ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. (LawNY®) is a not-for-profit law firm that provides free civil legal services to low-income clients in a 14 county area of Western New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier. LawNY® has seven fully staffed field offices in Bath, Elmira, Geneva, Ithaca, Jamestown, Olean and Rochester, satellite offices in Lakeville and Lyons, and a business office in Rochester.
LawNY® has been providing high quality legal representation for 54 years, and today has over 180 employees, including attorneys, paralegals, and a legal support team who work closely across areas of specialization to bring a holistic approach to addressing legal issues affecting our clients and community.
LawNY® is committed to equitable inclusion across race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, sex, religion, economic circumstances, ethnicity, national origin, and culture. We are increasingly committed to creating a law firm where race equity, diversity and cultural competency are integral components of our work, from client advocacy to internal operations.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Bath office of LawNY® seeks to fill an immediate opening for a Supervising Attorney in the area of family law. The attorney will represent qualified, low and middle income individuals in custody, family offense, and child support cases. The attorney will also provide victims of domestic violence and sexual assault with specialized legal advice and representation in Family Court and other civil matters that affect their safety, stability and financial security.
The Supervising Family Court Attorney will supervise staff attorneys and paralegals in their advocacy for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We expect those who fill this position will grow and adapt their practice to the needs of the community and the organization, and place an emphasis on supervision skills and the ability to practice in multiple forums. The candidate must have the caring, patience, and emotional maturity to help low-income people overcome crisis situations.
The Supervising Attorney provides leadership and supervision in supplying comprehensive legal services to eligible clients and the ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of how civil legal issues affecting low-income communities intersect with social and economic justice. Supervisors play a critical role in realizing LawNY®’s vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Every supervisor is expected to actively engage in learning and becoming increasingly skilled in supervision that supports this vision.
ABOUT BATH
The Bath office serves Allegany and Steuben Counties which are located in the southern part of the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, an area noted for its beautiful lakes, scenery, and quality agriculture. Bath is home to the longest running county fair in the US and is abound with historic buildings and architecture as well as a grand town square where people still gather for farm markets and live music.
Bath is part of the Tiffany & Treasures Trail which includes local pottery studios and shops and features the breathtaking First Presbyterian Church of Bath designed corner-to-corner with Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows and fixtures. A short distance from Bath is picturesque Keuka Lake, nicknamed “Lady of the Lakes,” ideal for swimming, fishing, and boating. Notable nearby museums include Corning Museum of Glass, Rockwell Art Museum, and the Glenn H. Curtiss Motorcycle and Aviation Museum.
Bath has a relatively low cost of living and an abundance of public transportation options in town with a median home price of $147,600 and 1 bedroom apartments available for around $710/month.
QUALIFICATIONS These are the basic requirements for the position.
- Admitted to practice and in good standing in New York State
- Three (3) or more years of experience providing legal services.
- Experience supervising staff, including attorneys, paralegals, and support staff, is preferred.
- Ability to work under deadlines and manage multiple tasks.
- Demonstrated commitment of service to low-income people.
- Demonstrated leadership in critical issues facing low-income people.
- Commitment to engaging in learning and developing supervision skills that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
RESPONSIBILITIES These are the most significant responsibilities and primary functions of the position.
- Provide legal services to low income clients and client groups in Family Court matters including advice, negotiation, litigation and administrative advocacy.
- Maintain specialized knowledge of NYS Family Law, particularly: family offense, custody and visitation, child support violations, abuse and neglect proceedings.
- Develop skills advocating for low-income clients in other civil legal areas affecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including, for example, housing law, public and disability benefits, and divorce.
- Interact respectfully with clients from a wide range of backgrounds, with an awareness of the importance of cultural competence and humility.
- Supervise caseload of supervised personnel, ensuring that each supervisee handles an appropriate amount of work, and coordinate the periodic review of the cases.
- Help identify leadership development and mentoring opportunities for supervisees.
- Create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for supervisees.
- Collaborate with other human services providers, non-profit organizations and community groups as well as the courts, administrative tribunals and the private bar to address legal problems within our community.
- Cooperate in all grant reporting requirements, program reporting, timekeeping, file maintenance, case closing and compliance review.
- Maintain a high level of professional competence through attendance of training sessions, seminars and conferences and individual efforts to keep abreast of current developments in the area of poverty law and the application of an equity lens to client service.
ADDITIONAL TRAITS AND SKILLS These are the traits, attributes, attitudes, and skills that speak to the candidate’s ability to succeed in the position. While no one candidate will possess all of the qualities listed, the ideal candidate will have many of these qualities. LawNY® encourages each candidate to think about their own personal knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as professional skills and experience in relation to this list.
- Experience incorporating an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens into legal practice.
- An understanding of the concepts of structural and institutional racism and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including a commitment to providing trauma-informed services.
- Demonstrated skill in mentoring and training less-experienced attorneys, paralegals and/or other staff in their pursuit of career advancement.
- Lived experience with our client communities.
- True fluency in a language other than English that is spoken by our clients.
COMPENSATION
Salary is dependent on years of experience and based on a pay scale with annual increments. The beginning salary for a Supervising Attorney with three years of experience is $68,000, and the salary for a Supervising Attorney with eight years of experience is $75,500. LawNY® staff may also qualify for public interest law school loan forgiveness programs.
LawNY® provides an excellent package of fringe benefits including 94% employer paid health insurance with significant HSA contributions, 100% employer paid dental and disability insurance, vision coverage, and $50,000 automatic life insurance as well as generous leave provisions including, in the first year of employment, 20 days of vacation plus 13.5 holidays and two floating holidays. Employees also receive 12 sick days and five personal days per year. New parents receive 20 days of paid new parent leave.
LawNY® is committed to providing a work-life balance to their employees. We encourage and support a 35 hour work week to ensure our employees have this balance. We also offer a remote work policy where new staff are able to work from home up to 3 days per week during their 6 month probationary period with manager approval, as their case load permits. This increases to 5 days per week once successfully finished with a probationary period with manager approval, as their case load permits.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, submit your cover letter, resume, and three references through LawNY®’s BambooHR platform, found here and at www.lawny.org/Employment. When outlining work experience on a resume, candidates are requested to label each position as full-time or part-time and describe unpaid volunteer/internships as such.
To promote social justice and achieve our mission, LawNY® is committed to maintaining a diverse staff and creating an inclusive and respectful workplace. In your cover letter, please also include an explanation of how you think that your lived and/or professional experience or background has prepared you to contribute to support a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion at LawNY®.
Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. (LawNY®) is an equal opportunity employer. LawNY® strongly encourages applications from Black, Indigenous and People of Color, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups whose background may contribute to working in and sustaining an environment that enables staff and clients to feel empowered, valued, respected, and safe. LawNY® welcomes applications regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or any other consideration protected by law.
This position is considered Exempt pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act. |