Staff Attorney

Legal Aid of Western Missouri•Kansas City, MO

5d•$71,750 - $106,400•Onsite

About The Position

Legal Aid is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney to build and lead an innovative new initiative, Legal Aid in the Library, in partnership with the Mid-Continent Public Library. This is a full-time position based at Legal Aid's central office in Kansas City, Missouri, with regular office hours at five Mid-Continent Public Library branches throughout the week. This position offers a dynamic opportunity to maintain a robust litigation caseload while building meaningful partnerships with community organizations, coordinating outreach efforts, and expanding access to legal services. The Staff Attorney will provide free civil legal services to income-eligible clients across a range of practice areas, including eviction defense, family law, consumer law, and public benefits. Strong candidates will have experience across multiple areas of civil law and the judgment to work independently across a varied caseload. This role is well suited for an attorney who thrives in a general practice environment and wants to shape a new program from the ground up. Because this initiative is new, the attorney will have significant ownership in making the role their own, designing how services are delivered at each branch, collaborating closely with library staff to develop community presentations, outreach, and programming, and building the relationships that will help the initiative launch and grow. The ideal candidate is approachable, adaptable, and comfortable engaging with a wide variety of clients and partners throughout the day. This position will include some evening and weekend hours to support outreach and community needs. This is a unique opportunity to combine direct legal advocacy, community engagement, and innovative service delivery in a collaborative, public-facing setting.

Requirements

Licensed to practice law in Missouri, or eligible for admission by the start date
Commitment to serving low-income clients and advancing access to justice
Ability to manage a varied civil caseload independently and exercise sound judgment across practice areas
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with comfort engaging a wide variety of clients, library patrons, and community partners
Ability to travel regularly to five Mid-Continent Public Library branch locations
Availability for occasional evening and weekend hours to support outreach and community programming

Nice To Haves

Experience handling matters across multiple areas of civil law, such as eviction defense, family law, consumer law, or public benefits
Experience in legal aid, public interest law, or serving low-income communities
Second language proficiency in a language commonly spoken by Legal Aid's clients, including but not limited to Spanish

Responsibilities

Build and lead an innovative new initiative, Legal Aid in the Library, in partnership with the Mid-Continent Public Library.
Maintain a robust litigation caseload.
Build meaningful partnerships with community organizations.
Coordinate outreach efforts.
Expand access to legal services.
Provide free civil legal services to income-eligible clients across a range of practice areas, including eviction defense, family law, consumer law, and public benefits.
Design how services are delivered at each branch.
Collaborate closely with library staff to develop community presentations, outreach, and programming.
Build relationships that will help the initiative launch and grow.