Housing Supervising Attorney

Mission:  

The mission of Bread for the City is to help Washington, D.C. residents living with low income to develop the power to determine the future of their own communities. We provide food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. We seek justice through community organizing and public advocacy. We work to uproot racism, a major cause of poverty. We are committed to treating our clients with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.  

Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic works to ensure better access to justice for individuals in our nation’s capital. The Legal Clinic provides front-line civil legal services primarily in housing, family, immigration, and public benefits law. Our housing law practice includes defending tenants against complaints for possession of real estate, affirmative litigation on behalf of tenants and tenant associations, representation at administrative agencies, and advice and counsel in a variety of housing-related matters.  

Position Description: 

Bread for the City seeks a dedicated lawyer with 5-7 years of post J.D. experience to assist our two Supervising Attorneys in leading our housing team. In addition to responsibilities around staff development, mentoring and training of staff, loaned associates, pro bono attorneys, and law clerks, Supervising Attorneys at Bread for the City represent clients and maintain a small caseload.   

Bread for the City’s housing practice consists of nine attorneys, one associate loaned from an area law firm, and two paralegals. We prioritize cases that involve the prevention of eviction and the preservation of safe and affordable housing. The majority of our cases provide representation in eviction matters in the D.C. Superior Court Landlord Tenant Division. Occasionally attorneys engage in other matters before D.C.’s Housing Conditions Court and the Superior Court Civil Division. We also assist tenants in administrative proceedings, representing tenants and participants in subsidy programs or at the District’s Office of Administrative Hearings. These cases involve the termination of subsidies, improper rent calculation, and illegal rent increases. 

The housing practice participates in several joint projects with five other legal services providers in the District. The projects include staffing the Landlord Tenant Legal Assistance Network, a hotline for tenants seeking assistance; the Housing Right to Counsel Project, a partnership with several area law firms to provide representation to subsidized housing tenants; the Eviction Prevention in Communities project, a collaboration with community-based organizations to provide, among other things, outreach materials to tenants who have been sued for eviction.

Finally, the Supervising Attorney will help support housing-related advocacy and policy reform efforts in the District through participation in various stakeholder groups, legislative reform efforts and outreach/tenant education events. The Legal Clinic seeks to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.  

Our ideal candidate would possess the following knowledge, experience, skills, and abilities:

• Applicants must meet one of the following criteria for eligibility to practice law in D.C.:
   1. Be admitted to the D.C. Bar; or
   2. (a) be eligible for admission to the D.C. Bar pursuant to D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 46(d) or Rule 46(e) and

(b) meet the criteria for practice pursuant to D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 49(c)(8); or

3. (a) be eligible for admission to the D.C. Bar pursuant to DC Court of Appeals Rule 46(c) or 46(d), 

(b) meet the criteria for practice pursuant to D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 49(c)(9)(B), and 

(c) have passed the bar examination in D.C. or a UBE jurisdiction;

• At least 5-7 years of post J.D. legal experience including at least 3 years of litigation experience; 
• At least 4 years of housing law expertise/practice, preferably in D.C.; 
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience;
• Prior experience in a legal services or other public interest setting;
• Ability to independently perform legal analysis and train staff attorneys in doing the same;  
• Excellent interpersonal and management skills;
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and research skills; 
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written communication;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Ability to proceed effectively in court with little time for preparation;
• Good judgment;
• High degree of flexibility;
• Sense of humor, seriously;
• Ability to work with and lead other staff and interact with a wide variety of people, including volunteers, in a professional and collaborative manner;
• Comfortable working both in-person in an open work environment, with no private offices for staff, and remotely from home; 
• Familiarity with Google Organization & Productivity tools (Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar) and/or ability to learn new technology systems; 
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) skills preferred but not required; and
• Willingness to learn and carry out Bread for the City’s commitments to building a socially just, racially equitable, and gender affirming culture. We define racial equity as a world where life outcomes, life chances, and life experiences cannot be predicted by race. We define a gender affirming culture as spaces that make people feel radically comfortable and safer expressing their gender identity, especially for trans and gender non-conforming people. We see racial equity work as inherently tied to all other forms of anti-oppression work; we are building a community that prioritizes Black, Indigenous, and all People of the Global Majority, DC natives, transgender and gender non-conforming people, disabled people, and all historically oppressed and marginalized people at Bread and beyond; and
• Must be fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19.

Compensation: 

Bread for the City offers competitive non-profit salaries based on experience and a generous benefits package, which can be reviewed at https://breadforthecity.org/work-with-us/. Supervising Attorney salaries range from $95,000-$105,500. For those who meet the minimum qualifications, the base salary starts at $100,000, with an additional $1,000 per year of experience, capped at 3 years. Bilingual compensation for fluency in certain languages is an additional $2,500 added to the base of one's salary. Also, the D.C. Bar Foundation offers a Loan Repayment Assistance Program to qualified Bread for the City attorneys, providing renewable one-year, interest-free, forgivable loans. For more information, see https:/dcbarfoundation.org/lrap/.

Bread for the City is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family responsibility, physical or mental disability, medical condition, status as a veteran, or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, except where a bona fide occupational qualification applies. 

To apply: 

You must complete an application through Bread for the City’s ADP portal. Go to www.breadforthecity.org/work and click on the "Housing Supervising Attorney" position. Then select "apply" at the top right hand corner to register for a login and apply for the position. Please upload a resume and cover letter through this online application process. A cover letter is an important part of our review process and should be thoughtfully tailored and speak to not only your qualifications for the position but also to your commitment to public interest work. Only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. 

Benefits:

Please visit https://breadforthecity.org/work-with-us/ and scroll down to review our employee health benefits and health insurance plans.