ATTORNEY FOR LGBTQ & HIV ADVOCACY PROJECT

Project Description

Brooklyn Legal Services seeks a Supervising Attorney for our LGBTQ & HIV Advocacy Project. Brooklyn Legal Services, part of Legal Services NYC, provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population.  

The LGBTQ & HIV Advocacy Project is a general practice unit designed to provide comprehensive legal services in a single location for people living with HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ community.  The Project provides representation in a broad range of civil legal issues including discrimination in housing, healthcare, employment, education, and other public accommodations; appealing wrongful denials in public assistance, social security, health insurance, and other benefits; eviction prevention; obtaining legal name and gender marker changes; and advance directives (wills, living wills, powers of attorney, etc.).  The Project also files affirmative litigation challenging discrimination and other systemic abuses faced by the LGBTQ and HIV communities.

LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts. As a social justice organization, we are committed to fighting for a workplace that is as diverse, equitable, and inclusive as possible for everyone. Our DEIB committee and numerous affinity groups work to foster collegial relationships among staff at all levels and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about, seek to understand, and work to realize our DEIB goals. Every supervisor is expected to actively engage in learning and become increasingly skilled in supervision that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Supervising Attorney’s duties will include actively working to advance LSNYC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging goals.

LSNYC provides numerous opportunities for growth and professional development. Our Learning Center provides opportunities to earn free CLE credits and gain experience as a trainer. In recent years we hired The Management Center and Management Information Exchange to teach management skills to our directors and supervisors, and we encourage and support supervisors and directors to attend local and national training series for supervision skills and management.

Roles and Responsibilities

The supervising attorney will work with the LGBTQ/HIV+ Advocacy Unit Director to shape the direction of the Unit, develop and strengthen relationships with partner community-based organizations and administrative agencies such as HASA and CCHR, handle administrative and grant responsibilities and identify systemic trends for strategic litigation. The responsibilities will also include handling and supervising litigation, advocacy, community outreach, and education throughout Brooklyn and sometimes in other boroughs when collaborating with our community partners, in addition to helping to develop and file affirmative litigation and co-counseling complex cases.  

There is a significant community outreach component to the work, including doing client intake at regular outreach clinics, sometimes after-hours; establishing relationships with community-based organizations and governmental entities that serve PLWHA and LGBTQ populations, including attending community-centered meetings and events after-hours and on weekends; and representing clients in a number of courts and administrative fora, primarily housing court, NY Supreme Court, Social Security hearings, the NYC Commission on Human Rights and the NYS Division on Human Rights, and federal courts.  

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• License to practice law in New York with a minimum of five (5) years of legal experience;

• Substantial experience working with communities affected by HIV/AIDS and/or the LGBTQ community, including strategic litigation related to issues affecting these communities;

• Experience providing direct legal services from a trauma-informed lens;

• Substantial experience with civil litigation where you were either lead counsel or the sole lawyer for your clients and saw cases through from beginning to conclusion;

• Experience conducting and managing discovery;

• Capacity to think creatively and strategically about how to balance litigation goals with individual client needs;

• Ability to use litigation, advocacy, and alternative dispute resolution to advance clients’ interests;

• Prior supervision experience, either formally or informally

• Competency at working respectfully and effectively with BIPOC transgender, queer, and nonbinary people, those living with disabilities including HIV/AIDS, and those with low or no income.

• Humility, a keen understanding of power and privilege, and a willingness to accept input and feedback, especially from clients;

• Ability to work and finish tasks independently, and independently set and meet internal deadlines;

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, juggle multiple deadlines, keep clear records, communicate proactively, and remain accountable to your commitments;

• Strong legal research, analysis, writing, and public speaking skills;

• Applicants must be able to conduct outreach and education events in low-income neighborhoods.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Significant litigation experience litigating New York City and State Human Rights Laws and the American with Disabilities Act; 

• Fluency or proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English, especially Spanish;

• Proficiency with case management software.

Health Recommendation

All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date Covid vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.

LSNYC acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description’s qualifications.  We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed above or be equally proficient in each area; we especially encourage applicants who are impacted by LSNYC’s work to submit their application anyway.

How to Apply 

Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples to bkhiring@lsnyc.org.  Please write “LGBTQHIV – SUPERVISING ATTORNEY” in the subject line of the email.  Cover letters must discuss particularized interest in working with the PLWHA and LGBTQ communities and in Brooklyn, NY.

Legal Services NYC is an equal-opportunity employer.  People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and people over the age of 40 are strongly encouraged to apply.

Job#69_2024; Posted: 07.2024

Salary Range: $103,200 - $165,120 (based on years of experience)