Staff Attorney-Medical Legal Partnership

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. (“NLS”) the largest provider of free civil legal services in Western New York, is seeking to hire attorneys to join our Medical-Legal Partnership (“MLP”) program, a cutting-edge model of legal service delivery spanning all of NLS’ substantive practice areas through a lens of individual and public health.

NLS, a trauma-informed workplace, has partnered with multiple local community healthcare providers to deliver wraparound civil legal services to underserved communities. Our MLP work aims to improve health outcomes for low-income members of our community by providing legal solutions to health-harming legal needs. Your clients will include people living with low incomes, disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people experiencing homelessness. The attorney selected for this position will have the unique opportunity to gain experience and provide representation across multiple practice areas.

As an MLP Neighborhood Legal Services attorney you will have the opportunity to do the following:

• Direct legal services work: Provide a spectrum of legal assistance from advice & counsel to full representation for our clients in a wide-range of civil legal matters, including areas such as housing, family, public benefits, health insurance, Social Security, basic estate/life planning work, and advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community;
•  Establish and maintain partner referral networks: Establish and/or maintain NLS’ onsite presence with one of our partner providers, coordinate with our provider partners to assure effective referrals and holistic service delivery and to identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ rights and address these challenges;
• Training: Conduct community outreach, education and training for and with our provider partners; and
• Develop relationships: engage in collaborations with a range of public and private community partners, including governmental agencies, courts, and community-based organizations, to ensure integrative services and address systemic barriers facing our client community.

Core Competencies:

• Strong personal work ethic and ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision;
• Willingness to handle a case load involving varying areas of practice, to address the legal needs of low-income people, and to find the health-harming barriers to optimal health-outcomes our clients face;
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof‐reading skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic and multi‐sector team;
• Curious and self‐directed with an ability to anticipate client and healthcare partner needs;
• Cultural humility in working with low‐income 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 limited English proficiency; and
• Familiarity with diverse communities

Salary and Benefits:

• $61,111 to $106,720 per year salary, dependent upon experience and in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (law graduates pending admission are welcome to apply).
• Full-time position with a 35-hour work week and shorter summer hours.
• Excellent benefits including health, dental and vision insurance, 3 weeks of vacation, 12 paid holidays plus paid week off between Christmas and New Year’s, sick and personal leave, eligibility for public student loan forgiveness, paid $50,000 life insurance, pension plan, HRA and Flexible Spending Accounts, and paid memberships

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited law school, membership in New York State Bar or pending admission.
• Applicants are expected to have knowledge of legal principles of civil practice
• Strong personal work ethic, interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team;
• Ability to organize and meet deadlines with minimal supervision, effective communication; and
• Cultural competency to work with clients challenged by poverty across the spectrum of diversity