LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF NORTHEASTERN NEW YORK
Intake Attorney- Albany Office
Located in New York, must live in NYS
Full-time, Min 35hr/ week
Salary: $59,794 – $78,384, DOE, plus generous benefits
Overview
The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, a nonprofit civil legal services program, is seeking an Intake Attorney. Legal Aid’s mission is to fight for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty and for a society that is inclusive and equitable for all. We transform lives, build community, and empower people by using the law to address individual and systemic wrongs and inequities. Our service area spans sixteen counties, in upstate New York, encompassing six regional offices. This position will be based out of our Albany Office. For more information about our work, our staff, and our clients, visit www.lasnny.org.
Intake Attorney: The intake attorney will serve in our Albany office. The attorney will provide advice only legal assistance to ensure that low-income clients have immediate access to reliable legal advice on their rights, responsibilities, strategies, and possible solutions, and can knowledgeably access benefits and services. The Intake Attorney listens to clients and helps them resolve basic legal problems on their own, avoid mistakes, and achieve better outcomes while lessening stress and conflict. The Intake attorney also tracks systemic issues and works with other LASNNY staff, referring clients to other attorneys, within or outside of LASNNY, when more legal help is needed..
Minimum Requirements
- Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to providing access to legal information and advice, strategies, and solutions to low-income community members.
- Prefer prior civil legal experience in many substantive law areas.
- Must be an expert or become an expert in a broad range of legal issues and issue spotting and in providing immediate, helpful, and practical advice to enable callers to manage and resolve their legal problems.
- Must be able to identify and address systemic legal problems and work collaboratively with other LASNNY staff to ensure delivery of a full range of legal services to clients served by the Albany office.
- Must be curious and enjoy issue spotting and developing expertise in many areas of substantive law.
- Must be an excellent legal researcher.
- Must be able to listen, have very strong interview and counseling skills, and be able to communicate information effectively and concisely over the phone.
- Must be intelligent, hardworking, careful, reliable, have good judgment, and attention to detail, and work independently and efficiently.
- Good computer skills.
- Must have a car and a valid driver’s license.
- Strong preference for lived experience, ability to speak Spanish, and experience in successfully providing limited-scope, advice-only legal assistance.
Staff Attorney Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- The attorney will be responsible for providing same-day legal advice on a broad range of civil legal matters. The attorney will conduct telephone interviews and advise and close matters on the same day.
- The attorney will be expected to quickly spot legal issues and solutions and provide helpful, clear, and concise advice to callers. The attorney will be or will become an expert in common legal issues and knowledgeable in many areas of substantive law, particularly housing, family, benefits, and consumer.
- The attorney will also track systemic issues and work closely with other LASNNY attorneys, the Private Attorney Involvement Program and the Director of Advocacy to refer clients in need of further legal assistance.
Work Environment
This position operates in a professional law office environment and occasionally may require the carrying of items of up to 20 pounds. This role requires the use of standard office equipment and software and remote videoconferencing platforms. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
We are a unionized program with excellent benefits, offering generous time off, excellent health insurance coverage with premiums primarily paid by LASNNY, health and long-term disability insurance, retirement contributions, tuition reimbursement, qualifying moving expenses, and flexible hybrid-remote and alternative work schedules.
Application Deadline: Until Filled
To apply, please go to www.lasnny.org OR
Complete the Application linked here, or
The mobile-friendly application linked here
Complete the Demographic Survey linked here
At LASNNY we value a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. We strongly encourage applications from women, BIPOC, LGBTQI+ persons, protected veterans, applicants and recipients of public assistance, older adults and people with disabilities.
If you are unable to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at LASNNY and we will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities to the extent required by applicable law.
