TEMPORARY STAFF ATTORNEY FOR VETERANS JUSTICE PROJECT

Project Description

Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS) seeks a temporary Staff Attorney for its Veterans Justice Project to assist homeless Veterans or Veterans who are at risk of homelessness. The position will start August 1, 2024, and will run until September 30, 2025. There is the potential for but not the guarantee of continued funding after September 30, 2025.

Brooklyn Legal Services is part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) and provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population. LSNYC’s mission is to fight poverty and seek racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country. Our staff of over 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps more than 110,000 New Yorkers annually. BLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients — preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income support, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for older adults and people with disabilities.

The Veterans Justice Project helps Veterans, active-duty service members and their families to preserve their housing, maximize their financial entitlements and income (both Veteran-related and non-Veteran benefits), and combat consumer issues such as student loan debt. Our project is a leader on policy issues around veterans’ housing and homelessness, veterans’ preferences and protections under New York State law, and the provision of comprehensive legal services to those who have served. The Veterans Justice Project partners with the VA on several projects and staffs an onsite legal clinic at the Brooklyn Veterans Hospital.

LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts. As a social justice organization, we are committed to fighting for a workplace that is as diverse, equitable, and inclusive as possible for everyone. Our DEIB committee and numerous affinity groups work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about, seek to understand, and work to realize our DEIB goals. LSNYC provides numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including funding for continuing education (CLE) hours.

Roles and Responsibilities

The attorney will be responsible for litigation, representation in administrative fora, and advocacy for Brooklyn resident Veterans. The attorney will be expected to be a generalist, engaging at least occasionally in most of our practice areas. However, a primary focus of this attorney will be to assist our clients with housing preservation and alleviation of homelessness. The attorney may occasionally engage in community outreach and will make home, hospital and nursing home visits to meet with clients when necessary.

Experience and Qualifications

We seek an attorney admitted to the New York State Bar with:

• A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equity;
• Demonstrated experience and a commitment to working with Veterans, including an understanding of the particular legal and social issues that occur in that population;
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills;
• A demonstrated ability to work with clients in crisis, clients with mental and physical disabilities, and clients suffering with PTSD;
• Demonstrated capacity to engage in a generalist practice and to be able to handle a caseload with a variety of legal issues and problems across multiple practice areas; and
• Strong organizational skills and ability to handle diverse, fast paced, and high-volume case load.

We will consider law graduates who are applying to be admitted to practice in New York, but we will give preference to attorneys already admitted to practice in New York.

Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Health Recommendation

All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.

How to Apply

Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples to bkhiring@lsnyc.org. Please write “LSV Atty” in the subject line of the email. Hiring sites are not a substitute for these application instructions. Please, no telephone calls.

Salary and benefits are determined by the LS-NYC Collective Bargaining Agreement. LSNYC is an affirmative action, equal-opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and people over the age of 40 are all welcome and encouraged to apply.

LSNYC acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description’s qualifications. We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed above or be equally proficient in each area; we especially encourage applicants who are impacted by LSNYC’s work to submit their application anyway.

Job#73_2024; Posted: 07.2024

Salary Range (Based on years of experience):

• 1-10 years: $74,881 - $98,355
• 11-20 years: $100,605 - $118,773
• 21+ years: $124,254 - $135,637