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.
BROOKLYN LEGAL SERVICES'
NEIGHBORHOOD ECONOMIC JUSTICE PROJECT
SEEKS STAFF ATTORNEY
HOMEOWNER RIGHTS & FORECLOSURE PREVENTION
Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS) seeks one staff attorney for its Neighborhood Economic Justice Project (NEJP). The attorney will primarily support our homeowner rights & foreclosure prevention advocacy.
About Us
Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS), part of Legal Services NYC’s Brooklyn Programs, provides high quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population. BLS 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 other vulnerable and marginalized populations including low-income immigrants, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities.
As a community-centered, social justice organization, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where staff and clients feel welcome. Through our various affinity groups and committees, we actively work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore, grow in our understanding of and challenge barriers to opportunity within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about and seek to understand, identify and overcome barriers to justice, from individual preconceptions to structural obstacles, and work to realize our organizational goals and mission.
Project Description
BLS’ nationally prominent homeowner rights and foreclosure prevention practice was the first of its kind in New York City. We use complex federal and state litigation, anti-discrimination enforcement, policy advocacy, and community education to assist low-income neighborhoods at increased risk of foreclosure due to predatory lending or abusive loan servicing practices. NEJP is actively litigating cases challenging discriminatory and abusive lending, unfair and deceptive servicing practices by the nation’s largest banks and loan servicers, and deed theft scams. We are also a city and statewide leader in policy advocacy around economic justice, including fair and responsible lending, access to a just and unbiased court system, and transforming the status quo for struggling homeowners by working to educate elected officials, leaders, enforcement agencies, and the public at large about the pressures of gentrification, the annual property tax lien sale, and real estate scams, as well as creative alternatives to traditional ownership and banking such as community land trusts and public banking.
Responsibilities
The staff attorney will represent homeowners in state and federal court litigation, including foreclosure, civil rights, consumer protection, estates administration, quiet title, and partition actions, as well as contribute to our project’s general civil rights work, which includes fair housing litigation, enforcement complaints, and matched-pair testing. Other responsibilities include client intake, community education and outreach, legal trainings, and policy advocacy. The position will offer opportunities to engage in a broad range of exciting and creative advocacy.
Requirements
- Admission to the New York State Bar;
- A demonstrated passion for social justice and commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance racial and economic equity;
- Demonstrated commitment to homeowner issues;
- Strong interest in client work and litigation;
- Excellent organizational, analytical, writing, communication, and advocacy skills; and
- Strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and sense of teamwork.
Preferred Experience
- At least 3+ years of experience working on homeowner rights litigation;
- Experience with policy and legislative advocacy;
- Proficiency in a language spoken in the communities we serve; and
- Strong ties to Brooklyn’s low-income communities.
How to Apply
Please submit your application here:
https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/legalservicesnyc/jobs/4591571006
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples.
Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please.
Salary and benefits are determined by the LSNYC Collective Bargaining Agreement. 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.
Additional information about the practice may be found on our website, www.legalservicsnyc.org.
Dependent on work history and experience.
Salary Range
$85,612 - $123,094 USD
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.
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.