The Legal Aid Justice Center is a nationally recognized non-profit organization focused on fighting for racial, social, and economic justice for low-income clients and communities of color in Virginia. The Attorney in the Housing and Consumer Justice Program will provide individual representation, conduct community outreach, and engage in policy advocacy to promote justice for tenants and consumers, while also collaborating with other legal aid organizations and community partners.
Responsibilities
- Provide individual representation in various housing and consumer matters, as needed, in state and federal courts. Will develop strategies for this litigation in conjunction with the Senior Supervising Attorney. Level of supervision will depend on level of experience of the candidate
- Identify patterns and practices that are barriers to Northern Virginia residents ability to stay in or obtain housing or access credit and avoid fraudulent and deceptive consumer practices. You will combat these barriers through a combination of impact litigation, policy advocacy (explained further below), and/or organizing campaigns in consultation with HCJP organizers
- Statewide and Local Policy Advocacy: Will be responsible for, or serve as a helper on, housing and consumer rights-related legislative campaigns before the General Assembly and on the local level. This will include reviewing proposed state and local housing and consumer protection-related policies and advocate for or against such policies to meet client communities needs, often in conjunction with other legal aid organizations and/or community partners
- Conduct education and outreach regarding housing and consumer rights. This may include doing Know Your Rights trainings for tenants and consumers, individual outreach to consumers and/or tenants dealing with unfair or unlawful housing and consumer practices, and/or attending community events to provide housing or consumer rights materials
- Participate in strategic planning, and following LAJCs interdisciplinary model, work collaboratively with organizers and policy and communications directors to integrate legal, organizing, policy, and communications strategies
- Attend community meetings as needed or requested by community groups and in conjunction with Northern Virginia housing organizers
- Provide support to administrative team related to housing and consumer matters as needed
- Meet the Benchmarks for Attorneys
- Meet the Impact Advocacy Standards
- Maintain time entries up to date and capture all work done in LAJCs case management system
- Racial Equity Promote racial equity across all dimensions, including within LAJC, by doing the following: + Helping to recruit, retain, and support both staff and leadership that reflect the racial composition of our community; + Cultivating respect for the work and expanding resources for non-attorney staff that are disproportionately people of color; + Creating spaces for staff to discuss issues of racial, gender, and all other issues of marginalization; and + Pushing for institutional and cultural changes by management, the board, and staff to further promote racial equity
Skills
- Strong commitment to social, economic, and racial justice
- Membership in the Virginia State Bar, or eligibility and willingness to become a member of the VSB promptly either by passing the bar exam in July 2023, or meeting requirements to waive into bar membership without taking the bar exam. (Note this position may be eligible for the newly enacted Virginia Supreme Court rule allowing for any attorney working exclusively for a legal aid organization to practice without examination as long as they are in good standing in another state)
- Professional or lived experience advocating in low-income communities
- Commitment to movement lawyering (building the power and leadership of directly impacted people and taking direction from them)
- Outstanding oral advocacy, research, writing, and leadership skills
- Ability to work effectively within a team
- Ability to communicate effectively across lines of identity
- Willingness to occasionally travel statewide
- Willingness to seek out and learn from feedback
- Ability to speak and write Spanish
- Expertise in Virginia and/or federal consumer law
- Experience with high-volume caseload or impact litigation/impact advocacy
- Experience with community lawyering approaches
- At least 2 years of relevant experience working on housing or consumer issues or housing and consumer-adjacent issues
- Experience working with and/or representing consumers and/or tenant communities
Benefits
- Generous paid time off every year, including 3 to 6 weeks of vacation, 12 days of health leave, 16 weeks parental leave, and 14 holidays (not including bonus holidays/rest days allocated as needed)
- 100% employer paid health, dental, and vision insurance, plus excellent family insurance with annual max of $2,400 premium contribution to LAJC-sponsored health plan
- 403(b) retirement plan with 4% employer contribution (no required match)
- Strong commitment to professional development
- Relocation package
Company Overview
The Legal Aid Justice Center partners with clients to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty. It was founded in 1965, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, with a workforce of 51-200 employees. Its website is https://www.justice4all.org.
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