Litigation Counsel (Senior)

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) staff provide free civil legal services to individuals and families living in poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area.  We practice in multiple inter-related legal substantive areas to prevent and stop homelessness, increase economic stability, protect low-income consumers, expand access to healthcare, and enhance safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems, and persons with disabilities.  The core of our community-based practice is working alongside our clients to protect their legal rights, resolve immediate crise and remove legal barriers to long-term stability and escaping poverty.  BayLegal is also uniquely positioned to identify patterns of illegal practices and opportunities to protect our clients’ rights and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public services through broader advocacy and impact litigation given our regional community-based service model and wide range of access points, including legal hotlines, six county offices, community-based advocacy clinics, and intake points.

BayLegal’s Impact Litigation Team: The Impact Litigation team works with staff throughout the firm in each of our practice areas to identify systemic harms to our client population and unlawful barriers impeding their access to justice.  Together with staff and pro bono partners, the team uses affirmative litigation as a tool to address the needs of our client population and dismantle unlawful barriers to housing, economic security, health, and safety.  The team also supports litigation skills and professional development through training, supervision, and support to attorneys practicing throughout the firm.   

Position: BayLegal seeks an experienced civil litigator with a strong commitment to addressing systemic causes and consequences of poverty and enhancing social justice to join our Impact Litigation team.  This position reports to and works collaboratively with the Director of Litigation.   This position helps develop, supervise, and lead impact litigation arising out of BayLegal’s direct community-based work with individuals living in poverty throughout the Bay Area.  This position supervises and supports professional development of individual attorneys as they engage and develop litigation skills and practice.  Depending on experience, candidates will be hired as Litigation Counsel or Senior Litigation Counsel.  This position will require some travel throughout our service areas, including to our offices in Napa, Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, San Mateo, and San Jose as needed for litigation development and to attend court hearings, depositions, etc.  

Key Responsibilities:

• Support BayLegal staff in developing, investigating, researching, evaluating, initiating, and litigating impact litigation cases and affirmative appeals and writs, including providing mentorship and supervision.
• Co-counsel active impact litigation matters with BayLegal staff and pro bono partners.
• Help enhance BayLegal’s attorneys’ fees practice, including researching and revising the firm’s rate schedule, and providing support to staff on attorney’s fees motions.
• Identify impact litigation staffing opportunities, coordinate with practice area team managers and supervisors to make opportunities available on an equitable basis throughout BayLegal, and otherwise assist with evaluation, discipline, and professional development.
• Help develop, facilitate, and implement litigation-related skills and practice area trainings.
• Engage with and foster broad public-private partnerships, including with pro bono partners, to promote effective impact litigation and strategic use of limited resources to address systemic barriers impacting BayLegal’s client communities.
• Help coordinate and oversee firm-wide library resources, including negotiating with third-party vendors, to ensure consistency and appropriate resources for all BayLegal advocates.
• Help manage and ensure compliance with any grants and contracts that support impact litigation, track and report on impact litigation deliverables, and support BayLegal’s Grants department in identifying and responding to funding opportunities.
• Help BayLegal’s Development & Communications team highlight litigation work and successes, and promote the importance of BayLegal’s work and civil legal services.
• Help to conceptualize, plan for, and facilitate Litigation Advisory Committee meetings with pro bono attorneys and staff to advise on pre-litigation projects and litigation matters.
• Collaborate with staff and management, including the Director of Litigation, Director of Program and Advocacy, Managing Attorneys, Regional Counsels, and Supervising Attorneys, to strategize and coordinate advocacy efforts.
• Participate in BayLegal's management team and engage in tasks and projects to support BayLegal's mission, goals, and operations.
• Help develop and update firmwide policies relating to litigation, ensure case prioritization and risk assessment is ethical and maximizes impact given BayLegal’s limited resources and capacity, and help ensure the provision of high quality impactful legal services.

Required Qualifications: 

• Member in good standing with the California bar.

• At least 5 years’ civil litigation experience (with a preference for 7+ years), including proficiency in all aspects of case development, discovery, law & motion practice, settlement, and trial, with additional preference for 3+ years’ experience litigating impact cases specifically.
• Commitment to complying with all California Rules of Professional Conduct, BayLegal funding requirements, and firm standards, policies, and practices.  
• Current proficiency, and ability to improve proficiency, in technological equipment, hardware, and software necessary to perform duties of the position. 
• Humility in working with colleagues and clients across the spectrum of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigrant status, religious identity, physical and mental disabilities, and/or limited English proficiency.  

• Ability to use critical thinking and creativity to solve a problem, and flexibility and ability to pivot as needed.

• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with ability to be detail-oriented and provide constructive feedback to staff to improve written work. 
• Skilled in clear, concise, and effective communication with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders, including in writing, meetings, court, and public appearances.  

• Excellent time management and organizational skills and ability to simultaneously manage multiple high stakes matters while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details.
• Experience working with low-income clients and communities is preferred.
• Commitment and desire to address legal barriers to improve conditions and opportunities for individuals and families living in poverty.

Hybrid Work Option: BayLegal is committed to the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community.  Being accessible to our client communities and reducing barriers for them to access our services is integral to our mission and commitment as a direct services community-based law firm.  BayLegal employees are expected to work on-site and in-person at a BayLegal office or community-based advocacy site at least three (3) days per week and may work remotely from home on a part-time basis.  Employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical BayLegal base location, and to other service delivery locations as needed, during the standard work week.  

Compensation and Benefits: We offer a diverse, family-friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with a generous benefits package.

BayLegal's benefits package includes 100% employer covered medical, dental, and life insurance for employees and up to 40-50% for dependents; BayLegal student debt reimbursement program; long term disability insurance; employee assistance program; wage differentials for multi-lingual employees whose non-English language skills are regularly used in the provision of work tasks and pass a request test of fluency and/or proficiency; dependent childcare employer contribution program; employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees; and 401k retirement plan with BayLegal contribution following first year. BayLegal has a generous paid leave policy which includes: sick leave; parental leave; 14 holidays each year; 3 floating holidays each year (days chosen by employee); and vacation (starting at 13 days and increasing with additional years of employment). 

The estimated annual salary range for Litigation counsel is $105,000-$135,000 and for Senior Litigation Counsel is $115,000-$146,000 (placement in range determined primarily by years of related experience).    
 
Work Environment & Physical Demands: 
Work Environment: This position is primarily sedentary and currently hybrid remote. When in the office, the applicant can expect to be working at a desk in a temperature-controlled office, in a modular space or individual office. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. 

Physical demands: While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. 

Applications:  BayLegal is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.   
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.