Community Law Attorney (Employment Law/Public Benefits)

Open Door Legal • San Francisco, CA

23d • $83,500 - $99,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are hiring a Community Law Attorney (Employment Law/Public Benefits) to represent clients in employment law and public benefits matters. For the employment law context, this includes wage and hour, wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination claims. For the public benefits context, this includes Social Security, MediCal, CalFresh, CAAP/General Assistance, and Unemployment Insurance. This will be a full-time position designed to expand the capacity of our employment and public benefits team. You would report directly to our Senior Employment Litigation Attorney, who also has a background in SSDI appeal representation. The Employment Law and Public Benefits practice group is part of the Litigation and Economic Justice Team. Since the coronavirus pandemic struck the Bay Area and the United States, one thing has become eminently clear: that low-income individuals, families, and workers are disproportionately affected in times of crisis. Our employment team works hard to ensure that businesses and organizations are held accountable to their workers, that the benefits workers were promised come to them, and that power and agency are not taken from our low-income communities. The work is fast-paced, is high-volume, and requires you to be organized, think critically and dynamically, and demonstrate empathy and awareness in understanding the needs of our community. If you want to make a difference in clients’ lives with us, we encourage you to apply! Overall, this position is intended to be a challenging and rewarding experience for someone who is interested in using that knowledge to impact the lives of local low-income community members.

Requirements

• Membership in good standing with the California State Bar. Applicants without active California bar membership will not be considered. However, those without a license are encouraged to apply to volunteer with us at opendoorlegal.org/volunteer.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience practicing as an attorney with a focus in employment law.
• Knowledge of California public benefits and experience representing clients at administrative law hearings.
• Excellent writing and oral advocacy skills, with the ability to be detail-oriented.
• Strong time management skills and the ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Dogged perseverance in the face of bureaucratic barriers.
• Have a high level of comfort learning and using technology and cloud-based case management systems. We use Salesforce, Dropbox, and Google Suite.
• Must genuinely enjoy and be motivated by working with low-income clients and be able to work competently with clients impacted by trauma (emotional, mental, and physical).
• Must actively demonstrate cultural humility and sensitivity to barriers low-income residents face when attempting to access the justice system.
• Must be willing to make a minimum two-year commitment to the organization.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• Comfortable translating and interpreting from English to Spanish or Cantonese and vice versa legal information without assistance.
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience working in direct services legal aid or similar environment.
• Knowledge of other local non-profit organizations and tools for assisting low-income, underserved communities.
• Having lived a significant period of your life in San Francisco proper.

Responsibilities

• Embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and make sure that the needs of clients in our service area are met.
• Own a full caseload (as per team needs, which is currently 30 cases) and be responsible for making sure the clients’ goals are met.
• Perform employment law and public benefit intakes in-person and virtually across multiple physical Open Door Legal locations.
• Provide trauma-informed legal services and help clients stay updated on their case, maintaining consistently positive client feedback scores.
• Meet clients where they are, factoring in their cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and any barriers to service.
• Gain and maintain proficient knowledge of public benefit law and employment law.
• Attend trainings, review solutions, engage in casework, and discuss case strategy with your supervisor to obtain the skills and knowledge in best practices needed to competently represent clients, in areas relating to legal strategy, and in trauma-informed and culturally-sensitive direct services high-volume legal work.
• Support our Litigation and Economic Justice team with other tasks and casework as capacity allows.
• Efficiently utilize Salesforce, our client management system (CMS), to document case activities, maintain detailed and accurate client records, and ensure timely record updates.
• Commit to leading the office in representing our mission and values externally to potential clients, clients, and others as well as internally to all teammates and volunteers. Our values are passion, grit, teamwork, caring, and dynamism.

Benefits

• Loan Repayment Assistance - for staff pursuing 10-year public interest debt forgiveness, we will pay the minimum payment on all qualifying loans so that you don’t need to worry about student loan debt (this is a conditional benefit).
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plan offerings at 100% coverage
• Generous paid time off (four weeks vacation and two weeks sick/care)
• Flexible work hours
• Generous paid parental leave
• 401K/Retirement Account
• We believe everyone is always learning. We financially invest in individual professional development for each staff member and provide many internal and external mentorships, coaching, and learning opportunities (conferences, workshops, etc.).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed