Citywide Director – Employment Law Unit

The Legal Aid Society • New York, NY

20h • $166,000 - $171,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice has an opening for a Citywide Director of the Employment Law Unit (ELU). This is an opportunity to lead a multifaceted employment law practice that combines individual representation with systemic advocacy on behalf of low-wage and unemployed workers. The Director oversees a team of Staff Attorneys, Paralegals, and a Supervising Attorney whose work spans direct legal services, impact and class litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, and community-based partnerships aimed at achieving broad and lasting improvements in workers' rights.

Most of ELU’s cases involve violations of wage-and-hour laws, workplace discrimination, family and medical leave, labor trafficking, whistleblowing, and claims for unemployment insurance. In its discrimination cases, ELU assists the most vulnerable New Yorkers who are sexually harassed, discriminated against based on race, national origin, immigration status, pregnancy, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a domestic violence victim, or criminal background, or who are denied reasonable accommodations needed due to pregnancy or disabilities. Our clients are overwhelmingly people of color living paycheck to paycheck.

ELU’s docket includes complex individual, group, and class actions in federal and state courts and administrative forums, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Department of Labor. The Unit partners closely with leading law firms who serve as pro bono co-counsel. ELU's cases not only secure justice for individual workers but also create more equitable conditions for workers and communities in New York City. Most recently, ELU obtained a $162 million settlement on behalf of approximately 200,000 personal assistants who had been improperly compensated.

ELU engages in extensive policy and legislative advocacy, helping secure reforms that strengthen workplace protections and expand economic opportunity for low-income New Yorkers. The Unit also partners closely with community organizations, providing workers' rights trainings, legal advice and assistance, and support in addressing emerging workplace issues affecting vulnerable communities.

Legal Aid's size and breadth make it uniquely positioned to provide holistic representation. ELU regularly collaborates with attorneys across the Civil Practice and Criminal Defense Practice to address the interconnected legal challenges facing clients. For example, ELU works closely with the Immigration Law Unit to secure immigration protections for workers, including U and T visas. These collaborations are particularly important because undocumented workers are often vulnerable to exploitation and other workplace abuses and may require coordinated legal advocacy across multiple areas of law.

The Director leads all aspects of ELU’s citywide practice, providing strategic direction and oversight of direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community engagement. The Director supervises and mentors attorneys, paralegals, and managers; oversees grant-funded initiatives; helps set the Unit's legal and advocacy priorities; and ensures the delivery of high-quality representation to workers across New York City. The Director also serves as a key ambassador for the Unit, building and maintaining relationships with community partners, government stakeholders, and the media through policy advocacy, public education, and strategic communications. The Director participates in practice-wide management, planning, and decision-making in close collaboration with the Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Citywide Units.

Requirements

• Admission to the New York State Bar
• Minimum of ten years of legal practice including experience litigating employment law matters
• Supervisory and management experience
• Experience litigating in various forums, including state and federal courts
• Excellent litigation and advocacy skills
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, oral, written, and organizational skills
• Ability to clearly identify roles, responsibilities, delegate tasks and hold people accountable.
• Ability to provide meaningful performance feedback for professional development including having difficult conversations and resolving sensitive employee issues.
• Ability to work in a collaborative team model
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, written, organizational and multitasking abilities
• Commitment to Legal Aid’s mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships.
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission and values
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect.
• May or will require travel within NYC, across the five-borough region

Nice To Haves

• Pro bono, government or public service experience
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in policy advocacy and reform
• Demonstrated leadership ability
• Grant-writing and fundraising experience
• Knowledge in various practice areas within civil legal services practice
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

Responsibilities

• Supervise the Unit’s direct legal work, including impact and affirmative litigation, policy advocacy, and community outreach, in close collaboration with the supervising attorney
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategies, and supervise the implementation of legal strategies
• Develop impact and affirmative litigation
• Coordinate intake processes to ensure efficient handling of cases
• Supervise, train, and mentor the Supervising Attorneys, Staff Attorneys, and Paralegals
• Monitor and maintain a high standard of representation and client service
• Provide oversight of pro bono initiatives
• Respond to client, community, and staff concerns, ensuring that issues are addressed promptly
• Evaluate the unit’s needs and identify necessary resources to address the needs
• Coordinate database management for the unit
• Support the development, funding, implementation and reporting of programs
• Prepare and submit necessary grant-reporting paperwork, and work with the Grants and Contracts department to identity funding opportunities
• Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
• Reinforce and maintain staff accountability
• Assist with planning and conducting citywide and statewide coalition meetings and task forces
• Develop and maintain community support and relationships with community-based organizations, advocates, government agencies, elected officials, and the courts
• Conduct community education, training, and outreach, and promote the work of the office, the Employment unit, the Civil Practice, and Legal Aid in the community
• Conduct off-site intake, including during evening or weekend hours as needed
• Represent the Employment Law Unit, the Civil Practice, and Legal Aid in the community, participating in policy work, community education, and press engagements
• Support the development of strategic offerings/initiatives, related policies, and procedures, ensuring they align with the mission of the Unit and the broader goals of the organization
• Assign work, approve time off, manage staffing changes, and remote work schedule requests following the guidance of Legal Aid’s policy and procedures
• Attend management meetings, participate in management trainings, and utilize current employment policies, practices and guidance as provided by management and Human Resources
• Conduct management and supervision practices that affirmatively support equity and inclusion
• Supervise direct reports in setting performance standards, provide routine feedback as well as coaching/counseling, and issue disciplinary action as needed
• Identify and provide training and development opportunities and ensure mandatory trainings are completed
• Identify, delegate, and document work responsibilities, roles, and procedures to meet the mission of the department
• Identify and implement department/unit management and accountability practices to improve performance
• Resolve employee conflict, complaints, and address union concerns, with guidance from Human Resources
• Lead organizational and culture change for the unit
• Participate in continuous professional development
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• health insurance
• paid vacation
• disability
• life insurance
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs
• assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director