Overview

About NYLAG

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services are virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 300 impacted the lives of nearly 90,000 people last year.

 

Mission

New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) uses the power of the law to help New Yorkers experiencing poverty or in crisis combat economic, racial, and social injustice. We address emerging and urgent needs with comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving clients, whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality.

 

Values that guide us

  • We reduce the effects of poverty by providing high quality, effective civil legal services.
  • We strive to serve individuals and communities through a race equity lens to counteract systemic racism.
  • We work to create a welcoming and inclusive work environment that reflects the communities we serve.
  • We achieve systemic change through class actions, impact litigation and by advocating for just laws and policies.
  • We partner with our clients to help them transform their lives and strengthen their communities.
  • We address our clients’ multiple legal needs by collaborating across our practice areas.
  • We are at the forefront of identifying and understanding New Yorkers’ most pressing legal needs, rapidly adapting to meet these needs with innovative programs and partnerships.
  • We assess need broadly, recognizing that need is not a function of income alone.
  • We collaborate with community organizations and engage pro bono attorneys and volunteers to serve a greater number of people with unmet civil legal needs.
  • We teach and train the next generation of legal service professionals

 

Job description:

The Employment Law Project (ELP) is seeking a highly motived, dynamic temporary Staff Attorney to join our team of two attorneys and a paralegal, who represent workers in low wage industries and seek to help them enforce their workplace rights. The project provides legal representation to workers who cannot afford private attorneys in cases involving employment discrimination, sick and family leave, wage theft, and unemployment insurance. The Staff Attorney will collaborate with ELP attorneys and the ELP paralegal in covering an existing docket of cases including cases pending in federal court and state and city agencies. The Staff Attorney will also work on new cases from inception to litigation (e.g. intake, case evaluation, research and writing, drafting complaints for federal court, state court, or state and city agencies, drafting memoranda, working on discovery and mediations). The Staff Attorney will collaborate with all members of ELP and will be a key member of our team.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Handle court appearances and mediations in cases pending in court and in agencies.
  • Provide consultation and representation in employment matters, including claims for wage theft, employment discrimination, family and sick leave, and unemployment insurance benefits denials.
  • Handle all areas of case litigation, including case evaluation, conducting legal research, developing case strategy, drafting memoranda, demand letters and complaints, preparing and responding to discovery, and handling settlement negotiations and mediations.
  • Collaborate and coordinate with ELP members in covering the project’s high-volume intake line, including conducting initial calls with potential clients, spotting legal issues, and monitoring necessary follow-ups.
  • Administrative duties including entering and updating case and client data in NYLAG’s case management system.
  • Attend and participate in internal NYLAG meetings including weekly ELP intake meetings, and individual case meetings.
  • Collaborate with staff from other NYLAG units.
  • Collaborate with volunteers and interns.
  • Attend coalition meetings with other legal services organizations.

Qualifications:

  • Admission to New York State Bar, as well as Southern District and/or Eastern District of New York;
  • At least two years of employment law experience, in matters including wage theft, employment discrimination, sick and family leave, and unemployment insurance benefits;
  • Demonstrated commitment to public interest work;
  • Excellent written, oral and analytical skills;
  • Excellent organizational skills;
  • Spanish language ability preferred but not required; and
  • Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently.

 

To be considered, send a cover letter and resume. 

 

Employment type: Temporary

 

Professional Level: Professional

Salary: Salary:

NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current starting salary for this position is between $73,046 – $77,294 (Salary is commensurate with experience).

 

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.

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