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 350 impacted the lives of nearly 113,000 people last year.
Job description
NYLAG has an immediate opening for a Supervising Attorney to be a part of the dynamic Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) team. CPU represents clients in a wide and exciting range of consumer rights matters by helping low-income individuals fight devastating fraud, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection practices as well as assist those in need of crucial loan modifications and foreclosure defense.
The Supervising Attorney for this position has the unique opportunity to be a part of the Taxi Advocacy Project (TAP) which assists NYC’s yellow taxi medallion owners in various types of financial transactions and litigation cases. Attorneys will work with lenders to resolve or reduce clients’ grueling medallion loan debts. This is a unique chance to work with a dedicated population in desperate need of help, with NYLAG being one of the few agencies addressing medallion loan debt specifically. They will focus on providing supervision for TAP staff in this project, both reviewing, editing, overseeing the substantive work involved and also managing the processes and structures in place for drivers to receive needed services at the TLC host site. This position requires the Supervising Attorney to interact with lenders and funders on a high-level basis, provide feedback, create and enforce TAP program structures. The Supervising Attorney will provide the crucial screening, resources, information and legal advocacy for clients; maintaining a significant client caseload of his/her/their own, and performing important legal intakes with clients and potential clients from a range of referral sources, as well as supervising staff on same. The Attorneys’ time may also be spent as needed on a wide range of relevant and necessary tasks for CPU, including conducting legal research; investigating new areas of relevant law; and many other tasks which may arise within and outside the unit.
Attorneys working full-time on this project must be prepared to work out of the TLC center located in Long Island City up to 4 days a week, as needed. For the remainder of the days, the Supervising Attorney will be located in our main offices in the financial district, as well as go to court, clinics, work remotely or staff and other locations as needed.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Supervise TAP staff in all substantive and administrative tasks
- Provide advice, guidance, and mentorship for staff regarding cases and legal
- areas
- Be a liaison between staff and management
- Oversee attorney and paralegal client case load
- Staff the TLC site as a supervisor, troubleshooting client intakes, providing support and legal assistance to staff and clients when needed, supervising the administrative tasks at the site, assisting with scheduling and appointment matters
- Coordinate with TLC and lenders regarding cases, advocating for clients
- Review and edit documents, motions, emails, letters etc., prepared by staff
- Administrative duties include but not limited to timecard approval, performance reviews, scheduling issues, ensuring that required spreadsheets and client database data are completed properly
- Prepare and present workshops and trainings for clients, staff and various communities, as well as draft and distribute various outreach materials
- Take on cases that cannot be assigned to staff, including complex or challenging cases
- Prepare and submit necessary project reports to meet all grant-based reporting requirements
- Desire to work directly with clients
- Represent clients in the restructuring of their taxi medallion loans, and in
the sale or transfers of their taxi medallion
- Handle various business transactions for medallion owners, and real estate transactions from contract through closing
- Represent clients in Chapter 7 bankruptcies, Surrogate Court matters, and consumer debt litigation
- Conduct thorough legal intakes with clients in need
- Represent diverse clients in various and dynamic legal areas including consumer law, consumer debt, bankruptcy, foreclosure prevention, and
other financial related areas of law
- Litigate and conduct trials when necessary, and investigate facts through
- Advocate zealously on behalf of clients opposite various plaintiffs, lenders, organizations, and government agencies
- Prepare a variety of legal documents for own cases as well as to assist other attorneys
- Provide oral and written translations for attorneys who represent non-
English-speaking clients in various scenarios, including court appearances
if necessary
- Perform legal research
- Data entry in client database and other outlets
- Manage and assign tasks to volunteers as needed
- Work closely and collaborate with NYLAG’s organization-wide team of experienced attorneys, supervisors, and case handlers, and receive both
hands-on and formal training.
- Other responsibilities as assigned
Qualifications
- Admission to the New York State Bar Required
- Supervision experience preferred
- Federal Court Admission preferred
- Fluency in any of the following languages is preferred: Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Haitian-Creole, Russian
- Experience with New York City legal firms, social services organizations, or experience with consumer law preferred
- A commitment to, and passion for, serving vulnerable New Yorkers and immigrant populations of diverse backgrounds
- Ability to handle a diverse caseload
- Able to work independently and as part of a team
- A desire to learn the relevant advocacy strategies and law
- Strong commitment to, and passion for public service
- Excellent communication, research, and writing skills
- Excellent oral, written, and analytic abilities
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to work well with and enjoy collaborating with others
- Ability to adhere to program guidelines and structural processes set in place
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
Professional Level:
☒ Managerial
Salary Range:
NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $99,320 - $120,806 (salary range includes a $10,000 Supervising Attorney differential).
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf.
Covid Vaccination Policy:Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change. |