Assistant Attorney-in-Charge, Juvenile Rights Trial Office - New York, NY

Apply

The Juvenile Rights Practice is seeking an Assistant Attorney-in-Charge (AAIC) with a deep commitment to children's rights and youth justice to lead a dedicated multidisciplinary team of staff attorneys, social workers, paralegals, and an investigator to support the Manhattan Trial Office. The AAIC must have at least 5 years of relevant experience in a trial office setting. Applicants should have a demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of child welfare and youth justice within an interdisciplinary model of representation and an interest in creative approaches to management and staff development.

Together with the Borough Attorney-in-Charge, the AAIC will be responsible for staff development, supervision, and support of all staff members. The AAIC will be involved in all aspects of day-to-day trial office operations and work closely with a multidisciplinary leadership team. The AAIC will initially be assigned to the Manhattan Trial Office; however, if client and operation needs require, they may be reassigned to support other trial office sites. The AAIC will participate in Practice-wide and Society-wide management discussions and decision-making, as well as maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and advocates in the legal, court, and service communities.

The Chief Attorney of the practice is looking for an applicant that has a demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary practice, knowledge of family court, children's rights and juvenile law, and policies. The candidate must have experience representing children, youth, and families who are involved in the child welfare, PINS, and youth justice systems. Applicants should have demonstrated partnership with colleagues to support the Society's social justice mission and have a heightened understanding of racial and economic injustices that our clients and their families experience. The ideal candidate must appreciate the Society's core values while actively pursuing excellence through their contributions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Trial Office Leadership

• Together with the Borough Attorney-in-Charge, provide legal and managerial leadership to the Juvenile Rights Manhattan Trial Office
• Monitor and maintain high standard of representation and client service
• Respond to client, community and staff concerns
• Evaluate office needs and identify necessary resources to address the needs
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy, and supervise its implementation
• Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
• Reinforce and maintain staff accountability
• Evaluate conflicting demands and prioritize workload
• Represent JRP and Legal Aid in the community

Team Development and Supervision

• Coach, develop and evaluate supervisory staff
• Develop skills and knowledge of staff members
• Schedule employee hours, assign work, approve time off and remote work schedule requests following the guidance of LAS policy and procedures
• Supervise direct reports in setting performance standards, provide routine feedback, coaching/counseling, and issue disciplinary action as needed
• Attend management meetings, participate in management trainings, and utilize current employment policies, practices and guidance as provided by management and Human Resources
• Conduct management and supervision practices that affirmatively support equity and inclusion in the workplace
• Identify and provide training and development opportunities and ensure mandatory trainings are completed
• Identify, delegate, and document work responsibilities, roles, and procedures to meet the mission of the department
• Identify and implement department/unit management and accountability practices to improve performance
• Resolve employee conflict, complaints, and address union concerns, with guidance from Human Resources
• Lead organizational and culture change for the unit

Professional Development and other duties as assigned

• Participate in continuous professional development
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Law degree and admission to the bar of the state of New York
• Minimum of 5 years legal practice in child welfare and/or juvenile delinquency practice
• Substantial litigation experience in complex matters required

Preferred qualifications:

• Supervisory and management experience preferred, but not required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Position Based Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to public interest practice
• Demonstrated Leadership ability
• Demonstrated commitment to exploring alternative structures for legal practice
• Pro Bono, government, public service, and academic experience relevant
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
• Excellent research, writing, and computer skills
• Demonstrated skills in advocacy, mediation, and interviewing
• Ability to work in and value a collaborative team model

Supervision Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to schedule, assign, and manage work and resolve problems as needed
• Ability to manage the work including: assessment of work process and outcomes, gathering relevant information about the work, recommending alternatives, or elevate issues as needed
• Ability to clearly identify roles, responsibilities, delegate tasks and hold people accountable
• Ability to create and implement effective communication plans
• Ability to provide meaningful performance feedback for professional development including having difficult conversations and resolving sensitive employee issues
• Pursue continuous learning on forms of systemic oppression of marginalized identities and establish team norms and management practices using an equity mindset and informed by inclusive practices

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required:

• Significantly active and dynamic, significant time in court and community setting
• May be required travel within NYC, across the five-borough region

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $99,444 - $163,507

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.

Manhattan - Juvenile Rights Practice Office