Juvenile Rights Practice Staff Attorney - Entry Level Fall 2025 - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) has immediate openings in several of its trial offices for entry-level Staff Attorneys. JRP provides legal representation to children and youth, who are before New York City Family Courts on child welfare, PINS (Persons-in-Need-of-Supervision), youth justice, public defense, and termination of parental rights petitions. JRP attorneys practice on inter-disciplinary teams with social workers, paralegals, and investigators.

The deadline to apply is December 30th, 2024. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Offers will also be extended on a rolling basis. Interviews will be scheduled throughout the fall, and if you are selected for an interview, you will receive an email notification during this season. The application process will include:

• On Campus Interview (OCI), if applicable, serving as a screening
• Two rounds of interviews, including one round in which candidates will deliver a mock summation or a similar hypothetical
• Reference checks

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Represent clients in Family Court litigation, including fact-finding, dispositional and post-dispositional hearings
• Conduct direct client representation and institutional assignments including intake and case coverage
• Conduct out-of-court case preparation including interviewing, investigation, document review, and witness preparation
• Draft motions, orders, bills/demands, and other documents
• Counsel and interview clients
• Consult and advocating with service providers
• Identify issues and resources
• Collaborate with colleagues across Juvenile Rights, Civil, and Criminal practice areas
• Seek compliance with court orders, regulatory requirements, and agency policies
• Ensure that the child has a voice in all decisions made about their life
• Engage in ongoing professional development and training
• Other duties as assigned

REQUIREMENTS

• Admission to the New York State Bar or Bar Exam Passage
• 1 to 3 years legal advocacy and or litigation experience
• Relevant clinical program or work experience preferred
• Commitment to children's issues and youth justice
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-racism and serving racially and socioeconomically oppressed communities
• Ability to work effectively with children, adolescents, and their family members
• Strong written and oral advocacy skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a high-volume practice

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $83,844-$85,025

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if, an offer is made.

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.

https://studentaid.gov/

https://www.hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs.html

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Transcript
• Writing sample

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.)

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of 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, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

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.