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POSITION: Legal Services of South Central Michigan (LSSCM) is seeking a staff attorney for its Ypsilanti office, which serves Washtenaw County. The staff attorney maintains a caseload that includes both direct service and impact work with a focus on housing, public benefits, elder and consumer law, but may be assigned cases in other substantive areas. The staff attorney also promotes community relations by engaging with the public and partner service providers. This position requires in-person work as necessary to meet program priorities; remote work is possible with prior approval.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: LSSCM is a division of the Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP). MAP works to advance the safety, independence, and economic stability of those most affected by poverty, racism, and other structurally oppressive systems by increasing access to justice and working for systemic solutions. MAP has provided civil legal aid for those unable to afford an attorney for more than 50 years. Today, MAP’s Legal Services of South Central Michigan (LSSCM) has five legal aid offices in south and central Michigan serving 13 counties with an emphasis on homelessness prevention, domestic violence and elder abuse prevention, and assistance in accessing health care, food, and needs-based income programs. In addition to LSSCM, MAP manages six statewide programs serving immigrant communities (Michigan Immigrant Rights Center), vulnerable older adults (Michigan Elder Justice Initiative), victims of domestic violence and elder abuse (Crime Victims Legal Assistance Program), migrant and seasonal farmworkers (Farmworker Legal Services), providing research and training support to all legal aid advocates (Michigan Poverty Law Program), and providing access to legal information to self-represented litigants (Michigan Legal Help Program). MAP has a staff of about 230 people in offices in Battle Creek, Detroit, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Monroe, and Ypsilanti. Visit lsscm.org and miadvocacy.org for more information.
QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants should be licensed to practice law in Michigan, qualified to be admitted by waiver, or able to take the next Michigan bar exam. Applicants must possess excellent communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills as well as a demonstrated commitment to serving low-income individuals and underserved populations through lived or learned experience. Legal aid and/or litigation experience is a plus.
BENEFITS: Starting salary is from $62,424 depending on experience. MAP offers a generous benefits package including life, short and long term disability, health, vision, dental and flexible spending accounts. If an applicant does not require health benefits, they have the option to take an annual $1,500 payout in addition to the base salary paid over the course of the year. MAP also has a generous leave policy allowing staff to accrue 3 weeks paid vacation the first year and 15 paid holidays, as well as a 401K retirement plan including employer match for eligible staff after 6 months of employment. MAP is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. MAP is a unionized program.
TO APPLY: Please complete this application and submit your resume and cover letter. You can also access the application by copying and pasting the following web address into your browser: https://miadvocacy.bamboohr.com/careers/158. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
The Michigan Advocacy Program is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
