About NYLAG

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.

 

Mission

The New York Legal Assistance Group uses the power of the law to help New Yorkers in need combat social and economic injustice. We address emerging and urgent legal needs with comprehensive, free civil legal services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community education.

 

Values that guide us

• We reduce the effects of poverty by providing high quality, effective civil legal services. 
• We partner with our clients to help them transform their lives and strengthen their communities.
• We address our clients’ multiple legal needs by collaborating across our practice areas.
• We are at the forefront of identifying and understanding New Yorkers’ most pressing legal needs, rapidly adapting to meet these needs with innovative programs and partnerships.
• We assess need broadly, recognizing that need is not a function of income alone.
• We collaborate with community organizations and engage pro bono attorneys and volunteers to serve a greater number of people with unmet civil legal needs.
• We achieve systemic change through class actions, impact litigation and by advocating for just laws and policies.
• We work to create a welcoming and inclusive work environment that reflects the communities we serve.
• We teach and train the next generation of legal service professionals.

 

Job Description:

As NYC’s Universal Access initiative continues to expand the right to counsel to all New Yorkers facing eviction in communities burdened by systemic socioeconomic barriers, NYLAG’s Tenants’ Rights Unit (“TRU”) has an exciting Supervising Attorney position available to join an existing team of supervisors in Manhattan. We are looking for an experienced attorney with strong leadership and management skills who is passionate about asserting tenants’ rights and is ready to fight hard to defend our clients, who are primarily tenants of color threatened with eviction and displacement due to rapid development and gentrification. Our clients’ housing insecurity has only been exacerbated by the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has profoundly affected immigrant communities and other communities of color.

 

You will be joining a collaborative and collegial management team consisting of 10 Supervising Attorneys, an Associate Director, and Director, which works closely to shape the direction of the unit, strengthen and support its litigation and advocacy, develop trainings, coach and mentor staff, and identify systemic housing issues to raise the level of practice. The ideal candidate will have some supervisory and/or leadership experience as an attorney (or in another role) and extensive experience representing NYC tenants in non-payments, holdovers, and HP Actions.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership and direction as TRU grows.
• Train, supervise, and mentor attorneys, paralegals and interns.
• Review and revise attorneys’ written legal work to enhance its efficacy and equip staff to improve their legal writing.
• Prepare staff attorneys to excel at appearances and appear with them as necessary.
• Possibly carry a small case load, at your discretion.
• Oversee and develop systems for intake with other supervisors.
• Supervise our weekly shift on the city’s tenant attorney hotline with other supervisors.
• Manage internal and community partner referrals.
• Ensure compliance with grant reporting and data entry requirements in case management system and files.
• Model and maintain a professional and collegial work environment that fosters excellent legal outcomes, effective teamwork, and clear communication.
• Develop and maintain relationships with community-based organizations, advocates, government agencies, elected officials, and the courts.
• Participate in working groups and other meetings regarding the implementation of Right to Counsel and tenants’ rights issues.
• Develop and provide internal and external trainings, know-your-rights workshops, and presentations to staff and community members.
• Develop systems to expand our policy advocacy, impact litigation, and appeals practices.

 

Qualifications:

• At least four years legal experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest law and social justice.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a team.
• Admitted to New York Bar.
• At least two years of experience representing tenants in NYC Housing Court.
• Have strong interpersonal, communication, time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to multi-task, work independently in a fast-paced environment and to be flexible.
• Supervisory experience as an attorney a plus.
• Fluency in Spanish, French, Russian, Haitian Creole, Bengali, or another language prevalent in NYC a plus.

 

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

Employment type:

☒ Full-time

☐ Part-time

☐ Temporary

 

Professional Level:

☐ Entry Level

☐ Professional

☒ Managerial

 

Salary: Candidates with four years of legal experience are eligible for the position of Associate Supervising Attorney, which currently has an annual salary of $82,919. Candidates with five or more years of legal experience are eligible for the position of Supervising Attorney, which currently starts at a salary of $88,340 with increases for each additional year of legal experience.

 

Benefits: Excellent benefits.

 

How to Apply: Please attach your cover letter and resume as a single PDF and name the file “Your Last Name, Your First Name NYLAG TRU Supervising Attorney Application”