Classifieds

​SUMMARY: Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is seeking a staff attorney in its Madison Office. The position is available immediately. The attorney will focus on consumer law. Our consumer law attorneys protect income and assets from unfair collections and fraud, with priority given to cases where people are at risk of losing necessities, such as housing, vehicles, or income.

LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN, INC: Legal Action is a non-profit law firm, funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, and other sources. Legal Action provides free legal aid services to about 13,500 low-income persons annually in the southern 39 counties of Wisconsin with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Oshkosh, Green Bay, and La Crosse. In addition, Legal Action operates a statewide farmworker project. Legal Action attorneys have expertise in a range of substantive areas, but most direct representation is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer law, and family law. Legal Action attorneys specialize in specific areas of legal aid work and provide high-quality and aggressive representation and maintain a direct service caseload on behalf of individual clients and engage in law reform litigation and other impact work.

Legal Action of Wisconsin believes that equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, women, and people with life experiences or educational backgrounds that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid.

OFFICE LOCATION

The Madison office is located at 744 Williamson Street, Suite 200, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703. The Madison office currently consists of a Managing Attorney, 19 attorneys, 7 paralegals, 1 legal secretary, and 1 Office Manager. The office provides direct services to clients in Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Rock, and Sauk counties. FLEX WORK Legal Action supports flexible work arrangements that meet the goals of the organization and the employee. All employees are eligible to request flexible work, including flextime, compressed work week, and remote work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Legal Action Staff Attorneys (Tier 1 and Tier 2) are responsible for providing quality and aggressive representation of clients in individual service cases and to undertake impact work (that which has impact on groups of low-income persons or the systems that have the most effect on the low-income community) and for performing all duties associated with such representation.

• Stay current with the areas of law that pertain to the low-income community as they change and develop, particularly in their area of specialization.

• Share responsibility for the development and maintenance of good working relationships with community groups and with state and local bar associations and others.

• When called upon, provide training and other assistance to volunteers who participate in Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyer Project.

• Perform intake duties when necessary and, where necessary, make appropriate referrals to other community agencies.

• Serve on at least one of Legal Action’s Priority Committees: Housing; Employment; Consumer; Public Benefits; and Family. These priority committees are comprised of Legal Action attorneys practicing in those areas of law. They meet quarterly to discuss trends in the law and practicing in that area of law and to strategize the firm’s work on particular matters and issues. This staff attorney priority committee assignment is likely to be in consumer.

• Participate in the firm’s efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusiveness and to undertake racial justice legal work.

• Additional duties from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required – The following qualifications are required at hire:

• Juris doctorate degree.

• Admission to the Wisconsin Bar upon hire or in the summer of 2023.

• A commitment to civil legal aid and to providing quality and aggressive representation to low-income people and crime victims.

• Knowledge of state and federal law and procedure.

• A high standard of written and courtroom advocacy.

• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner.

• Ability to work harmoniously with others.

• Ability to handle and prioritize many pressing matters in various locations.

• Ability and willingness to travel throughout Legal Action’s service area to meet with clients and to attend court hearings.

• A deep understanding of the needs of low-income litigants.

• A commitment to participate in Legal Action’s efforts to become a diverse, equitable, and inclusive law firm and to purposefully practice race equity alignment legal work.

Desired – The following qualifications are desired/preferred at hire:

• Prior legal experience in civil legal aid or other relevant experience in the client community or in other programs that serve low-income people.

• Experience and knowledge of the court systems in Legal Action’s overall service area or in other counties served by the Madison office area.

• One to three years of legal experience.

• Ability to communicate with persons in the client community who speak a language other than English as their principal language (e.g., Spanish or Hmong) and cultural affinity with the client community.

COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY

At Legal Action of Wisconsin, health and safety is a top priority. We require all new, unrepresented employees and interns, law clerks, volunteers, and contractors from employment agencies or consulting firms to have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations and booster and to provide medical proof from Wisconsin’s Immunization Registry or from a medical provider of their fully vaccinated status as a condition of employment with Legal Action of Wisconsin within 28 days of their first day of employment. Individuals may request a medical or religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Exemption requests must be completed and approved on or before the first day of employment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT ​

The position involves sedentary work, working in a stationary position for an extended period, operating a computer, and using a telephone. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision of a computer screen. The position may require driving a motor vehicle while seated for short trips and/or extensive travel. The position requires occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, and stooping to retrieve assorted items and materials and the need to exert up to 10 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, or otherwise move objects.

SALARY

Our Madison office has two salary tiers available for Staff Attorney. (Attorneys in our Madison office are represented by ULW and a collective bargaining agreement. See more under Governance.)

The Tier 1 Staff Attorney salary ladder for full-time employment is as follows:

Starting $55,000 Step 20 $102,000

Step 1 $57.500 Step 21 $103,000

Step 2 $60,000 Step 22 $104,000

Step 3 $62,500 Step 23 $105,000

Step 4 $65,500 Step 24 $106,000

Step 5 $68,500 Step 25 $107,000

Step 6 $71,500 Step 26 $108,000

Step 7 $74,500 Step 27 $109,000

Step 8 $77.500 Step 28 $110,000

Step 9 $80,500 Step 29 $111,000

Step 10 $83,500 Step 30 $112,000

Step 11 $86,000 Step 31 $113,120

Step 12 $88,500 Step 32 $114,240

Step 13 $90,500 Step 33 $115,360

Step 14 $92,500 Step 34 $116,480

Step 15 $94,500 Step 35 $117,600

Step 16 $96,000 Step 36 $118,720

Step 17 $97,500 Step 37 $119,840

Step 18 $99,000 Step 38 $120,960

Step 19 $100,500 Step 39 $122,080

Step 40 $123,200

Generally, Tier 1 Staff Attorneys advance a step on the Tier 1 salary ladder on their anniversary date.

