Community Engagement Unit Staff Attorney - Public Benefits (Non-Profit)

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania • Norristown, PA

10d • $65,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP) is seeking a public benefits attorney to join its Community Engagement Unit. LASP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free civil legal services to low-income residents in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The Community Engagement Unit focuses on building and strengthening relationships with various organizations and stakeholders to improve access to justice. The attorney will be instrumental in raising community awareness of legal issues, expanding access to legal services, and fostering collaboration with community partners. This role involves planning and executing outreach events, legal clinics, and educational presentations, as well as recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers. Direct client representation in public benefits matters, including TANF, SNAP, Medical Assistance, Unemployment Compensation, and SSI/SSDI, will be a key part of the role. The attorney will also collaborate with community organizations to identify legal needs, develop outreach strategies, and connect vulnerable populations with legal resources. A strong emphasis will be placed on serving Spanish-speaking communities, making bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English highly preferred. This position offers a blend of direct client advocacy and community engagement to enhance access to justice for underserved populations. The position is funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board, is a full-time regional role based in Norristown with responsibilities across the four-county service area, and operates on a hybrid work model.

Requirements

• License to practice law in Pennsylvania or admitted in another jurisdiction and eligible for admission to Pennsylvania
• At least two (2) years’ experience as a lawyer preferred
• Demonstrated proficiency in word processing, Outlook products, case management software, and online legal research tools
• Passionate commitment to public interest law and serving low-income individuals and vulnerable populations
• Strong written and oral advocacy and organizational skills
• Willingness to accept complex and challenging cases and develop creative strategies to assist clients

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Interviewing clients, assisting in determining eligibility for services, and ascertaining and investigating facts
• Conducting legal research and interpreting statutes, case law, regulations, and other sources of law
• Providing advice and counsel to clients
• Preparing legal documents, including but not necessarily limited to, briefs, pleadings, motions, notices, correspondence, memoranda, discovery, and documents responsive to discovery requests
• Developing strategy and arguments for presentation of cases and assisting in preparation of witnesses for hearings and trials
• Representing clients in trial and appellate courts and before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies
• Reviewing decisions and consulting with management team to determine merit of potential appeals
• Engaging with external professional and community organizations relevant to casework
• Conducting clinics, community education, and workshops
• Developing educational materials to provide to the community on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medical Assistance, Unemployment Compensation, and SSI/SSDI benefits
• Participating in LASP team efforts to achieve office and program goals, including participation in program-wide affinity groups and task forces
• Developing knowledge of referral resources and assessing community and client needs
• Enhancing skills and substantive knowledge through training, CLE, and other educational opportunities
• Abiding by all applicable professional standards of ethics and practice
• Completing required administrative tasks including entering of notes and timekeeping in LASP case management software, and maintaining of physical files
• Ensuring that requirements of grants and contracts which may provide funding for the position are followed, and assisting with grant reports
• Performing other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned

Benefits

• 401K retirement plan with generous employer contributions
• Health insurance option in which 100% of premium costs are provided
• Ancillary benefits
• Generous leave provisions, including paid holidays, floating holidays, personal leave, vacation, sick, and parental leave

What This Job Offers

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