Staff Attorney, Veteran Justice Project (Queens)
Queens Legal Services
Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers.
For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care.
LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually.
We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness.
Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.
LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer.
Queens Legal Services (QLS) seeks a full-time Staff Attorney for its Veterans Justice Project to assist homeless Veterans or Veterans who are at risk of homelessness.
The position will start immediately.
Queens Legal Services is part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) and provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Queens's diverse low-income population.
LSNYC's mission is to fight poverty and seek racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers.
QLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients — preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income support, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for older adults and people with disabilities.
The Veterans Justice Project helps Veterans, active-duty service members and their families to preserve their housing, maximize their financial entitlements and income (both Veteran-related and non-Veteran benefits), and combat consumer issues such as student loan debt.
The staff attorney who fills this position will provide leadership on policy issues around veterans' housing and homelessness, veterans' preferences and protections under New York State law, and the provision of comprehensive legal services to those who have served.
The Veterans Justice Project partners with the VA on several projects and will staff an onsite legal clinic at the St. Alban's VA Medical Center.
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 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.
LSNYC provides numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including funding for continuing education (CLE) hours.
Roles and Responsibilities
The attorney will be responsible for litigation, representation in administrative fora, and advocacy for Queens resident Veterans.
The attorney will be expected to be a generalist, engaging at least occasionally in most of our practice areas.
However, a primary focus of this attorney will be to assist our clients with housing preservation and alleviation of homelessness.
The attorney will be expected to staff an onsite legal clinic at the St. Alban's VA Medical Center or other designated site, may occasionally engage in community outreach and education events, and will make home, hospital and nursing home visits to meet with clients when necessary.
Experience and Qualifications
We seek an attorney admitted to the New York State Bar with:
A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equity;
Demonstrated experience and a commitment to working with Veterans, including an understanding of the particular legal and social issues that occur in that population;
Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills;
A demonstrated ability to work with clients in crisis, clients with mental and physical disabilities, and clients suffering with PTSD;
Demonstrated capacity to engage in a generalist practice and to be able to handle a caseload with a variety of legal issues and problems across multiple practice areas; and
Strong organization skills and ability to handle diverse, fast paced, and high-volume case load.
Prior advocacy experience with the VA, particularly as a VA-accredited representative on behalf of claimants seeking access to benefits, preferred but not required.
We will consider law graduates who are applying to be admitted to practice in New York, but we will give preference to attorneys already admitted to practice in New York.
Veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.
Dependent on work history and experience.
Salary Range
$85,612 - $164,905 USD
Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer.
People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.
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