The Tier 2 Staff Attorney salary ladder for full-time employment is as follows:

Starting $58,750 Step 20 $109,275

Step 1 $61,438 Step 21 $110,350

Step 2 $64,125 Step 22 $111,425

Step 3 $66,813 Step 23 $112,500

Step 4 $70,038 Step 24 $113,575

Step 5 $73,263 Step 25 $114,650

Step 6 $76,488 Step 26 $115,725

Step 7 $79,713 Step 27 $116,800

Step 8 $82,938 Step 28 $117,875

Step 9 $86,163 Step 29 $118,950

Step 10 $89,388 Step 30 $120,025

Step 11 $92,075 Step 31 $121,225

Step 12 $94,763 Step 32 $122,426

Step 13 $96,913 Step 33 $123,626

Step 14 $99,063 Step 34 $124,826

Step 15 $101,213 Step 35 $126,026

Step 16 $102, 825 Step 36 $127,227

Step 17 $104,438 Step 37 $128,427

Step 18 $106,050 Step 38 $129,627

Step 19 $107,663 Step 39 $130,827

Step 40 $132,028

Generally, Tier 2 Staff Attorneys advance a step on the Tier 2 salary ladder on their anniversary date.

A description of the scope of authority for Tiers I and 2 staff attorney positions are identified below. Legal Action’s salary plan provides for annual step increases as long as the attorney is meeting performance expectations. Salaries are not negotiable and will follow this scale.

TIER 1 AND TIER 2 STAFF ATTORNEY DESCRIPTION & SCOPE OF AUTHORITY:

All staff attorneys are required to utilize and follow Legal Action’s attorney performance standards in performing their duties.

Tier 1 Staff Attorneys are:

1. Relatively new to providing legal services to low-income clients.

2. Closely supervised and practices law under close control and structure.

3. Closely adhering to Legal Action’s guidelines, rules, policies, and procedures and have little or no authority to deviate from them without supervisor’s approval.

Tier 2 Staff Attorneys have:

1. At least 3 years of post-J.D. experience that includes work relevant to the skills required for staff attorneys and;

2. Skills and abilities to:

a. consistently perform most Tier 1 Staff Attorney duties with minimal assistance or direction, a high level of efficiency and/or independent initiative, and less immediate, regular supervision than a Tier 1 Staff Attorney;

b. consistently carry a caseload of substantial size and complexity suitable to an experienced attorney;

c. consistently adhere to Legal Action administrative and programmatic procedures such as, but not limited to contemporaneous timekeeping and accurate completion of administrative and client service forms; and

3. Demonstrated initiative and ability to undertake the additional duties that the Tier 2 Staff Attorney level requires such as, but not limited to mentoring, training, and otherwise supporting Tier 1 staff attorneys and others. (Tier 2 Staff Attorneys do not have the authority to discipline others and are not confidential management positions.)

Legal Action’s organizational structure does allow for additional career advancement opportunities, such as: Attorney Managers; Managing Attorneys; Project Managers; Supervising Attorneys; and Priority Coordinators. Legal Action posts these opportunities as they become available.

SPANISH OR HMONG LANGUAGE FLUENCY PREMIUM: Legal Action’s Salary Administration Plan includes additional pay of up to $4,800 annually for those employees who are fluent in Spanish or Hmong and utilize their language skills in performing their work

FRINGE BENEFITS

Legal Action attorneys receive a full fringe benefit package which currently includes employer-paid health and dental insurance for employee, spouse, and family, and life and long-term disability insurance; voluntary employee-paid income protection benefits for employees and their dependents, a retirement plan contribution; generous sick leave accrual; and four weeks of vacation leave and four days of personal leave per year. (Legal Action employees with a spouse may be required to contribute $200/month to the health insurance premium if the spouse has other health insurance available.)

MOVING EXPENSES AVAILABLE

Relocation expenses may be available for reimbursement. Amount to be determined before or upon hire.

SUPERVISION

This position will report to Stacia Conneely, Managing Attorney.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

The position is subject to a probationary period of up to one year.

GOVERNANCE

The position is governed by the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement between Legal Action and the United Legal Workers. Legal Action’s personnel policies will govern where no provision is covered by the collective bargaining agreement, and the personnel policies are subject to unilateral change by the Legal Action Board of Directors.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants must submit the following application materials via Legal Action of Wisconsin’s online applicant portal by accessing the following link:

https://secure2.entertimeonline.com/ta/7988.careers?ApplyToJob=520262221

• Cover letter emphasizing your qualifications for the position

• Resume

• Law school transcript (only required for applicants who graduated in 2021 or later)

• A legal writing sample

• Names and contact information for three professional references

Please submit and upload all the documents required. If the required documents are not submitted on or before the deadline, your application will be considered incomplete and we will not be able to consider you for this position.

Stacia Conneely, Madison Office Managing Attorney, is the hiring manager for this position.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

To ensure early consideration for the Staff Attorney Consumer Law– Madison position, please submit application materials as soon as possible. The position will be open until filled. We encourage applicants to apply before Friday, March 31, 2023.

Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer ​