Directing Attorney - Homelessness Prevention Law Project

ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.

Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Advancement, Gender Justice, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law. 

Public Counsel has a staff of nearly 170. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, and people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities. We recognize the essential role of staff in achieving our goals, and we have set a long-term intention to provide competitive compensation, benefits, training, mentorship, and overall workplace wellness, making Public Counsel a leader among nonprofit law firms.

ABOUT HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION LAW PROJECT

The Homelessness Prevention Law Project works to prevent and end homelessness in Los Angeles County by advocating for a system where all people have access to legal counsel, safe and affordable housing, and fundamental supports and services.

Through services such as tenant counseling, eviction defense, fighting fines for quality-of-life infractions and misdemeanors, and government benefits advocacy, we contribute to the creation of a strong social safety net to serve individuals who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. We also engage in advocacy, public education, and a limited amount of affirmative litigation to create positive institutional and systemic change on behalf of low-income communities. Through these efforts—and through meaningful engagement with community partners and government agencies—we strive to keep families and individuals housed through a community lawyering approach.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Vice President & Chief of Litigation & Legal Programs, the Homelessness Prevention Law Project (HPLP) Directing Attorney provides direction and leadership for Public Counsel’s dynamic and growing team of 24 homelessness prevention advocates—including attorneys, paralegals, program managers, and administrative staff—in the delivery of legal services, policy advocacy, and litigation. As public support to address causes of homelessness increases, HPLP has responded by increasing its capacity to provide eviction defense and tenant counseling services, in addition to other critical legal support for low-income communities. HPLP has also recently launched the Affirmative Litigation Team, which supports tenants by filing lawsuits against landlords who fail to provide a safe housing environment or otherwise violate tenant rights.

The Directing Attorney provides the management and strategic direction to carry out HPLP’s mission and vision and is accountable for setting and meeting the established short- and long-term goals of the Project. This includes oversight of all HPLP programs, legal services, litigation, policy advocacy, and fund development efforts. Public Counsel strives to provide holistic services to our clients; to that end, the Directing Attorney collaborates with our Director of Social Work to place social work interns with the team to build their capacity to integrate social work and trauma-informed legal advocacy. The Directing Attorney must support Public Counsel’s values of equity, inclusion, and client- and community-centered advocacy. A passionate, collaborative, and effective leader, the next Directing Attorney will expand the impact of HPLP to combat homelessness and make a difference in the lives of individuals and the broader community.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Organizational Leadership:

• Leads HPLP’s efforts to bring about systemic and meaningful change on behalf of our clients, including by identifying opportunities to build our impact litigation practice and by engaging in advocacy at the local, state, and national levels;
• Leads program design for new projects, including new pro bono programming, within HPLP and ongoing program design and revision for existing programs—including more deeply integrating benefits work into HPLP;
• Provides vision and support to HPLP’s supervising/managing attorneys and unionized staff to deliver high quality legal services, including direct representation, impact litigation, and policy advocacy; 
• Directly supervises five supervising/managing attorneys—including by holding consistent individual check-in meetings, supporting their development as leaders of their teams, and providing growth-oriented feedback—and encourages an approach to trauma-informed supervision that values staff well-being (including sustainable workloads), recognizes the impacts of compassion fatigue and burnout, and nurtures a culture that values workplace wellness; 
• Engages with external partners, community stakeholders, and the media to pursue strategic goals in partnership with management, HPLP staff, and Public Counsel’s Communications Team;
• Supports HPLP staff by overseeing recruitment, hiring, and onboarding, and by providing mentorship, training and growth opportunities to both attorney and paraprofessional staff; 
• Collaborates with management to inform, enhance, and execute agency-wide policies and initiatives; and
• Collaborates with management and HPLP staff to further diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as trauma-informed services, within the organization.

Community Relations & Programming:

• Collaborates with community partners, including grassroots organizations, legal service providers, social service agencies, and governmental agencies, to advocate for community-led and movement-based solutions to homelessness and housing instability;
• Conducts and coordinates outreach directed towards key audiences such as immigrants, low-income households, and communities of color;
• Leads collaborative processes with management and the HPLP team both to support and, if necessary, to modify existing programs and to design new programs in response to the stated needs of low-income communities we serve;
• Recruits pro bono attorneys to engage in impact litigation and direct legal services, and advises pro bono attorneys in HPLP’s substantive areas of law;
• Provide comment to media sources about public issues facing HPLP’s client base, in collaboration with Public Counsel’s Communications Team; and
• Collaborates with Public Counsel’s Director of Social Work to identify needs and social work resources.

