Supervising Attorney - Family Law

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Geneva office of LawNY® seeks to fill an 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 Family Law Unit Supervising Attorney will supervise staff attorneys and paralegals in their advocacy for assigned clients, and those retained clients who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 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.  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.

QUALIFICATIONS These are the basic requirements for the position.

• Admitted to practice and in good standing in New York State
• Three (3) years experience providing legal services as a licensed attorney.
• Demonstrated commitment of service to low-income people.
• Commitment to learning and developing supervision skills that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Demonstrated leadership in critical issues facing low-income people.
• Ability to work under deadlines and manage multiple tasks.

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.
• Advocate 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. 
• Interact respectfully with clients from a wide range of backgrounds, with an awareness of the importance of cultural competence and humility.
• Supervise caseload of Staff Attorneys and Paralegals, 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 referral partners, 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. Research shows that women and people from under-represented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the desired competencies. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet all the desired competencies.

• Experience incorporating an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens into legal practice with 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.
• Experience in Family Court, Supreme Court, or Surrogate's court is preferred
• Experience supervising staff, including attorneys, paralegals, and support staff, is preferred.
• Experience with the courts and agencies in our service area, and/or 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 ten years of experience is $77,900. LawNY is a qualifying employer for the public interest loan forgiveness program.

LawNY® provides an excellent package of fringe benefits including 94% employer paid health insurance (for single or family) with significant HSA contributions, 100% employer paid dental (single or family) 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 work load permits. This increases to 5 days per week once successfully finished with a probationary period with manager approval, as their workload permits.

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® 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. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, submit your cover letter, resume, and three professional references through LawNY®’s BambooHR platform found here. 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 your lived and/or professional experience or background has prepared you to contribute to support a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion at LawNY® and in our fair housing work.

Questions or Accommodations? Contact Michelle Grillone at mgrillone@lawny.org 

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, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other consideration protected by law.

This position is considered Exempt pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.