STAFF ATTORNEY – EVICTION DEFENSE

Connecticut Fair Housing Center seeks an attorney with experience defending tenants in summary process cases who is interested in working with tenants as they organize to prevent displacement. Even before COVID-19, nearly 20,000 evictions a year were filed in Connecticut, a substantial majority of which were for non-payment of rent. This year, because of a global pandemic, we will likely see eviction numbers twice or three times as high. The Center seeks an individual with a commitment to civil rights work relating to race and housing justice. This will include assisting tenants who are organizing to prevent displacement as well representing tenants denied access to the State’s rental relief program and/or have been served with summary process complaints.

Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Build internal working group to guide tenant organizing and mass eviction defense work;
• Work with the organizer assigned to the project to develop a workplan and goals to be accomplished;
• Support efforts by tenants to organize against the impending eviction crisis and the government’s inadequate response:
• Create a multilingual eviction defense curriculum and conduct workshops for tenants representing themselves in summary process and for formal/informal tenant organizations on the eviction process and their rights, individually and collectively;
• Work with tenant groups and coalitions to determine how to fight evictions both through the courts and through organized efforts that do not rely on the court system;
• Provide legal support to advance the goals of tenant organizing, such as assisting with planning demonstrations, advising, and selectively representing tenants in eviction cases, and filing lawsuits or administrative complaints;
• Respond to eviction related intakes;
• Currently CFHC staff is working remotely with laptops and other equipment supplied by the organization. We expect all staff to work in the office when the current public health crisis ends.