Staff Attorney

Homeless Action Center (HAC) is a community-based legal services program founded in 1990 to provide legal services to people who are homeless in Alameda County. HAC’s specialty is public benefits advocacy, with a focus on Social Security disability benefits and a goal of stabilizing and increasing clients’ income so that they can obtain sustainable housing and health care. Employing a client-centered model and harm reduction framework, HAC’s staff work closely with other legal and social services programs to assist clients in meeting their emergency and longer-term needs during the process of obtaining benefits. HAC is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an anti-racist organization and society. Please refer to www.homelessactioncenter.org.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

The Homeless Action Center is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an anti-racist organization and society.HAC’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Social Impact and the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, with the support of other dedicated staff, have put in a tremendous amount of work towards positively impacting change around diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice. HAC employs DEI principles at all stages of the hiring process, collects and analyzes data on staff demographics and retention, and periodically engages with consultants to assess the organization’s culture, facilitate processes and working groups, and make recommendations with implementation strategies for improvement. HAC’s Executive Director has declared that DEI will be one of the organization’s top priorities and the Management Team, in partnership with staff, continues to strive to increase DEI within HAC.

Staff Attorney Position

Staff Attorneys will primarily represent clients in applications and appeals for SSI/Social Security Disability benefits, and/or CAPI benefits.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

DIRECT CLIENT SERVICES

• Represent forty clients in all stages of the application process for Social Security disability benefits/CAPI, including initial, reconsideration, administrative hearings, the SSA appeals council, and federal district court:
• SSI/SSDI/CAPI representation generally includes the following minimum duties: contact potential clients; interview clients, assess status eligibility and determine status of any existing or prior claims, complete internal HAC and external SSA and other agency forms; initiate filings/appeals in a timely manner to protect eligibility; pursue, read, and summarize medical records and other evidence; correspond with clients’ physicians and other treatment providers; arrange medical assessments and transportation to medical appointments; submit information electronically; collaborate with SSA and its proxies via phone, email, fax and mail; develop legal arguments and write persuasive letters; and maintain regular contact with clients.
• Should the case proceed to the hearing level, the attorney will represent the client at an Administrative Hearing, which typically includes drafting and submitting a pre-hearing brief, preparing client testimony and an opening statement, answering questions from the judge, conducting a direct exam of the client, and cross examining medical and vocational experts.
• Negative or partially favorable hearing decisions will be assessed for appealability, and attorneys may file for Appeals Council review, and possibly District Court review, and/or file new claims as the situation dictates.
• Occasionally assist clients with issues related to receipt of disability benefits, such as overpayments, payee issues, and employment issues.
• Maintain case files and electronic records following agency guidelines.
• Calendar all deadlines and other case-related dates in agency case management software (Prevail). Use Prevail reports and other features to manage your caseload.
• Help clients apply for and retain other public benefits, e.g MediCal, General Assistance and CalFresh.
• Provide legal advice, brief services and referrals to one’s SSI clients as needed to help them with issues beyond SSI/SSDI and public benefits.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be or become competent in Social Security law. Stay up-to-date on the subject matter.
• Be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Adapt to changes and challenges in law, office procedures, resources for clients, and technology.
• Practice empathy, cultural humility, harm reduction and trauma-informed lawyering on a day-to-day basis, and learn and practice de-escalation.
• Develop a familiarity with eligibility criteria for HAC’s services and the scope of HAC’s services.
• Carry a caseload of 40 SSI/SSDI cases at all levels of the administrative process.
• Maintain contact with clients, which may include travel and visits to homeless encampments and other places people stay.

OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES

• • Perform periodic helpline shifts and drop-in clinic shifts, providing and documenting brief service assistance.
  • Attend monthly staff meetings and periodic all-staff trainings.
  • Attend regular case reviews with managing attorneys.
  • Assist in office cleaning.
  • Track time and complete monthly timesheets.
  • Maintain your schedule in Outlook, learn and follow procedures for making your in/out of office presence known.
  • Maintain shared information resources such as Sharepoint, outlook contacts, resource binders, and other sources of shared efficiency.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Must be an active member, in good standing, in the State Bar of California. Direct Legal Services preferred, especially experience with SSI/SSDI benefits. Those eligible for the Provisional Licensed Attorney program are encouraged to apply.
• Excellent written and oral communication, particularly advocacy.
• Sensitivity to people with disabilities of diverse backgrounds. Our clients are vulnerable, resilient people who deserve your absolute best work.
• Must be compassionate, well-organized, hard-working, reliable, dedicated, flexible, enthusiastic, detail-oriented, justice-oriented, and have the ability to work cooperatively with others in a collegial, yet challenging, environment.
• Must be comfortable applying harm reduction principles and de-escalating clients.
• Commitment to cultural humility, client-centered services, and trauma-informed principles.

ADDITIONAL VALUES AND CORE COMPETENCIES

HAC’s Core Competencies are the skills we expect all of our staff to have and continually develop - regardless of role or level. These core competencies are the skills that reflect how we live our values, support a consistency of staff experience across HAC, and help us understand what is expected of us and where we have room to grow.

