Founded in 1990, the New York Legal Assistance Group provides free civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers. The organization serves immigrants, seniors, the homebound, families facing foreclosure, renters facing eviction, low-income consumers, those in need of government assistance, children in need of special education, domestic violence victims, persons with disabilities, patients with chronic illness or disease, low-wage workers, low-income members of the LGBTQ community, Holocaust survivors, and others in need. The organization's annual operating budget is over $30 million. Serving more than 87,000 New Yorkers annually, New York Legal Assistance Group maintains a paid staff of approximately 290, supported by 2,200 pro bono attorneys and other volunteers and interns. For more information, applicants are encouraged to visit www.nylag.org.

NYLAG has an immediate opening for a staff attorney, in the Mobile Legal Help Center (MLHC). The MLHC is an innovative joint project of NYLAG and the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program that travels directly to underserved communities to bring free, civil legal services to individuals in New York City and Long Island. The Mobile Legal Help Center is the country's first-ever legal services office on wheels.  Attorneys provide counseling, advice, and direct representation without leaving the vehicle.  The MLHC contains two private meeting areas for attorneys and clients and is equipped with high-speed Internet and state-of-the-art technology.  It travels throughout the five boroughs and parts of Long Island, focusing on areas with limited public transportation options.  Through the MLHC, low-income New Yorkers in need of legal help can overcome obstacles such as geographic isolation, health and mobility issues, and childcare concerns.

 

The attorney will join a team of three lawyers and one paralegal who staff the MLHC and are committed to working collaboratively to provide direct services to individuals in the communities where they live and work. The attorney will spend up to two days a week staffing the MLHC at community sites throughout the five boroughs of New York City and Long Island.  While staffing the MLHC, the attorney will be responsible for supervising volunteer attorneys, conducting client intakes and providing legal information and resources on a wide range of legal issues to visitors to the MLHC. The attorney will also carry a reduced caseload consisting of employment law cases with flexibility to pick up cases in other areas as capacity allows. The attorney will work with the project director to establish and maintain relationships with community partners and elected official's offices in the neighborhoods the MLHC serves. The attorney will be expected to staff occasional weekend sites.  Applicants must have excellent interpersonal skills as the job not only includes conducting intakes with clients on the MLHC and handling their cases, but also interacting with elected officials' offices and community-based organizations.