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Job Description
About NYLAG:
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services were virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 380 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.
Job description
Applicants must be prepared to handle a high volume of cases and to interact with an under-represented client population in a sensitive and professional manner. Applicants must have excellent analytical skills to assess whether clients have a legal basis for appeal based on the evidence. Applicants should demonstrate a clear commitment to public service and have strong writing and oral advocacy skills. The successful candidate will work closely with other unit staff and will receive both on-the-job and more formal training. The successful candidate will primarily handle cases that fall within the scope of NYLAG’s state-funded Disability Advocacy Project housed within the Public Benefits Unit.
Duties and Responsibilities
The successful candidate will handle cases in which New Yorkers who receive public benefits have inappropriately had SSA disability benefits denied, terminated, or recouped. Specific responsibilities include: conducting intake interviews of individuals denied SSA disability benefits; obtaining and reviewing medical and other records; researching federal laws, regulations, and procedures; and representing clients at the local office, at administrative law hearings, and on appeal. A successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to work independently on a significant case load and to be a primary case handler.
Qualifications
Application Instructions: To apply, please send both a resume and a cover letter, preferably in a single pdf. Incomplete applications will not be considered. We will ask for a writing sample and references prior to the interview. To start on or soon after May 5, 2025.
NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the organization, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to creating a diverse environment and strive to achieve equity for all as we work towards economic, racial, and social justice. We particularly encourage people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve to apply.
Employment type:
☒ Full-time
Professional Level:
☒ Entry Level
☒ Professional
Salary Range: NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is $79,045 - $88,039. Pay steps are based on date of bar admission and are not negotiable. Law graduate salary is $77,079.
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf.
Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.
Salary
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services were virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 380 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.
Job description
Applicants must be prepared to handle a high volume of cases and to interact with an under-represented client population in a sensitive and professional manner. Applicants must have excellent analytical skills to assess whether clients have a legal basis for appeal based on the evidence. Applicants should demonstrate a clear commitment to public service and have strong writing and oral advocacy skills. The successful candidate will work closely with other unit staff and will receive both on-the-job and more formal training. The successful candidate will primarily handle cases that fall within the scope of NYLAG’s state-funded Disability Advocacy Project housed within the Public Benefits Unit.
Duties and Responsibilities
The successful candidate will handle cases in which New Yorkers who receive public benefits have inappropriately had SSA disability benefits denied, terminated, or recouped. Specific responsibilities include: conducting intake interviews of individuals denied SSA disability benefits; obtaining and reviewing medical and other records; researching federal laws, regulations, and procedures; and representing clients at the local office, at administrative law hearings, and on appeal. A successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to work independently on a significant case load and to be a primary case handler.
Qualifications
- A JD and bar passage is required
- Applicants who have passed the bar but have not yet been sworn in will be considered
- Applicants with high Spanish proficiency (i.e. capable of conducting a client interview in the language) preferred but not required.
Application Instructions: To apply, please send both a resume and a cover letter, preferably in a single pdf. Incomplete applications will not be considered. We will ask for a writing sample and references prior to the interview. To start on or soon after May 5, 2025.
NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the organization, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. We are committed to creating a diverse environment and strive to achieve equity for all as we work towards economic, racial, and social justice. We particularly encourage people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve to apply.
Employment type:
☒ Full-time
Professional Level:
☒ Entry Level
☒ Professional
Salary Range: NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is $79,045 - $88,039. Pay steps are based on date of bar admission and are not negotiable. Law graduate salary is $77,079.
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf.
Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.
- $79,045 - $88,039