Values

Core Competencies

Harm reduction

This value requires us to meet our clients where they are on their path in life and co-create strategies for survival with the resources available. Harm reduction is in contrast to a model that conditions the receipt of services on abstinence, socially acceptable behavior, or gratitude. Harm reduction empowers others to make choices to reduce the harms associated with the experiences of precarity, lack of access to treatment, health care, and permanent housing. A harm reduction and trauma informed mindset and ethos requires the following competencies:

• Centering client dignity and autonomy
• Interacting with our clients without fear or judgment
• Ability to interact with people experiencing severe mental illness, under the influence of substances, and at times displaying antisocial and offensive behavior

Radical Compassion

We expect our staff to have a demonstrated commitment to social change. Everyone deserves second chances - especially our clients - and we are not afraid of conflict in the service of solving problems and making HAC better. This value is about prioritizing relationship building and how we treat each other. Compassion at HAC also means understanding that socioeconomic systems, not individuals, are responsible for poverty. Compassion at HAC means:

• Practicing empathy in all interactions
• Having understanding and radical love for our clients first, for each other as colleagues, and for ourselves
• The ability to have difficult conversations, manage conflict, and face confrontation with humility, kindness, and respect

Redemption

We show up to this work with an understanding that HAC's clients are not the typical clients of a legal services organization. We do not condition representation on perfect behavior, and we are prepared to give multiple chances. Redemption at HAC means:

• We do not end relationships with clients because a client said the wrong thing, missed an appointment, or refuses to engage in drug treatment or health care
• We do not give up on our clients
• We go above and beyond for as long as it takes

Excellence

By excellence, we mean the quality of the services we deliver, the culture we foster, and our commitment to growth and learning. We expect excellence to look like:

• Attaining successful outcomes for our goals and objectives
• Demonstrating cultural humility by taking a learning stance and being open to our clients and colleagues’ cultural experiences
• Growing professionally and always learning in order to deliver outstanding work product
• Collaborating across teams and being proactive in offering solutions to challenges

Honor

We feel honored to be able to do this work at this time in this community. Our clients entrust us with their most difficult and private struggles and we are able to offer some relief. It’s hard work, and it has meaning and is honorable as well. What this means in practice is:

• We show up with integrity, an open mind, and heart
• We are able to deal with workplace stress and change
• We are adaptable and responsive
• We all make mistakes, take responsibility for them, and extend each other grace

Justice

Justice is the systematic fair treatment of all people, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all. It is not just the absence of discrimination and inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain equity through proactive and preventative measures. To embody justice at HAC, everyone:

• Is committed to advancing racial equity
• Has been directly impacted by inequity or has lived experience of solidarity with oppressed groups
• Has a deep understanding of the impact of race, class, gender, disability, and other kinds of injustice.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• • Contact with clients who may have behavioral and psychiatric problems including shouting, use of profanity and inappropriate behavioral choices.
  • Supervision: assigned duties according to specified procedures and receives detailed instructions. Work is reviewed frequently. The employee performs a variety of routine work within established policies and procedures, and receives instructions on assignments, new policies, or projects.
  • Our offices have open spaces, and thus can be loud and chaotic. While we are a working law office, the layout, as well as the nature of our work, can mean that it is louder than a “typical” office space.
  • We have animals – cats and dogs – in our offices.
  • This position requires interacting with people living in homeless encampments. Encampments may be especially chaotic, and may have debris, drug paraphernalia, rodents, and other possible hazards.
  • Occasional need to interact with clients that may be expressing anger both appropriately and inappropriately.
  • The worker is occasionally exposed to perfume or scents in personal care products used by employees, clients, and visitors.
  • The worker is occasionally exposed to cleaning products.
  • The work environment includes traveling using various modes of transportation.
  • The work environment may include driving an agency vehicle.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• Starting salary commensurate with experience, based on scale; starting salary scale for recently licensed attorneys is $78,856, increasing based on years barred and experience. Salary scale is examined at least annually.
• Employer paid insurance: health, vision, and dental, as well as $150,000 basic term life insurance policy, long-term disability insurance and employee assistance program. Coverage includes 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance for employee and dependent spouse/domestic partner or children; when adding spouse/domestic partner and children, 100% of the child premiums and 50% of the spouse/domestic partner premiums are paid by HAC. Additional optional life insurance, short-term disability, accident, and critical illness plans available.
• Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare or dependent care available.
• 50% Subsidy for Commuter Check program.
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) in the amount of $200 subsidy per month for all staff who have student loans, regardless of salary or loan amount.
• 403(b) account available with employer contribution of up to 4% of annual salary.
• Generous vacation, holiday and sick time.

HAC 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.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume, cover letter, and list of three references IN ONE PDF DOCUMENT to recruitment@homelessactioncenter.org. As part of your cover letter, please address the following question:

In order to best serve our clients and our community, HAC is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How has your personal background or experience, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, racial equity, and diversity among our staff?

HAC is committed to equity in hiring. We encourage people of color, women, people with disabilities, older people, LGBTQIA people, and members of other historically oppressed groups to apply. It is HAC’s policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, medical condition or genetic information, veteran status, national origin, disability, marital, or other protected status. HAC will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter, of all applicable laws and regulations.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• Starting salary commensurate with experience, based on scale; starting salary scale for recently licensed attorneys is $78,856, increasing based on years barred and experience. Salary scale is examined at least annually.
• Employer paid insurance: health, vision, and dental, as well as $150,000 basic term life insurance policy, long-term disability insurance and employee assistance program. Coverage includes 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance for employee and dependent spouse/domestic partner or children; when adding spouse/domestic partner and children, 100% of the child premiums and 50% of the spouse/domestic partner premiums are paid by HAC. Additional optional life insurance, short-term disability, accident, and critical illness plans available.
• Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare or dependent care available.
• 50% Subsidy for Commuter Check program.
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) in the amount of $200 subsidy per month for all staff who have student loans, regardless of salary or loan amount.
• 403(b) account available with employer contribution of up to 4% of annual salary.
• Generous vacation, holiday and sick time.