Housing Triage Attorney

Open Door Legal • San Francisco, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Open Door Legal (ODL) is a legal aid organization working toward universal access to civil legal representation to reduce poverty. The Housing Triage Attorney supports ODL’s housing practice, which includes an Unlawful Detainer section that assists clients defending eviction cases and an Affirmative Housing team addressing matters such as housing discrimination, illegal rent increases, landlord harassment, Rent Board petitions, constructive and wrongful evictions, habitability, and unlawful-detainer restrictions.

The Triage Attorney is often the first legal contact for guests seeking help. The role quickly assesses incoming housing matters, identifies documentation needed to evaluate their evidentiary basis, provides emergency legal advice, and performs limited-scope legal services. It does not carry a caseload of full-scope representation matters. Instead, it focuses on efficiently identifying guests’ needs, providing immediate guidance, and routing matters to ODL staff or external partners for further service. The position reports to the Managing Housing Attorney and works closely with the Associate Director of Community Engagement.

Requirements

• Applicants may be considered if they are a member in good standing of the State Bar of California or licensed in good standing with another state bar; applicants without a license are encouraged to apply to volunteer.
• Previous experience practicing housing law.
• Strong time-management and organizational skills; ability to manage diverse activities and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated cultural humility and sensitivity to barriers low-income San Franciscans face when accessing the justice system.
• Understanding of effective trauma-informed advocacy for clients in crisis, including people experiencing domestic violence.
• Ability to commute to any ODL office three days per week for in-person intakes, meetings, and team support.
• Comfort learning and using technology and cloud-based case-management systems; ODL uses Salesforce, Dropbox, and Google Suite.
• Genuine motivation to work with low-income clients and ability to work competently with people impacted by emotional, mental, or physical trauma, including people at risk of homelessness or currently unhoused.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to translate and interpret legal information between English and Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin without assistance; this may qualify for a slight compensation increase.
• Experience filing and interacting with the San Francisco Superior Court.
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience in a high-volume direct-services legal aid or similar environment.
• A significant personal connection to San Francisco, particularly the Bayview/Hunters Point, Excelsior, Sunset, Western Addition, Tenderloin, or Mission neighborhoods.

Responsibilities

• Embody ODL’s mission of universal access to civil legal aid and help ensure housing needs in the service area are met by ODL or other providers.
• Conduct initial legal assessments of incoming housing matters, determine viability and appropriate next steps, and identify documentation needed to evaluate the evidentiary basis of a matter.
• Provide emergency legal advice and limited-scope (brief service) legal assistance.
• Develop and maintain proficient knowledge of housing law and direct-services legal advocacy, including client and time management.
• Apply relevant legal frameworks to distinguish matters requiring immediate action, brief service, referral to full-scope representation, or outside resources.
• Explain guests’ rights, options, and risks under applicable law in accessible, plain language.
• Advise guests on gathering and organizing relevant documentation.
• Explain to guests with nonviable matters why they do not have a legal case.
• Provide emergency advice for time-sensitive issues, including imminent deadlines, statutes of limitations, and urgent safety concerns.
• Perform discrete legal tasks when full representation is not warranted or available, such as document review, letter drafting, and court-form preparation.
• Work with the Managing Attorney - External Partnerships to seek placement of viable matters with pro bono partners, panel attorneys, or other legal aid organizations before exploring internal escalation.
• Identify and create or facilitate triage capacity-building programs, such as clinics or collaborations with non-legal programs.
• Embody the organization’s values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

Benefits

• Conditional loan repayment assistance for staff pursuing 10-year public-interest debt forgiveness: ODL pays the minimum payment on qualifying loans.
• Medical, dental, and vision plan offerings at 100% coverage.
• Four weeks of vacation and two weeks of sick/care leave.
• Flexible work hours.
• Paid parental leave.
• 401(k)/retirement account.
• Financial investment in individual professional development, which may include mentorship, coaching, conferences, workshops, and other learning opportunities.
• Best-in-class technology solutions.

What This Job Offers

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