Supervising Attorney

Job Title: Supervising Attorney– Employment Practice

About CRLA: California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) is an anti-poverty law firm dedicated to dismantling unjust systems through community lawyering in California’s historically rural areas. For over five decades, we have partnered with communities priced out of private legal representation to uphold civil rights in housing, employment, health, and public education. Building on a radical legacy rooted in the farmworker movement and the War on Poverty, CRLA continues to fight for the rights and prosperity of rural Californians through bold advocacy, systemic change, and a vision of thriving, empowered communities. CRLA’s community-led legal services activate community power to achieve justice, ensuring our clients and partners have the tools to dismantle poverty, discrimination, and systemic inequities.

Reports To: Legal Director – Employment Practice
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Location: Any CRLA Office
Term of Employment: Regular, Full-Time
Other: FLSA Exempt, Non-Union Position

Position Overview

The Supervising Attorney - Employment Practice will play a key role in CRLA’s employment law advocacy, providing direct supervision to a team of attorneys, case workers, and legal support staff. This position will help develop CRLA’s overall approach to employment law and collaborate with external partners to strengthen worker protections. The Supervising Attorney will also maintain a caseload, focusing on complex and high-impact cases. The ideal candidate will be an experienced employment law attorney with strong leadership and mentorship skills.

Key Responsibilities

Supervision and Staff Development:

• Directly supervise a team of up to seven attorneys, case workers, and legal support staff.
• Provide mentorship and training to staff, fostering professional growth and expertise in employment law.
• Conduct regular case reviews, providing guidance on legal strategies and best practices.
• Ensure high-quality legal services and compliance with ethical and professional standards.

Legal Advocacy and Case Work:

• Maintain a caseload focused on complex and high-impact employment law cases, including wage theft, discrimination, retaliation, labor trafficking, and workplace safety violations.
• Oversee the handling of individual and systemic litigation cases, ensuring strategic legal representation.
• Assist in the development and execution of CRLA’s employment law advocacy strategies.
• Provide substantive legal guidance and co-counseling support to staff attorneys on difficult cases.

Strategic Planning and Policy Advocacy:

• Collaborate with the Legal Director to develop and refine CRLA’s employment law practice.
• Identify emerging trends and systemic employment issues affecting low-wage workers.
• Engage in impact litigation, administrative advocacy, and policy initiatives to strengthen worker protections.
• Participate in legislative advocacy and rule-making processes as permitted under CRLA’s funding guidelines.

Collaboration and Partnerships:

• Work closely with external organizations, worker centers, unions, and government agencies to advance employment rights.
• Represent CRLA in coalitions, working groups, and collaborative advocacy efforts.
• Develop outreach and education initiatives to inform workers of their legal rights.

Grants and Resource Development:

• Assist in securing funding and managing grant deliverables related to employment law work.
• Support compliance with grant reporting requirements and assist in developing funding proposals.
• Collaborate with CRLA’s development team to expand resources for employment-related legal services.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of legal experience in employment law, with expertise in wage and hour claims, discrimination, workplace retaliation, labor law violations, and related matters.
• Leadership or supervisory experience in a legal setting, with demonstrated ability to mentor and manage attorneys and legal staff.
• Strong litigation skills, including experience with trial advocacy, administrative hearings, and complex legal motions.
• At least 4 years working with low-wage workers and marginalized communities, with an understanding of their unique legal needs.
• Admitted to the California Bar or another state bar with a willingness to take the next California Bar Exam.

Highly Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with immigrant, rural, and low-wage worker communities.
• Proven ability to develop and implement legal strategies that address systemic issues.
• Fluency in Spanish or another language commonly spoken in CRLA’s client communities.
• Experience building coalitions and collaborating with government agencies, community organizations, and worker advocacy groups.
• Knowledge of legal services funding structures, grant compliance, and reporting requirements.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

We offer a diverse, family-friendly environment and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries; generous benefits package which includes 100% employer-covered medical, dental, vision, life, and short & long-term disability insurance for employees and up to 50% for dependents coverage; and 401K retirement plan with CRLA contribution effective immediately. Generous paid leave policy which includes; 15 days of sick leave, 15 holidays each year, and vacation (accrue 15 days for the first year of service and 20 days after one year of service at CRLA). This is a nonunion and the estimated starting salary range for this position is $100,000 – 113,500.

CRLA requires that all employees are Fully Vaccinated, defined as a CDC-approved COVID vaccination and one booster shot. This offer is contingent on meeting this requirement. The complete vaccination policy, including the process for reasonable allowable accommodations, is available for your review upon request.

CRLA invites all applicants to submit their resume and in their cover letter a statement about how their unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice.

California Rural Legal Assistance 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, persons of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply.