Job Details

Legal Aid Society Of San Diego Staff Attorney Fellowship

This position is open to those who have already passed the California Bar Exam and are within three years post-law school graduation. This is a limited two-year position which may transition into a full-time staff attorney position subject to funding availability. The Fellow will work on consumer law-related legal issues. The Fellow may be asked to specialize in one or more of the following areas based on the needs of the Consumer Protection Team and/or available funding: debt collection-related work; bankruptcy; foreclosure and mortgage-related litigation; student loans; medical debt; auto fraud; identity theft; credit reporting; home solicitation sales; home improvement scams; disaster recovery work; and/or other issues related to unfair and deceptive business practices.

The staff attorney will be expected to independently maintain a heavy caseload. Potential tasks include interviewing prospective clients, analyzing their legal problems, rendering legal advice, negotiation with opposing parties and agencies, preparing and submitting documents for clients, representing clients in various phases of civil litigation, preparing bankruptcy petitions, engaging in community outreach and education, developing impact litigation, and finding solutions to broader client problems through litigation, policy development, or other strategies.

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients' legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services.

Essential functions include:

• Representing clients in all phases of litigation, including research, investigation, drafting pleadings, discovery, law and motion, mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal in state and federal court.
• Interviewing prospective clients, rendering legal advice, and developing case strategy.
• Handling an increasingly complex caseload.
• Attending and engaging in community outreach and education and developing positive relationships with the client community.
• Running self-help clinics as needed.
• Developing and presenting educational presentations to varying audiences, including fellow attorneys and the public.
• Creating self-help materials on consumer law topics for varying audiences.
• Developing good working relationships with court, administrative agency personnel, and opposing counsel.
• Assisting in the training and supervision of advocates, support staff, and volunteers as appropriate.
• Complying with all program and grant requirements, including but not limited to maintaining data, records, and case files in compliance with funder requirements.
• Timely and accurately completing administrative tasks, including timekeeping and timesheets.
• Collaborating with other teams and outside organizations to provide holistic services.
• Developing creative methods, litigious and non-litigious, for dealing with recurring client problems.
• Staying up to date on substantive developments in the consumer protection field.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications include:

• Admitted and in good standing with the California State Bar
• J.D. degree from an ABA accredited law school
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan so as to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements
• Must have reliable transportation
• Must be willing to travel to outreach locations, LASSD's two office locations (Midtown and San Marcos), and for client meetings.

Desired knowledge, skills, and abilities include:

• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish or another language preferred.
• Knowledge or experience in the field of consumer protection law, bankruptcy, and/or civil litigation.
• Experience with or desire to pursue affirmative litigation when warranted.
• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.
• Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds, including being able to communicate clearly and effectively with those who may have cultural or language barriers, and those who suffer from physical or mental disabilities.

The Staff Attorney Fellowship position is a salaried position with a salary range of $75,000 - $120,500. The starting salary is $83,000. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision, and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program and is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive health decision making, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Legal Aid Society of San Diego ("LASSD") has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD's normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.