Senior Staff Attorney

SUMMARY

Her Justice has received funding from the Eugene M. Lang Foundation to support our Civil Justice for Incarcerated Women Project. The Incarcerated Women Project aims to support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in achieving personal freedom and stability by providing free civil legal services in the areas of family and matrimonial law, helping them to lead healthy and productive lives after their release. With this funding, we seek a Senior Staff Attorney to join our team, providing free legal services in the areas of matrimonial and family law, through our Pro Bono first model. This position will focus on providing legal information and direct services to women who are currently incarcerated, facing incarceration, and/or recently released. This position will focus on providing legal information and direct services to women who are currently incarcerated, facing incarceration, and/or recently released. The Attorney will also enhance Her Justice’s partnerships with community-based organizations to ensure we are providing holistic and culturally competent services to this marginalized and underserved population.

From 1980 to 2019, the number of incarcerated women in the United States increased by over 700%. Women of color are disproportionately represented in this number, as Black women are almost twice as likely to be incarcerated as white women, and Hispanic women are 1.3 times as likely to be incarcerated as white women. People living in poverty are three times more likely to be arrested than those who aren’t, and 72% of incarcerated women were in poverty prior to being arrested. Because many incarcerated women were living in poverty, it’s common for them to have unmet civil legal needs unrelated to and in addition to the reason for their incarceration. They are both uniquely isolated from resources and have unique legal needs, usually related to children and marriage. For incarcerated individuals, access to the civil court system is significantly limited, and yet, these civil legal issues have a dramatic impact on the lives of women as they prepare for reentry.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform client intake and legal screening of clients.
• Assess clients for pro bono placement.
• Provide advice and brief services to women in family law and matrimonial law matters.
• Work with the Family and Matrimonial team to develop and strengthen the Her Justice Family and Matrimonial practice.
• Maintain a small caseload of family court and uncontested divorce cases for clients of the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Conduct CLE trainings and presenting on issues of Family and Matrimonial law with a focus on the needs of clients in the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Recruit volunteer attorneys from large law firms to provide pro bono representation to Her Justice referred clients.
• Mentor and support volunteer attorneys.
• Develop educational materials for clients and advocates served by the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Conduct outreach and build partnerships with the Department of Corrections, women’s prisons, and relevant community-based organizations to enhance the services of the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Assist with preparing funding reports for the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Assist in recruiting, training and supervising in-house volunteers and law students.
• Participate in community outreach, media relations and other forms of marketing and public education for the Incarcerated Women Project.
• Serve on committees and panels relating to policy issues and/or reform efforts relevant to the Incarcerated Women Project.

SKILLSET AND QUALITIES

We seek a self-motivated and self-directed team-player who possesses outstanding organizational, interpersonal, communication, writing, and computer skills. We value experience representing indigent clients, survivors of domestic violence, and clients from diverse backgrounds and communities. We value the demonstrated ability to effectively communicate with clients who have experienced trauma. We also value experience in policy/advocacy work, and a demonstrated commitment to systems reform on issues affecting women living in poverty or incarcerated women.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Juris Doctor Degree and bar admission in New York State is required.
• Fluency in Spanish, written and oral, is required.
• 5-7 years practicing law.
• Experience in family and matrimonial law in New York State is a plus, as well as experience working with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated persons.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Hybrid with one day a week in office (subject to change based on business needs).

SALARY: The salary for this position is in the range of $78,950 to $98,687, depending on experience. Her Justice also offers excellent benefits, including 26 days of PTO, a 401k plan, commuter benefits, half-day summer Fridays, and employer-sponsored medical, dental, and vision benefits.