Staff Attorney (Rotator), Policy Reform Unit

The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice is seeking a staff attorney to join the Policy Unit for a temporary 18-month rotation to coordinate and strengthen the organization’s policy advocacy on criminal justice issues at the state and city levels in New York.

The Policy Unit of the Criminal Defense Practice engages in policy advocacy to address systemic injustices affecting the Legal Aid Society’s criminal defense clients and their families. Examples of the Policy Unit’s past work include, coalition work across the city and the state, policy advocacy to reform New York’s pre-trial criminal discovery and bail statutes, passing the Clean Slate act, preventing major rollbacks to hard-fought reforms to bail, discovery and Raise the Age, organizing city council and state testimony and feedback on legislation and drafting legislation aimed at shrinking the carceral system and advancing the rights of the clients we represent.

The Staff Attorney Rotator will work under the Director of Policy to support and coordinate strategy on policy matters. The Staff Attorney Rotator will coordinate and track CDP’s legislative and policy work, assist in maintaining relationships with and directly lobbying state and city public officials and their staff; represent Legal Aid in issue-based coalitions and support other Legal Aid Staff in their roles in similar coalitions; and ensure flows of communication across Legal Aid and with external lobbyists on policy matters. The role requires significant collaborative work across the organization, including by working closely with other Legal Aid attorneys across the practice in the development of specific policy proposals within the areas of those attorneys’ expertise, working with specialty units across the practice to coordinate our policy and campaigning work with Legal Aid’s community partners, and working with Legal Aid’s Communications team to develop strategic communications around policy issues.

Candidates will have a broad understanding of criminal law and procedure and the daily experiences in the courthouses and jails of the people represented by our trial offices. This experience will inform their understanding and formation of Legal Aid policy positions centered in advancing the rights of those we represent. They will have some background in and understanding of state and city legislative processes and policy reform work in general. They should demonstrate strong political judgment. They will also have strong project management, communication, and coalition-building skills, to play a critical role in coordinating Legal Aid’s policy work internally across a large organization and externally with our many coalition partners and to maintain effective lines of communication among diverse internal and external stakeholders. At the conclusion of this rotation assignment, the staff attorney will return to his/her original position.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Drafting and reviewing legislative proposals on criminal justice issues and contributing to the drafting of memoranda and testimony expressing Legal Aid’s views on such proposals
• Monitoring legislative calendars, hearing schedules and other important events related to the New York State legislature and New York City Council
• Organizing lobby days, participation in legislative caucus conferences, and similar events
• Representing The Legal Aid Society in coalitions across a broad range of criminal justice policy issues and working with those coalitions to coordinate campaigns
• Working with colleagues to brief legislators and policy-makers on issues of importance to Legal Aid and its clients
• Ensuring consistent internal coordination and communication about policy advocacy efforts within Legal Aid’s Criminal Defense Practice and between the Criminal Defense Practice and Legal Aid’s Civil and Juvenile Rights practices
• Clear and consistent reporting to Policy Director to inform strategic organizational decisions
• Other duties as assigned
• This rotating position is scheduled for eighteen (18) months

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Three years of service in order to be eligible for this internal rotator position
• Admission to New York State Bar
• Systemic understanding of criminal law and policy
• Excellent research and analytical skills, including the ability to quickly identify and comprehend complex legal issues
• Excellent and clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to distill complex issues into clear and concise principles
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects at once and meet competing deadlines
• Ability to work collaboratively and respectfully within a team
• Demonstrated interest and commitment to racial justice and other social justice issues

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- Preferably other than a criminal case motion

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@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.