Lead Attorney - Pro Bono

Description: Position Summary With minimum supervision effectively represents clients in all phases of litigation; with input from Senior Attorney helps to supervise, advise and co-counsel with less experienced staff attorneys to improve their litigation and advocacy skills.
Is responsible for the supervision of staff attorneys, advocates and intake workers located throughout the county.
Is responsible for all required administrative functions and grant requirements of their team.
Responsible for the optimum functioning of a specialized law team in a legal aid environment.
About the Organization Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice.
LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services.
#justicebeginshere Principal Duties and Responsibilities: • Supervises a large team comprised of staff attorneys, advocates, support staff, and volunteers.
• Represents clients in all phases of litigation and pre-litigation matters.
• Trains and assists advocates and less experienced attorneys to become effective in representation of their clients through trial preparation, drafting of pleadings, discovery, negotiation, research, and case strategy.
• Evaluates the work of and creates professional development plans for staff underneath their direct supervision.
• Timely and accurately performs all team administrative duties, including the review of closed cases.
• Maintains data, records, case files in compliance with funding and programmatic requirements and prepares periodic activity reports for funders.
• Develops and implements mid and long-term strategies for resolution of identified systemic barriers to our clients’ economic and social security.
• Engages in community outreach and education.
• Works with our client communities to develop and implement new strategies for resolution of systemic problems which adversely affect them.
• Develops positive working relationship with the court and other partner organizations.
• Compliance with all program and grant requirements.
Requirements: Qualifications: • Must be a member of the California Bar.
• Must have three (3) years’ experience as a practicing attorney, two (2) of which must be in civil poverty law.
• Must have demonstrated capabilities in using basic tools of a litigating attorney: drafting answers, propounding and responding to discovery, depositions, negotiations, law and motion trial experience, and post-trial remedies including post-trial motions, writs and appeals.
• Must have desire and demonstrated capacity to train and mentor less experienced attorneys.
• Demonstrated experience in working with and representing our client communities.
• Demonstrated skills in managing others in a regulated climate and ensuring personal and team compliance with such regulations.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with other teams, the public, volunteers, court personnel, government agencies, and partner organizations.
• High level of attention to detail required.
• Skill in working independently and following through on assignments with accuracy and minimal direction.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as required by events and deadlines.
Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: • Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred.
• Must have demonstrated knowledge of or experience with administrative proceedings.
• Demonstrated knowledge, skills and experience in a variety of areas including the substantive areas of assistance offered • in the LASSD legal clinics, with the ability to develop procedural and substantive strategies to effectively represent clients and undertake resolution of structural inequities affecting our client population.
• Excellent Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint skills • Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people • Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds Salary and Benefits: The Lead Attorney position is an exempt position with an annual pay range of $78,000 - $99,000.
The starting annual rate is $78,000.
In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.
LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision, and life benefits.
Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA).
LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program that will add to an attorney’s compensation 50% of the attorney’s monthly payment on their qualifying law school loans, up to $500 per month.
LASSD is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.
Hybrid Work Environment: Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow.
All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work.
LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible.
All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories.
Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County.
LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position.
LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.
Diversity and Inclusion: It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve.
LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge.
We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives.
We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.
Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.
is an equal opportunity employer.