Financial Management and Fund Development:

• Works with HPLP staff, the Development Team, and leadership to maintain existing grant funding and seek new sources of funding to support and, where appropriate, expand HPLP’s objectives and impact;
• Collects and provides data and narratives on HPLP’s programs to assist the Grants Team with funding applications for HPLP and organization-wide funding;
• Manages grant compliance, including applications, program design, tracking, and reporting;
• Oversees HPLP budget development and manages the HPLP budget;
• Works with Public Counsel’s Legal Data Manager to implement database requirements to ensure needed information is collected for grant reporting; and
• Approves invoices and check requests, reviews outside legal services contracts, and implements necessary internal program controls to ensure contract requirements are satisfied.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 10 years of legal experience preferred;
• Must be a member in good standing of any state bar, but State Bar of California membership preferred; if not licensed in California, must be prepared to join the California Bar if selected; 
• Significant management and mentorship experience of large and varied teams in the non-profit and legal services sector, including budgeting and grant compliance, preferred;
• Significant leadership experience and vision for—as well as demonstrated commitment to—advancing justice for tenants and unhoused Angelenos, including by working in coalition with external partners and community stakeholders preferred;
• Expertise with state and/or federal litigation required—in the eviction law, housing, and/or homelessness-related context  preferred and with jury trial experience preferred;
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-oppression, racial and economic justice, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and in the communities Public Counsel serves;
• Experience and comfort working with clients living in poverty, including unhoused clients and clients experiencing addiction or mental health issues; 
• Demonstrated experience with and commitment to trauma-informed legal advocacy; 
• Ability to work cooperatively across teams, levels, and functions within the organization and to navigate difficult conversations and address conflict effectively;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a preference for experience communicating with the press;
• Excellent interpersonal, management, and organizational skills; 
• Collaborative, transparent, flexible, and compassionate management style; 
• High levels of emotional intelligence and cultural competency, including being curious, self-aware, cognizant of bias, empathetic, patient, and willing to listen, and having a growth and open mindset; and
• Ability to read, write, and speak fluently in a language other than English (particularly Spanish) is a plus, but not required.

JOB TYPE AND BENEFITS

• Full-time/exempt
• Salary range is $160,000 – $170,000 and commensurate with abilities and experience
• Non-bargaining

Public Counsel offers a competitive benefits package including:

• Medical coverage with an option for 100% employer-paid employee and dependent child(ren)’s premiums; buy-up options are available for other HMO and PPO coverage 
• Dental and vision coverage 
• Option to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account
• Employer-paid life insurance and disability plans

Generous paid time off (per year):

• 15 accrued vacation days that increase to 20 days after 3 years of employment
• 12 accrued sick days that may be used for physical and mental health needs
• 2 personal observance days 
• 11 paid holidays plus 2 one-week office closures (during the summer and      winter)
• Up to 60 hours of compensatory time per calendar year (for exempt staff only)

Additional benefits:

• 37.5 hour work week for all full-time employees
• 403(b) retirement plan with an elective employee contribution, and after a year of employment a discretionary employer contribution 
• Free on-site parking or public transportation reimbursement 
• $45 per pay period for employees who use non-English language skills to perform work duties
• Up to 6 months of parental leave 
• Organizational and team wellness activities to build team cohesion and camaraderie
•  Professional development support and opportunities 

HOW TO APPLY

We value lived experiences and experiences working with clients across a range of settings. Please discuss such experiences in your cover letter, especially if they are not reflected in your resume. 

We strongly encourage interested candidates to apply no later than September 30, 2024.

Resume, cover letter, three references (including one person you have supervised), and writing sample (no longer than 25 pages) requested.

PUBLIC COUNSEL VACCINATION POLICY AND COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Public Counsel requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees, including new hires. 

Pursuant to federal and state laws, Public Counsel will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.

Public Counsel is generally office-based, but remote work has been permitted during the pandemic. All employees with Public Counsel are required to work in the office at least one day per week, at the discretion of the head of department. Some positions require additional in-office days. This policy is subject to redesign by leadership. Public Counsel will work in a manner consistent with public health and local and state emergency orders.

PUBLIC COUNSEL EEO POLICY

Public Counsel is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against employees or prospective employees on the basis of union membership or activity, race, religious creed, religious observance, ethnicity, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or predisposition, military service, military and veteran status, pregnancy, child birth and related medical conditions, marital and family status, national origin, ancestry, age, medical conditions as defined by state or federal law, or disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

All qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

Our leadership team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities discipline, discharge and general treatment during employment.