What are the responsibilities and job description for the Staff attorney (Public Benefits Unit - Bronx - Two-Year EJW Fellowship) position at Legal Services NYC?
Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.
LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer. Further, LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) efforts and aims to create a work environment where everyone can bring their full selves to the work.
BRONX LEGAL SERVICES SEEKS AN ATTORNEY FOR A TWO-YEAR EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS FELLOWSHIP IN THE OPIOID CRISIS RESPONSE PROGRAM
We are seeking a staff attorney to join our Public Benefits Unit to provide critical legal services to people affected by opioid use disorder (OUD) as a two-year Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Opioid Crisis Response Program.
Bronx Legal Services
Bronx Legal Services, the largest provider of free civil legal services in the borough, is part of Legal Services NYC's network of local programs throughout New York City. Our mission is to advance society's promise to its most vulnerable members: that all are entitled to equal access to our legal system.
The Public Benefits Unit
Our Public Benefits Unit (PBU) fights to retain, obtain, or increase critical public benefits, including cash public assistance, SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC, HASA benefits, and rent subsidies (such as FHEPS and CityFHEPS). We also specialize in health law issues, helping people obtain or retain public health insurance and services such as Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care. Our PBU includes a medical-legal partnership (MLP) with a community health center where we conduct regular outreach, intake, and education.
Our talented team of advocates includes more than 30 people.
Our PBU's mission is to provide high quality legal assistance to as many people as possible while challenging and interrupting the institutionalized racism, ableism, and other pernicious factors that demonize public benefits and the people who receive them. Our goal is to build a team that celebrates and supports each other, and we recognize that the strongest teams must be diverse. We believe successful advocacy requires creating an environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to their work.
This Fellow would also be part of our LGBTQ Advocacy Project, which has a decades-long MLP with a community health center that primarily serves LGBTQ identified people.
The Opportunity
We are seeking an attorney to join our PBU as an Equal Justice Works Fellow for two years in the Opioid Crisis Response Program.
The Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) epidemic requires multi-disciplinary interventions, and lawyers play a critical role in combating this public health crisis. Lawyers can reduce barriers to treatment and recovery, ensure the safety and unity of families, and improve health outcomes by advocating for clients' rights to stable housing, public benefits, and medical benefits. Lawyers can also collaborate with and educate the community, the justice system, administrative agencies, and social services about cross-system legal impacts to mitigate legal barriers to successful recovery while spearheading efforts for systemic change.
In response, the Equal Justice Works Opioid Crisis Response Program mobilizes Attorney Fellows to provide stigma-free education and direct representation to OUD-affected communities and individuals who are in need of civil legal services. It also aims to inform policies to holistically address issues faced by communities impacted by the opioid crisis. The Bronx presently has the highest rate of opioid use among all five boroughs. This Program focuses on removing legal barriers to recovery and access to wraparound services and treatment for OUD clients in underserved communities, such as the Bronx.
The attorney will:
Occasional evening and weekend outreach may be necessary.
When conducting off-site intake and outreach, the attorney will be expected to enter and upload relevant data and documents into our case management system and complete conflict checks, whenever possible.
Experience & Qualifications
Bronx Legal Services acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description's qualifications. We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed below or be equally proficient in each area; we especially encourage applicants who are impacted by LSNYC's work to submit their application anyway.
Qualifications include:
Dependent on work history and experience.
Salary Range
$74,881—$135,637 USD
All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.
Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.
LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer. Further, LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) efforts and aims to create a work environment where everyone can bring their full selves to the work.
BRONX LEGAL SERVICES SEEKS AN ATTORNEY FOR A TWO-YEAR EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS FELLOWSHIP IN THE OPIOID CRISIS RESPONSE PROGRAM
We are seeking a staff attorney to join our Public Benefits Unit to provide critical legal services to people affected by opioid use disorder (OUD) as a two-year Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Opioid Crisis Response Program.
Bronx Legal Services
Bronx Legal Services, the largest provider of free civil legal services in the borough, is part of Legal Services NYC's network of local programs throughout New York City. Our mission is to advance society's promise to its most vulnerable members: that all are entitled to equal access to our legal system.
