About NYLAG
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services are virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 300 impacted the lives of nearly 90,000 people last year.
Mission
New York Legal Assistance Group uses the power of the law to help New Yorkers experiencing poverty or in crisis combat economic, racial, and social injustice. We address emerging and urgent needs with comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving clients, whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality.
Values that guide us
- We reduce the effects of poverty by providing high quality, effective civil legal services.
- We strive to serve individuals and communities through a race equity lens to counteract systemic racism.
- We work to create a welcoming and inclusive work environment that reflects the communities we serve.
- We achieve systemic change through class actions, impact litigation and by advocating for just laws and policies.
- 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 teach and train the next generation of legal service professionals.
Job Description:
LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), has an immediate opening for a staff attorney. LegalHealth partners with medical professionals in 34 hospitals in New York City to address the non-medical needs of low-income people with serious health problems. LegalHealth complements health care with legal care – providing free legal services in medical facilities and training healthcare professionals to understand the legal issues their patients may encounter. LegalHealth is the largest medical-legal partnership (MLP) in the country and often plays a leadership role in the expanding MLP movement.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The attorney will be responsible for providing legal services in a wide range of issues including: immigration, public benefits, housing, employment, advance planning, Social Security, insurance disputes, and others. The attorney will also be responsible for training medical staff on the legal issues their patients are likely to face in order to encourage collaboration and foster strong relationships with our medical partners. This position does require an in-person presence at a hospital (s) and will require fulfilling hospital clearance requirements, possibly including a physical exam (may done by own medical provider) and drug test.
Qualifications:
LegalHealth seeks a highly committed attorney with two to three years of prior and relevant experience, preferably working in healthcare or with vulnerable populations, is admitted to practice law in New York, has excellent communication skills, and has strong research and writing skills. Experience practicing immigration law is a plus as is an ability to speak Spanish. Moreover, it is critically important that this person has a strong sense of empathy and is a creative problem-solver.
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 Range: $73,046 - $77,294 (commensurate with experience)
Benefits: Excellent benefits. |