The Organization
Legal Aid at Work (LAAW) partners with people to help them understand and assert their workplace rights, and advocates for employment laws and systems that empower low-paid workers and marginalized communities.
LAAW has seven core program areas: (1) Community Legal Services; (2) Disability Rights; (3) Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights; (4) National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights; (5) Racial Economic Justice; (6) Wage Protection; and (7) Work & Family. Through these programs, LAAW:
- Provides free, individualized legal advice and counsel throughout California to thousands of low-income workers;
- Pursues targeted enforcement and impact litigation to strengthen and clarify the law;
- Conducts community outreach and education for workers, their advocates, their families, and their health and social service providers; and
- Advocates for laws, regulations, and policies at the local, state, and national levels to strengthen civil and workplace rights.
As a social justice organization, Legal Aid at Work’s mission is rooted in the firm belief that all people deserve respect, dignity, and self-determination at work, at school, and in their communities. Structural and systemic racism—with the oppression of Black and Indigenous people at its core—and other forms of injustice shape the society and the civic, political, and legal systems in which we work and live. Legal Aid at Work is committed to developing and nurturing an organizational culture that will dismantle systems of oppression, uplift people from underrepresented communities, and create a workplace that is truly equitable and inclusive. As such, we strongly encourage candidates from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities to apply.
The Program
The Community Legal Services Program operates 13 Workers’ Rights Clinics across the state of California. Through our clinics we provide free comprehensive legal advice to approximately 2,000 low-income Californians each year about their workplace rights.
The Clinic’s goal is to empower workers by helping them understand their rights, obtain their wages, keep their jobs, and otherwise assert their workplace rights. Our Clinic model gives LAAW a unique perspective on what workers are experiencing “on the ground”, which helps to inform LAAW’s overall efforts to create systemic change in response to the most pressing needs of low-wage workers, communities of color, and other historically marginalized groups of workers.
The Workers’ Rights Clinic also strengthens the legal system by training the next generation of lawyers on the importance of workplace rights. Each year, we mentor approximately 100 law students from law schools around the state, who act as legal counselors in many of our Clinic locations.
The Position
Legal Aid at Work seeks an Attorney in our Community Legal Services program, who will join a team of attorneys and legal advocates in running our Central Valley clinics and supporting the overall work of the Workers’ Rights Clinics. This is a two-year grant funded position with the possibility of conversion to a regular position.
Responsibilities:
- With oversight from the Program Director, the Attorney will lead the program’s work in the Central Valley;
- Develop and carry out legal clinics, outreach and education efforts in the Central Valley, working closely with the workers’ advocate assigned to the Central Valley;
- Conducting community outreach and education to build capacity for community-based organization and workers’ rights centers;
- Supervising and mentoring law clerks and fellows, including law students that participate in our legal clinics throughout the year;
- Building and maintaining relationships with pro-bono attorneys that volunteer at our legal clinics;
- Assisting the Program Director and other team members with developing strategy for the program;
- Supporting the Program Director and team with other programmatic needs.
Due to organizational priorities and funding requirements, the Attorney will focus their work and advocacy impacting communities in the Central Valley, therefore attorneys with ties to and/or understanding of the Central Valley and its population are strongly encouraged to apply. This position requires someone who is bilingual in Spanish.
Requirements
The following list of core competencies and experiences is provided to share insight into the requirements of the role and the general level of experience we seek in candidates. We encourage all qualified candidates and those with relevant or transferable experience to apply, even if you do not bring experience in all of the areas noted below.
Candidates must be active members of the California State Bar or be willing to take the next California Bar Examination if currently a member of another state bar. Candidates may be located anywhere in the state of California. Legal Aid at Work offers employees the flexibility to work primarily from home, contingent on business needs and professional responsibilities. Strong preference will be given to applicants with personal or professional experience working with impacted communities.
- Demonstrated commitment to social justice and civil rights work; a passion for Legal Aid at Work’s mission of seeking justice for low-wage workers;
- Full professional written and oral fluency in Spanish;
- Strong relationships with community-based organizations and experience working with low-wage workers
- Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously, and prioritizing competing deadlines;
- Willingness to develop projects on their own initiative;
- Strong public speaking skills;
- Strong legal research and analytical skills;
- The ability to think strategically about the role of a legal nonprofit in supporting grassroots organizing efforts;
- A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to hold and foster difficult and necessary conversations about sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other protected categories;
- A commitment to racial equity work and incorporating racial equity principles into legal advocacy;
- Ability to use tact and diplomacy when dealing with sensitive issues and to maintain confidentiality;
- Strong interpersonal skills, initiative, leadership, and organizational abilities;
- Willingness to supervise and mentor law students.
Compensation
Legal Aid at Work offers salaries that are competitive in the public interest law community. Benefits include health plans, long-term disability and life insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, and generous paid vacation and holidays. As a unionized organization, Legal Aid at Work believes in the importance of employees organizing to improve their working conditions. This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by ESC Local 20. Salary placement at hire and salary advancement will be in accordance with the negotiated salary scale in the union contract for this position. Attorney salaries are paid depending on years out of law school and range from $93,600 to $179,868.
To Apply
Please email (1) your resume, (2) a cover letter detailing your interest in the position, (3) a legal writing sample, and (4) three references to:
CLS Attorney Search Committee, Legal Aid at Work
Email: jobs@legalaidatwork.org
Legal Aid at Work is committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. LAAW is an equal opportunity and fair chance, employer. Our complete EEO and DEI statements as well as further information concerning the organization and its programs can be found at www.legalaidatwork.org. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Legal Aid at Work will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.