Professor of Practice, Housing Rights Legal Clinic

Details•San Diego, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The University of San Diego (USD) Law Housing Rights Clinic, established in 2022, offers assistance to low-income community members facing housing instability and related legal issues. The clinic focuses on cases involving homelessness, eviction, foreclosure, and threats to housing such as uninhabitability and harassment. Through the clinic, students gain practical experience representing clients, interviewing them, drafting legal documents, managing discovery, engaging in motion practice, negotiation, and trial preparation. Students also participate in outreach, education, and tenant organizing efforts. The course includes a weekly group seminar on housing law and advocacy, case management, and strategy, as well as a second weekly session for one-on-one training with the professor and litigation team.

Requirements

J.D. degree
Active membership in the California State Bar (in good standing)
Three years of housing law experience
Familiarity with computerized case management systems for legal practice
Demonstrated skills in customer service, including problem-solving
Ability to communicate effectively both in person and in writing
Current membership in good standing in the California State Bar

Nice To Haves

Experience supervising junior attorneys or law student interns
Familiarity with grant application process and grant administration
Experience dealing with community-based organizations and volunteer groups
Fluent in Spanish and English (both written and verbal)

Responsibilities

Maintain an individual caseload of client cases providing direct client contact and support, representing and advocating on behalf of clients, and determining appropriate legal strategy to best assist clients.
Supervise law student interns handling client cases to ensure competent and ethical representation.
Create the curriculum for the HRLC to provide instruction on substantive law, legal procedure, and public policy related to the HRLC’s focus of providing full-scope legal representation to indigent and underserved clients in eviction defense and other tenants’ rights assistance in landlord-tenant disputes.
Provide instruction to law student interns in fundamental lawyering skills necessary for the successful practice of law including: written and oral advocacy, client management, case management and strategy, and legal ethics.
Provide supervision for paralegals, support staff, and legal interns. Develop orientation and other training programs for legal interns. Supervise and evaluate substantive casework provided by legal interns.
Provide administrative and operational supervision of Legal Clinics program.
Monitor law office procedures, including opening and closing cases, record-keeping, and file maintenance.
Provide for the continuous representation of clients during non-academic periods when law students are not available.
Assist the Academic Director in completing and submitting annual grant applications.
Organize case data for reporting and publicity.
Compile and submit reports as required by grantors.
Analyze and report year-to-year trends in case management.
Monitor case diversity.
Coordinate, develop and provide educational outreach presentations at community partners’ events throughout San Diego County.
Identify and engage new community partners to increase the referral network for eligible program clients.
Create and distribute informational handouts and posters for community partners to share with clients.
Coordinate continuing education (MCLE) events at the USD Legal Clinics.
Other tasks as required/assigned.