Education Rights Staff Attorney, Children & Youth

Who We Are

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley (“Law Foundation”) is dedicated to advancing the rights of historically excluded individuals and families throughout Santa Clara County. Through our legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach, we empower over 15,000 individuals and families each year. Our Children & Youth, Health, Housing, and Pro Bono Programs use legal advocacy as a catalyst for social change, creating innovative solutions to the legal challenges facing low-income communities in our region. With a dedicated team of over 75 employees, we are the largest provider of free legal services in the South Bay region of the Bay Area. Learn more at .

The Opportunity

We are excited to offer an opportunity for an Education Rights Staff Attorney to join our Children & Youth program at the Law Foundation. The Children & Youth program provides free and confidential legal assistance to children and youth in juvenile dependency, family law, probate guardianship, immigration, education matters, and numerous other practice areas; advocacy to improve court and community systems designed to protect and promote child welfare; and workshops to educate youth, parents, caregivers and members of the community about issues impacting child welfare and legal rights.

In this role, you’ll focus on providing legal counsel to parents and caregivers regarding their children's special education rights and representing students in school discipline defense including suspensions and expulsions.

What You’ll Do

As a Staff Attorney you will:

• Provide direct representation to clients in special education cases, including filing for Due Process against school districts.
• Represent clients in school-related meetings, including IEPs and Section 504 meetings;
• Provide representation to students in discipline defense matters before administrative panels and governing boards;
• Participate in collaboration between local child welfare agency, juvenile probation department and other community-based organization to conduct case consultations and tailor appropriate advocacy;
• Represent clients in various legal matters originating from organization’s Medical-Legal Partnership clinic with Valley Medical Center, and staff our weekly legal clinic at VMC.
• Respond to referrals from service providers and partner agencies;
• Assist with the development and presentation of trainings on laws related to educational rights;
• Provide technical assistance to attorneys and service providers;
• Participate in regular meetings with LACY and other Law Foundation staff; and
• Participate in general office upkeep duties, including computer data entry of case information; maintenance of billing records, filing, copying, drafting and filing court documents, and serving notice
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure a seamless and people-centered approach to service delivery.

Who You Are

To be successful in this roll, you will have:

• Commitment to working students with disabilities and their families
• Commitment to serving court-involved youth, both in the juvenile dependency and juvenile justice systems
• Commitment to access to justice and community lawyering
• Strong litigation skills or a desire to build those skills
• Ability to work independently and be self-motivated
• Ability to work effectively in a team with a variety of stakeholders
• Ability to interact compassionately and effectively with individuals in high-stress situations
• Ability to analyze, write and present ideas and legal concepts clearly and concisely
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task and perform well under pressure in a fast-paced environment