Supervising Attorney – Housing (San Francisco)

Are you interested in using your legal and supervisory skills to address homelessness and help low-income tenants assert their rights and maintain housing stability?

Join BayLegal’s dynamic San Francisco Tenants’ Rights practice!

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) works with our clients to advocate for their legal rights and remove legal barriers to health, safety, and stability through representation, legal advice and information, referrals, community education, and advocacy for low-income individuals and families throughout seven Bay Area counties.

As a regional anti-poverty civil law firm that has been serving our local communities since the 1960s, we are committed to working alongside our clients and community partners to address inter-generational poverty and social inequality.  We have built upon our origins as separate neighborhood legal services organizations into a regional non-profit law firm with over 150 employees.  We practice in multiple legal substantive areas to help our clients protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families. BayLegal works to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault, increase economic stability, protect consumers, expand access to healthcare, and prevent homelessness.  Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal system and persons with disabilities. By serving clients at a wide range of access points, including our six regional county offices, our mobile advocacy clinics, and our nationally recognized legal hotlines, BayLegal has a unique viewpoint to identify patterns of illegal practices and barriers to our clients’ rights in need of broader advocacy and potential impact litigation. BayLegal strives to create equitable access to resources and services to build a foundation from which our clients can thrive.

BayLegal’s San Francisco Housing Team: 

At full staffing, the San Francisco housing team comprises  8 attorneys—including two supervising attorneys– a paralegal and a social worker who work together as a collaborative team serving low-income tenants in San Francisco and work to address the needs and rights of low-income tenants regionally and throughout California. Our housing attorneys focus on preserving tenancies for low-income and subsidized tenants in San Francisco.  Further, as part of the San Francisco’s Tenant Right to Counsel Initiative, the team works closely with other civil legal services agencies in the county to provide full-scope legal representation to tenants in eviction proceedings.

Position:

BayLegal seeks an attorney with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy to join our dynamic tenants’ right practice as Supervising Attorney of the Housing Unit for the San Francisco Office and to support BayLegal’s greater mission.  You will work closely with and report directly the San Francisco Regional Office Managing Attorney, along with working closely with the other Supervising Attorney., Regional Housing Counsel, Director of Program & Advocacy and Director of Litigation & Advocacy to support your team and further BayLegal’s mission.

As a Supervising Attorney you will have the opportunity to:

• Learn and assist with the diverse legal needs of underserved and vulnerable communities in San Francisco and broader Bay Area;
• Provide day-to-day support of attorneys and advocates, including support of all aspects of eviction defense and affordable housing case work.
• Maintain a reduced caseload to provide direct client services.
• Conduct training, mentoring, evaluation, and professional development.
• Participate in recruitment and hiring of staff.
• Engage the team in annual planning and periodic reviews of priorities and responses to emerging issues in the client community.
• Identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ housing rights and address these challenges through affirmative litigation and policy
• Lead the team’s participation in relevant local, regional, and statewide tenants’ rights taskforces and policy advocacy efforts that further the interests of our client community.
• Help lead relationship building, partnership and collaboration with local court, government, and community-based agencies to a maintain social safety net for low-income clients and ensure integrative services.
• Lead project management regarding grant deliverables, contract compliance and necessary data collection and reporting to BayLegal’s Development, Grants and Contracts, and Communications Team to promote BayLegal’s mission and resource development.
• Engage in other tasks and projects that further the interest of BayLegal’s mission and operations as a non-profit.

Requirements/Qualifications/About the Successful Candidate:

• Humility in working with colleagues and clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.
• Membership in good standing in the California State Bar
• Five or more years of practice as a licensed attorney, less years of experience considered if substantial litigation experience involved.
• Direct service experience, particularly in litigating unlawful detainer actions.
• Familiarity with the San Francisco housing court strongly preferred.
• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines;
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented;
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team;
• Facility and transparency in communicating important information to staff and ability to motivate commitment to the mission;
• Ability to develop and articulate a clear vision of priorities and inspire others to maximum effectiveness;
• Ability to develop and implement effective training and mentorship programs for new staff;
• Ability to take decisive action and ensure accountability;
• Facility in recognizing, addressing, and resolving interpersonal conflicts;
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively, including in public presentations;
• Ability to organize and supervise the case work and projects of a professional office;
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with funders;
• Ability to track, maintain and report statistics to stakeholders

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a diverse, family-friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package. The estimated starting annual salary range for this position is: $85,000 – $115,000 (placement in range determined primarily by years of related experience). BayLegal’s benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 40-50% for dependents; long term disability insurance; stipends for bilingual employees whose language skills are used in the provision of work tasks; student debt repayment program; dependent childcare employer contribution program and 401k retirement plan following first year. Paid leave policy includes sick leave; parental leave; 14 holidays each year and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment).

Temporary COVID-19 remote work:

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, most BayLegal employees are primarily working remotely at least through end of 2021.  BayLegal has implemented detailed health and safety protocols to minimize risk of exposure and has an evolving plan for reopening our local receptions to the public.  Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to the physical BayLegal base location or service delivery locations as needed and in compliance with public health advisories.

While BayLegal remains primarily remote, all employees are issued BayLegal computers and provided appropriate supplies. BayLegal has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make working remotely as efficient and connected as possible.  All employees receive a flat-rate monthly amount to reimburse for work-related use of personal IT equipment, including internet, and home. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on personal lives, BayLegal is open to providing flexibility regarding work schedules and part-time or full-time employment to the extent feasible for the position.

Applications:

BayLegal thrives on our diversity, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, veterans, individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply.  Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Please click on the following link to apply: https://bayarealegalaid.applytojob.com/apply/

As part of your cover letter, please address the following:

BayLegal’s clients are low- and very low-income members of our communities. They include LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) individuals, the working poor, seniors, people who are limited English proficient, veterans, persons with disabilities, survivors of abuse and exploitation, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and people who are experiencing or at risk of homeless, and persons from other underrepresented groups. To ensure our organization is best serving these populations, BayLegal strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued.

How do you think your experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to serve our client base effectively and to contribute to our commitment to humility, inclusion, and diversity? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.