is a racial justice organization committed to building a culturally diverse workplace, centered on equity. With about 80 staff, 150 law students a year, and a nearly $10 million annual budget, EBCLC is the largest provider of free legal services in Alameda County, providing multimodal, collaborative, and holistic legal services to over 5,000 clients annually and engaging in legislative and policy advocacy at the state and local level.

The Opportunity

EBCLC is excited to recruit a Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor for its Community Economic Justice (CEJ) program to provide representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations, and to assist with the training and supervision of law student interns. The ideal candidate is a strong legal advocate with excellent case management and organizational skills, experience in transactional legal work for business and nonprofit organizations, interest in training law students, and a demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice and community lawyering.

Please note that CEJ is currently recruiting for both Program Director and Staff Attorney positions but only one of these positions will be filled immediately. The other position is expected to be filled in January 2025. The sequence of which position will be filled first will be determined by the strength of the candidates.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide advice, counsel, and limited scope representation to low-income entrepreneurs, small businesses, cooperatives, and nonprofit organizations in a variety of areas, including entity formation and structuring; nonprofit tax exemption; corporate governance and compliance; commercial lease and real estate issues; contract drafting and review; and local permitting and licensing.
• Help expand CEJ’s commercial lease and real estate transaction expertise and increase capacity to assist vulnerable commercial tenants.
• Recruit and support clients by developing and maintaining close relationships with business service providers, community-based organizations and partners, and internal clinics.
• Staff periodic legal clinics by providing advice and counsel on transactional legal matters to low-income entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and cooperatives.
• Support outreach and education to CEJ’s client communities, including individuals with barriers to traditional employment (e.g., undocumented workers and people with prior records) and minority-owned small businesses in low-income communities and communities of color.
• Engage in policy advocacy related to small businesses, affordable housing, and/or anti-displacement at the local and state level.
• Supervise clinical law students in the performance of the above duties, including substantive law and skills training, weekly individual and group case reviews, and day-to-day student supervision and support tasks.
• Complete administrative tasks, such as those related to intake, grant management, and reporting.
• Participate in professional development to improve client services and student supervision.
• Additional tasks as assigned by Supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Licensed to practice law in California, preferably with at least three years of legal practice with transactional lawyering experience related to representing entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations on various legal needs, including entity formation, governance, tax-exemption, and compliance issues; and preferably with commercial lease and real estate transaction experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to integrating social justice, civil rights, and particularly racial justice into community-centered legal practice.
• Demonstrated commitment to developing collaborative working relationships with clients and community partners and applying community-centered lawyering/advocacy.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and advocating for policy and legislative changes.
• Strong interest in law student supervision and clinical teaching;.
• Excellent oral and written communication and advocacy skills.
• Ability to work under pressure in an empathetic, collegial, and professional manner.
• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse range of groups, including low-income clients, women and clients of color, students, service providers, community groups, elected officials, foundations, non-profit organizations, and law school faculty.
• Bilingual skills in Spanish are highly desirable.

Salary

Starting salary for this exempt position is $83,000 – $106,000 based on law school graduation date, as dictated by the EBCLC salary scale.

Workplace Expectations

EBCLC is a hybrid workplace. Staff may work from home or in the office, subject to safety protocols. Please note that the Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor is expected to work in the office or attend in-person events in the East Bay up to 3 days each week in order to attend in-person meetings, teach seminars, and/or engage in in-person fieldwork to support our clients, policy work, and the clinical education program. EBCLC will provide the necessary equipment to fulfill the job responsibilities of working from home.

Working at EBCLC

EBCLC is a unionized workplace and members of the bargaining unit are represented by the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20, IFPTE. This position is part of the bargaining unit.

EBCLC is strongly committed to advancing justice through education and advocacy, and the need to transform legal services and legal education. Please take time to review EBCLC’s mission, vision, programs, and website, and ensure that your cover letter reflects how your background, experience, and expertise have prepared you to be successful in performing the responsibilities of the position.

Additionally, EBCLC is committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity and providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

To achieve this goal, EBCLC works actively to improve our office climate, systems and structures, communications, and community engagement to create an inclusive and respectful workplace where differences are acknowledged and valued. In your cover letter, please address how your personal background and experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural responsiveness and diversity amongst our staff.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. EBCLC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior contact with the criminal legal system, or any other basis prohibited by law.