The Public Benefits Unit
Our Public Benefits Unit (PBU) fights to retain, obtain, or increase critical public benefits, including cash public assistance, SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC, HASA benefits, and rent subsidies (such as FHEPS and CityFHEPS). We also specialize in health law issues, helping people obtain or retain public health insurance and services such as Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care. Our PBU includes a medical-legal partnership (MLP) with a community health center where we conduct regular outreach, intake, and education.
Our talented team of advocates includes more than 30 people.
Our PBU's mission is to provide high quality legal assistance to as many people as possible while challenging and interrupting the institutionalized racism, ableism, and other pernicious factors that demonize public benefits and the people who receive them. Our goal is to build a team that celebrates and supports each other, and we recognize that the strongest teams must be diverse. We believe successful advocacy requires creating an environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to their work.
This Fellow would also be part of our LGBTQ Advocacy Project, which has a decades-long MLP with a community health center that primarily serves LGBTQ identified people.
The Opportunity
We are seeking an attorney to join our PBU as an Equal Justice Works Fellow for two years in the Opioid Crisis Response Program.
The Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) epidemic requires multi-disciplinary interventions, and lawyers play a critical role in combating this public health crisis. Lawyers can reduce barriers to treatment and recovery, ensure the safety and unity of families, and improve health outcomes by advocating for clients' rights to stable housing, public benefits, and medical benefits. Lawyers can also collaborate with and educate the community, the justice system, administrative agencies, and social services about cross-system legal impacts to mitigate legal barriers to successful recovery while spearheading efforts for systemic change.
In response, the Equal Justice Works Opioid Crisis Response Program mobilizes Attorney Fellows to provide stigma-free education and direct representation to OUD-affected communities and individuals who are in need of civil legal services. It also aims to inform policies to holistically address issues faced by communities impacted by the opioid crisis. The Bronx presently has the highest rate of opioid use among all five boroughs. This Program focuses on removing legal barriers to recovery and access to wraparound services and treatment for OUD clients in underserved communities, such as the Bronx.
The attorney will:
- provide direct legal services;
- identify pressing legal needs of clients and work towards creating policy reform;
- conduct intake at off-site locations in the Bronx and Manhattan at least twice per month;
- coordinate in-house referrals to other LSNYC teams;
- conduct community education and provider trainings for our provider partners patients and staff; and
- assist in developing a needs assessment of OUD-affected patients with our MLPs to better serve the needs of our jointly-served communities.
- identify systemic issues and barriers our clients face and lead efforts to raze those obstacles in the pursuit of equal access to justice;
- enjoy working in a medical or clinical setting;
- employ a client-centered approach to advocacy that raises our clients' voices; and
- champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Occasional evening and weekend outreach may be necessary.
When conducting off-site intake and outreach, the attorney will be expected to enter and upload relevant data and documents into our case management system and complete conflict checks, whenever possible.
Experience & Qualifications
Bronx Legal Services acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description's qualifications. We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed below or be equally proficient in each area; we especially encourage applicants who are impacted by LSNYC's work to submit their application anyway.
Qualifications include:
- Admission to the New York State Bar;
- A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equity;
- Ability to speak with people of diverse backgrounds and build trust, be able to treat people with respect, and identify clients' needs quickly and accurately;
- Understand the dynamics of intimate partner/domestic violence and trafficking, as well as the effects abuse, crime, and trauma have on individuals and communities;
- Aptitude for working with victims of crime, noncitizens, older persons, and people with disabilities;
- Good writing skills;
- Experience working with low-income people; and,
- Excellent organizational skills and strong facility with numbers.
- Prior experience representing litigants at administrative hearings and in City, State, or Federal Courts;
- Fluency or proficiency in a language commonly spoken by Bronx residents;
- Substantial prior experience in one or more of the following areas of law most encountered by our medical-legal partnership client population: public benefits law, health law, or immigration law. We will consider comparable, relevant experience, including: (a) internships or employment during law school or before law school and/or (b) personal advocacy experiences in our public health, benefits, or immigration systems for family, friends, community members, or yourself;
- Prior experience working in a multidisciplinary setting that includes social workers, paralegals, and/or case managers;
- Prior experience in a medical-legal partnership setting; or,
- Prior experience with, and understanding of, the OUD epidemic.
Dependent on work history and experience.
Salary Range
$74,881—$135,637 USD
All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.
Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.
Salary : $74,881 - $135,637
