Legal Action of Wisconsin is hiring a full-time staff attorney for the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) in our Madison office. VLP supplements the legal services provided by Legal Action staff by recruiting, training, and supporting (including recognition/appreciation of) lawyers who provide pro bono legal services. Working under the supervision of the VLP Director, this person will recruit private attorneys to participate in various VLP projects including the Eviction Defense Project, the Student Legal Aid Project, LIFT Dane, and others. The staff attorney will also coordinate volunteer training, make individual case referrals, and oversee the volunteers’ work on cases. VLP provides training to both pro bono attorneys and other public interest lawyers in the most significant areas of poverty law, such as housing, family, public benefits, consumer, and barriers to employment. We also rely upon pro bono to help our clients in other areas of law such as transactional, bankruptcy, immigration, and tax matters. We seek a staff attorney who is available to start as soon as possible.
LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN, INC.
With six offices and 128 staff members, Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW) is the state's largest civil legal aid firm and the state’s largest public interest law firm. LAW is a non-profit law firm serving low-income people in 39 counties of southern Wisconsin. Legal Action also serves farmworkers statewide. Each year, the firm provides legal aid in about 10,000 – 12,000 cases. Our primary practice areas are housing, family, consumer, barriers to employment (restoring or obtaining driver’s licenses and occupational licenses and improving inaccurate or misleading criminal background, arrest, or other records), and public benefits. LAW receives funding from numerous sources and donations.
Equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. When we utilize our differences, we effect positive change for the communities we serve. We are committed to equitable inclusion across gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, sex, religion, economic circumstances, ethnicity, national origin, and culture. We are striving to transcend the construct of race and be an anti-racist law firm. We encourage staff to bring their whole selves to work each day and pledge to celebrate every aspect of who they are.
OFFICE LOCATION
This position will be based in Legal Action’s Madison Office, which currently consists of 15 attorneys, three paralegals, one legal secretary, and an office manager. The Madison office staff attorneys are represented for collective bargaining and new employees may voluntarily join the United Legal Workers (ULW) union, a unit of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW 2320.
SUPERVISION
The position will be supervised by the Volunteer Lawyers Project Director.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
This position will work closely with Legal Action’s VLP Director, the VLP team, and the Madison office, to:
• Develop, coordinate, and manage Legal Action’s pro bono program for the Madison office. This project will use pro bono attorneys, law students, and paralegal students to provide legal aid for low-income clients.
• Work closely with the VLP Director and LAW staff to set and implement pro bono priorities informed by client and firm needs.
• Recruit, schedule, and coordinate volunteer attorneys to represent clients and staff pro bono clinics, including the Bankruptcy Clinic, Eviction Defense Project, and Student Legal Aid Project;
• Provide case management for clients, including referring clients to volunteer attorneys, and providing necessary follow-up on cases;
• Create training materials and plan and implement training of pro bono attorneys, including on-demand video trainings and other digital materials;
• Oversee the day to day operations of the project, including the regularly scheduled pro bono clinics.
QUALIFICATIONS
• J.D. Required, licensed in Wisconsin upon hire;
• Minimum of three years legal practice experience preferred;
• Strong communication skills to engage key stakeholders, clients, and pro bono attorneys;
• Ability to manage a high volume, fast-paced project;
• Ability to prioritize and organize resources while maintaining quality and attention to detail;
• Ability to work harmoniously with others;
• Enthusiasm for civil legal aid and equal justice for and service to our clients;
• Familiarity with courtroom procedure (state and municipal) preferred;
• Experience creating training materials and leading trainings or a willingness to learn;
• Superior skills in case analysis, research, and writing;
• Demonstrated ability to speak and write clearly and persuasively;
• Self-motivated, diligent, and able to meet strict deadlines while under pressure;
• Possess a valid driver’s license and maintain it throughout employment;
• Commitment to inclusion of all, including our clients’ and our staffs’ race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstances;
• Fluency in a language other than English and cultural affinity for the client community that speaks that language is highly desired;
• Willingness and enthusiasm for staffing and providing clinics during weekends and evenings.
Legal Action values a diverse staff and work environment. LAW strongly encourages applications from women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, and people with life experiences or education that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid. LAW encourages applicants to include a statement about the ways that their unique background and personal, professional, and life experiences contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of the firm’s staff and our law firm’s mission along with their other application materials.
TRAVEL
Daily travel within Dane County and the surrounding counties will be required. Out-of-state, overnight travel (approximately 1 time/year) may also be required. All work-related travel is reimbursed per Legal Action’s travel policies.
SALARY, BENEFITS, AND OTHER INFORMATION
Starting salary depends upon experience and qualifications, with a minimum starting salary of $45,727; $52,347 for a candidate with five years of legal experience; $58,967 for a candidate with ten years of legal experience for a 100% full-time position. Salaries are not negotiable and will follow this scale. Each year, Legal Action’s Board of Directors determines the amount of salary increase for non-represented attorneys. Though not guaranteed, for many years the Legal Action Board has provided an annual $2,000 step increase.
Legal Action provides a generous fringe benefits package including employer-paid health and dental insurance for employees and eligible dependents. (Some employees are required to contribute to the health insurance premium for their spouse, if the spouse has group health insurance provided by their employer.) Legal Action also provides life and long-term disability insurance, a profit-sharing retirement plan, salary deferral options for retirement planning, low-cost employee-paid vision coverage, four weeks of vacation leave per year, four days of personal leave, and generous sick leave. Legal Action also offers flexible schedules including telecommuting for experienced staff. We also provide four weeks of paid parental leave to eligible employees.
The position is subject to a probationary period of up to one year.
The position is governed by the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement between LAW and ULW. Legal Action of Wisconsin’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.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
This position involves sedentary work, including sitting at a desk on a computer for an extended period. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a regular basis to lift, carry, push, or otherwise move objects. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and/or laptop keyboard and use a telephone. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision requirements due to computer work. Drives a motor vehicle while seated for extended periods of time occasionally. Occasional reaching, bending, kneeling and stooping involved to retrieve various items and materials. If working at a LAW office, the attorney will work in an environmentally-controlled office with moderate noise from phones, printers and light office traffic.
HOW TO APPLY
Persons interested in applying for this position should submit the following items in one PDF file to Attorney Maggie Niebler-Brown at
VLPHiringCommittee@legalaction.org:
- Cover letter summarizing qualifications and interest in the position
- Resumé
- Law school transcript (only required for applicants who graduated in 2015 or later)
- Writing sample
- Names and contact information for three references
- Optional, but highly encouraged: statement about the ways your unique background, and personal, professional, and life experiences contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and our law firm’s mission and this position.
Please indicate “VLP Staff Attorney” in the subject line.
VLP Director Attorney Maggie Niebler-Brown is the hiring manager for this position.
DEADLINE TO APPLY
This position will be open until filled. We will review applicants on a rolling basis. Review of applications will begin on Monday, July 13, 2020. To assure early consideration, please submit application materials as soon as possible.
Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
