Director of Advocacy - Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Atlanta, GA 30303
About the Job
Founded in 1924, our non-profit law firm represents low-income people in a variety of civil legal matters including family, housing, consumer, public benefits, education and health law in a five-county service area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett Counties). Our clients and their legal issues are diverse and numerous. Legal Aid employs over 150 staff and operates five offices and numerous units, programs and projects throughout its service area.
The Director of Advocacy will be a member of the senior leadership team and report to the Executive Director. This is an enhanced position for Legal Aid which will direct Legal Aid’s substantive legal and advocacy work. The Director of Advocacy is responsible for ensuring that Legal Aid provides high-quality legal services to clients and meets their needs through innovative, vigorous, client-centered and thoughtful advocacy efforts. The Director will be responsible for supporting, refining, building, and maintaining best practice approaches to support and assist Legal Aid’s legal team. Responsibilities include leading and supporting litigation in state, federal, and administrative courts and forums, as well as non-litigation-based advocacy.
This position offers an opportunity to:
The Director of Advocacy will be a member of the senior leadership team and report to the Executive Director. This is an enhanced position for Legal Aid which will direct Legal Aid’s substantive legal and advocacy work. The Director of Advocacy is responsible for ensuring that Legal Aid provides high-quality legal services to clients and meets their needs through innovative, vigorous, client-centered and thoughtful advocacy efforts. The Director will be responsible for supporting, refining, building, and maintaining best practice approaches to support and assist Legal Aid’s legal team. Responsibilities include leading and supporting litigation in state, federal, and administrative courts and forums, as well as non-litigation-based advocacy.
This position offers an opportunity to:
- Be part of a senior leadership team as Legal Aid celebrates its centennial, engages in strategic planning, and pursues transformational change to better serve our clients.
- Expand the impact of Legal Aid’s mission on the lives of the clients we serve.
- Collaborate with an engaged board.
- Educate, train, and support managing attorneys, staff attorneys, and other legal professionals to effectively advocate for Legal Aid clients.
Responsibilities:
- Provide dynamic, motivational leadership for high-quality, impactful, and innovative legal representation and advocacy
- Support and model effective litigation and advocacy approaches in state and federal court, administrative proceedings, and the community
- Direct the substantive legal and advocacy work of Legal Aid, and with the assistance of the office and unit managing attorneys, oversee Legal Aid’s staff attorneys to ensure efficient, high quality legal representation of clients
- In collaboration with the office and unit managing attorneys, mentor, train, and develop all attorneys at all levels at Legal Aid, teaching litigation skills and strategies while ensuring they remain current on procedural and substantive law.
- Evaluate forums for solving issues in advance of litigation.
- Co-counsel, coordinate, and advise on all levels of litigation, including complex litigation.
- Develop tools and guidelines that facilitate efficient and effective litigation.
- Generate critical and strategic thinking among Legal Aid staff in pursuit of Legal Aid’s mission.
- Develop litigation and advocacy strategies with a focus on Legal Aid’s priorities, community need, and systemic issues.
- Develop a litigation plan within each practice area and across practice areas.
- Oversee and collaborate specifically with the managing attorneys of several of Legal Aid’s specialty units, as determined by the Executive Director as part of a reorganization and reallocation of oversight. of managing attorneys among the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and the Director of Advocacy.
- Collaborate and communicate Legal Aid’s strategic litigation goals to staff, partners, and stakeholders.
- Support non-litigation-based advocacy by assisting in the development and implementation of policies regarding intake and priority-setting.
- Set numeric and programmatic goals, review and analyze regularly, and adjust to meet performance goals.
- In consultation with the Executive and Deputy Directors, and collaboration with the marketing and communications staff, identify, lead, and coordinate effective use of the press, social media, community outreach, professional events and conferences, and through the publication of articles and other materials focusing on substantive law practice, practice skills, social issues, and current events.
- Review substantive legal content for Legal Aid’s website, brochures, and handouts, and materials for community education and continuing legal education programs.
- Actively participate in the State Bar of Georgia General Practice and Trial Section, the Atlanta Bar Association and its Litigation Section, local Inns of Court, and similar local and affinity bar associations with a focus in litigation, and encourage Legal Aid litigators to do the same.
- Work with the Director of Pro Bono to involve private law firms, corporate counsel, and private attorneys in co-counseling and supporting litigation matters
- Participate in attorney performance evaluations, as requested by the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Director of Human Resources
- Review and approve litigation expenses.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.
Core Competencies:
- Minimum ten years of legal experience as a practicing attorney with six years of management and/or supervisory experience preferred, ideally in a legal services or legal nonprofit program.
- Member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia, or eligible to join at the next opportunity.
- Experience as lead counsel in complex state and/or federal litigation preferred.
- Significant experience leading advocacy efforts other than litigation.
- Experience and expertise to conceptualize new and appropriate litigation and advocacy strategies and translate them into achievable plans.
- Demonstrated ability to “see the big picture” and provide strategic advice and input while also executing tactically policies and procedures.
- Outstanding interpersonal, relational, and collaborative skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication, and presentation skills.
- Ability to adapt to the culture of the organization and staff while promoting positive change, and strong leadership skills.
- Ability to work with a diverse constituency and people at all levels.
- Excellent organization and time management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines independently.
- Proficient computer skills, including with Excel and Google Workspace; familiarity with LegalServer a plus.
- Prior experience working in a large non-profit organization.
Salary and Benefits:
The salary for this senior leadership position with ten years of experience is $115,000. (The salary offered may increase or decrease depending on the actual, relevant experience of the selected candidate.) Salaries currently increase annually based on a salary scale. We recently engaged a compensation consultant to review our current structure and make recommendations for improvement. The program provides generous fringe benefits including 18 paid holidays (in 2024), 6 weeks paid time off, 6 weeks parental leave; health (including optional dental and vision coverage), life, and long and short-term disability insurance; partial payment for dependent health insurance; a salary reduction option for a flexible spending account; educational loan reimbursement up to $600 per month (after a set off of other loan reimbursement amounts); a voluntary tax-sheltered annuity with 3% match; State Bar of Georgia membership dues; and CLE expenses. This position may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.
Application Requirements:
- Submit a letter of interest; resume; recent writing sample (brief, legal memorandum, litigation analysis, or similar document;
- official law school transcript (a copy is acceptable pending your order of an official transcript); and the names, phone numbers and email addresses of three professional references (preferably individuals who have supervised or managed your work, and one person whom you supervised in litigation), identifying your connection with each, as one (1) PDF using our online application system at atlantalegalaid.org/jobs.
Your application will be acknowledged. No phone calls please. For assistance with technical difficulties in submitting your application, please email career@atlantalegalaid.org.
Legal Aid considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other legally protected status.
Source : Atlanta Legal Aid Society