Staff Attorney, Education Advocacy Project

MAJOR PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) seeks a staff attorney for the Kathryn A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project (EAP), which provides education advocacy to Legal Aid clients involved in New York City Family and Criminal Courts.

EAP's interdisciplinary staff consists of attorneys, social workers, and paralegals who work closely with

staff of the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) and Criminal Defense Practice (CDP), parents, foster parents, child welfare staff, probation staff, school staff, and court personnel.

EAP provides a wide range of services, including Early Intervention and special education advocacy for clients with disabilities, representation in school suspension proceedings, guidance on general education issues, assistance with educational transitions from carceral settings, trainings for parties involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice

systems, and criminal justice systems, as well as systemic advocacy to protect and define the educational

rights of court involved children and youth.

Applicants should have a demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary practice, knowledge of education law and policies. Experience working with children, youth, and families who are involved in the child welfare, PINS, delinquency and criminal court cases is desirable.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as a point of contact for JRP and CDP staff regarding a wide range of educational issues affecting children and youth involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems
• Provide consultation and advice to both JRP and CDP staff members on a wide range of educational issues affecting school aged clients
• Collaborate with JRP staff, CDP Staff and other court players, particularly when educational issues are essential to resolution of the underlying court case
• Interview clients, caregivers, school personnel, medical and mental health professionals, and other relevant players
• Obtain and analyze educational records
• Assess clients’ school functioning and special needs
• Visit and evaluate schools and other educational programs
• Advocate for clients at school meetings, special education meetings, and manifestation determination reviews
• Develop educational plans to meet client needs and court concerns
• Utilize negotiation and advocacy skills (both oral and written) to ensure that clients receive the educational services and placements to which they are entitled under federal and state law and regulations
• Represent clients in school suspension hearings, manifestation determination reviews, special education due process hearings and appeals
• Assist clients in obtaining appropriate educational services while incarcerated
• Facilitate appropriate educational transitions for children entering/exiting/changing foster homes and for clients of all ages entering/exiting carceral settings
• Assist clients in obtaining school transfers, access to credit-recovery programs, high school equivalency degree programs, vocational training programs and other specialized educational programs
• Represent clients in due process proceedings under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including mediations, resolution sessions and administrative hearings against the New York City Department of Education, when necessary to obtain needed educational services and programs
• Assist with training various Family and Criminal Court players about educational issues
• Appear in New York City Family and Criminal Courts with assigned counsel when necessary to inform court players about client needs
• Assist with policy initiatives, as needed
• The position requires significant field work in all five boroughs
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• NYS bar admission or bar exam passage
• Excellent research, writing, verbal, organizational and computer skills
• Ability to work in a team setting
• Experience working with court-involved youth
• Excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills

Preferred qualifications:

• Knowledge of education issues and the NYC school system
• Proficiency in the Spanish language a plus

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $84,000 - $152,500

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email TalentAcquisition@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.