Staff Attorney

One80 Place seeks diverse and dynamic applicants for a 24-month, full-time attorney position at One80 Place, Columbia, South Carolina office as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in the Housing Justice Program. 

Equal Justice Works is the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law. The Equal Justice Works Housing Justice Program is a cohort of attorney and organizer Fellows who collaboratively address the justice gap in Maryland and South Carolina through legal and community-based interventions focused on tenant rights. An Equal Justice Works Fellowship is an opportunity to transform your passion for equal justice into a career. As a Fellow, you will develop experience and skills to be a leader in social justice while promoting tenant protections and working directly with households experiencing housing instability.

One80 Place ends and prevents homelessness throughout South Carolina with offices located in Charleston and Columbia. This position is in Columbia, SC. In 1984, community leaders came together to start a shelter to help the growing number of people in the area who were homeless. Forty years later, what started as a small effort to address an emergency grew to be the largest provider of services for the homeless in Charleston. Over the past 40 years, One80 Place has grown from an emergency shelter and soup kitchen into a comprehensive services provider for the homeless. Men, women, and families enrolled in One80 Place programs have access to free civil legal services as well as primary healthcare, psychiatric services, veteran’s services, and case management services. Utilizing the housing first model, these services are designed to quickly move individuals and families back into homes of their own. 

 Responsibilities Include:

• Providing direct legal services to low-income individuals facing eviction or termination of housing subsidies in Columbia, South Carolina.
• Building key stakeholder relationships in furtherance of the Fellowship objectives; creating, fostering, and cultivating partnerships among legal services providers, tenants associations, community social services providers, and other community-based entities.
• Strategizing, planning and conducting training and outreach to communities and community organizations in furtherance of housing stability and affordability for low-income community members; engaging in peer-to-peer learning with other Equal Justice Works Housing Justice Program Fellows.
• Actively contributing to and participating in Housing Justice Program cohort activities (resource exchanges; mandatory webinars and conference calls; and training events, including Equal Justice Works Leadership Development Training in fall 2024 and 2025).
• Exercising leadership competencies as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. 
• Contributing to required programmatic reporting and overall program evaluation.
• Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of the law and legal precedents.
• Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.
• Gather information and evidence through client interviews and document reviews in order to initiate appropriate legal action.
• Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
• Prepare and draft pleadings, motions, briefs, and other legal documents.
• Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.
• Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law.
• Enforce clients’ rights to privacy and confidentiality.

• Juris Doctor Law Degree from an accredited law school and license or eligibility for license with the SC Bar required. 
• Previous direct civil legal services experience, including law school clinics, and/or internship 
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice, with a desire to increase access to justice for individuals and communities experiencing housing instability
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills 
• Exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills 
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting to facilitate a coordinated community response and provide holistic services to clients 
• Commitment to work in the field of public interest law.
• Experience in a legal setting.
• Understanding of and ability to put into practice the concept of holistic advocacy.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of mental health behaviors, diagnoses, and medications.
• Excellent computer skills including basic office programs and the ability to learn and utilize appropriate database programs.
• Ability to independently track data (i.e. legal services provided) and outcomes through excel and HMIS
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Ability to relate effectively and without judgment to diverse individuals.
• Willingness to meet with clients out in the community when necessary.