SUMMARY

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, Inc. (LASP) seeks an attorney to manage its Bristol Office in Bucks County. LASP serves low-income individuals and families in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. 

The Bristol Managing Attorney position involves supervising, training and motivating staff to provide the highest quality legal services in accordance with LASP program guidelines, the ABA Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Services, and the Pennsylvania Code of Professional Responsibility. 

The Managing Attorney will also carry a caseload commensurate with his or her expertise and managerial responsibilities. The caseload will require knowledge of and may consist of consumer law and bankruptcy, as well as other poverty law issues, including public benefits, employment, expungements, housing, and others. 

The position is full-time. Staff currently work on a hybrid basis. The successful candidate will be expected to perform in-office work as well as be able to work remotely as needed.
 

MANAGERIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Supervising legal services provision to low-income clients and client groups, including the rendering of advice, brief service, negotiation, litigation, and administrative and appellate advocacy;
2. Through training, supervision, and feedback, ensuring that staff have accurate and timely information about the legal issues within the office’s scope of responsibility;
3. Evaluating staff and developing individual work plans on an annual basis which focus on reviews of substantive work, assessments of caseloads, productivity, community involvement, and identification of training needs;
4. Conducting regular case review meetings to assign cases consistent with LASP priorities, sharing updates on status of cases, addressing concerns from staff, and sharing information on program-wide issues;
5. Maximizing the use of LASP’s limited resources to the fullest extent in service to clients;
6. Attending LASP management meetings and providing updates on local office casework, events, activities and accomplishments;
7. Working with LASP’s Grants and Compliance team to ensure services are provided in compliance with Legal Services Corporation (“LSC”), Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (“PLAN”) and Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (“IOLTA”) requirements as well as requirements of other grants and contracts with which the Bristol Office may be involved;
8. Coordinating local community education events with LASP management colleagues and supervising the preparation of materials for these events;
9. Fostering a cohesive, coordinated and robust program-wide advocacy effort by consulting with program advocates outside of Bristol on cases and issues in areas not within the manager’s expertise, through participation in LASP program-wide affinity groups and task forces, and by providing opportunities for advocates to participate in those program-wide activities;
10. Acting as LASP liaison with the local community, including with the Bucks County Bar and Judiciary and working with LASP management and stakeholders to set priorities and assess client needs;
11. Assisting LASP’s Pro Bono Director and Pro Bono Coordinator in efforts to recruit and enhance pro bono representation of clients;
12. Addressing client grievances pursuant to LASP policies;
13. Supporting LASP’s Executive team with recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating and retaining qualified staff and work with LASP’s Human Resources Manager to ensure that new employees receive appropriate orientation and comply with LASP personnel policies and procedures;
14. Working with LASP’s Finance and Human Resources staff in ensuring compliance with LASP’s fiscal and personnel policies and procedures, support LASP’s IT staff in ensuring that all staff technology needs are met and suggest technology innovations to enhance the delivery of services;
15. Assisting the Development Director and other senior management staff in seeking and applying for grants and contracts to support LASP’s work.
     

CASEHANDLING AND DIRECT SERVICES DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Interviewing clients, assisting in determining eligibility for services, and ascertaining and investigating facts;
2. Conducting legal research and interpreting statutes, case law, regulations, and other sources of law;
3. Providing advice and counsel to clients;
4. Preparing legal documents, including but not limited to: briefs, pleadings, motions, notices, correspondence, memoranda, discovery and documents responsive to discovery requests;
5. Developing strategy and arguments for presentation of cases and assisting in preparation of witnesses for hearings and trials;
6. Representing clients in trial and appellate courts, and before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies;
7. Reviewing decisions and consulting with management team to determine the merit of potential appeals;
8. Participating in external professional and community organizations relevant to casework;
9. Conducting clinics, community education, and workshops;
10. Becoming engaged in LASP team efforts to achieve office and program goals, including participation in program-wide affinity groups and task forces;
11. Developing knowledge of community referral resources and assessing community and client needs;
12. Enhancing skills and substantive knowledge through training, CLE, and other educational opportunities;
13. Abiding by all applicable professional standards of ethics and practice;
14. Completing required administrative tasks including entering of notes and timekeeping in LASP case management software, and maintaining physical files;
15. Ensuring that requirements of grants and contracts which may provide funding for the position are met, and assisting with grant reports;
16. Performing other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.
     

SUPERVISING:  

3 staff attorneys, 1 paralegal, 1 support staff, and other staff and volunteers in Bristol.
 

SUPERVISOR:  

Chief Counsel
 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

License to practice law in Pennsylvania or admitted in another jurisdiction and eligible for admission to Pennsylvania. Three years’ minimum experience practicing law, preferably in a non-profit legal services environment. Prior management experience in a legal setting preferred. Demonstrated proficiency in word processing, Outlook products, case management software, and online legal research tools. Passionate commitment to public interest law and serving low-income individuals and vulnerable populations. Strong written and oral advocacy and organizational skills. Ability to meet deadlines and perform multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail. The successful candidate must be willing to accept complex and challenging cases, develop creative strategies to assist clients, identify systemic legal problems, and develop and implement impactful approaches to address those problems which may include litigation. Spanish language fluency is desirable.
 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:  

Depending on experience and qualifications, a minimum of $63,000. Excellent benefits including employer-funded 401K with generous employer contributions, health insurance option in which 100% of premium costs are provided, ancillary benefits, and generous leave provisions, including paid holidays, floating holidays, personal leave, vacation, sick, and parental leave.
 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: 

LASP is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate in the recruitment, selection, or advancement of employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information or on any other basis prohibited by law.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. LASP makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
 

TO APPLY:  

Send resume and cover letter, including the job title (Bristol Managing Attorney), to Elise Wilson-Coles, Human Resources Manager at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, by email to Hiring@lasp.org.  Position will remain open until filled.