Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. (Legal Action) is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney to work at its Racine or Oshkosh Office. The position is available immediately. The Attorney will provide representation to low-income persons who have been the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. The attorney will primarily focus in family law. The Attorney will also provide representation in housing law, removing barriers to employment, public benefits, and consumer law.
LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN, INC.
Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. (Legal Action) is a non-profit law firm, funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, and other sources. Legal Action provides free legal aid services to about 13,500 low-income persons annually in the southern 39 counties of Wisconsin with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Oshkosh, Green Bay, and La Crosse. In addition, Legal Action operates statewide farmworker and elder abuse civil legal aid projects. Legal Action Attorneys have expertise in a range of substantive areas, but the majority of direct representation is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer law, and family law. Legal Action Attorneys specialize in specific areas of legal aid work and provide high-quality and aggressive representation and maintain a direct service caseload on behalf of individual clients and engage in law reform litigation and other impact work.
Legal Action of Wisconsin believes that equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, women, and people with life experiences or educational backgrounds that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid.
OFFICE LOCATION
RACINE AREA OFFICE
The Racine Office is located at 4900 Spring Street, Ste. 100, Racine, WI, 53406. The Racine Office currently consists of nine attorneys and three paralegals. The office provides direct services to low-income clients in Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties.
OSHKOSH AREA OFFICE
The Oshkosh Office is located at 300 Ohio Street, Oshkosh, WI, 54902. The Oshkosh Office currently consists of nine attorneys and three paralegals. The office provides direct services to low-income clients in Adams, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, Waushara, and Winnebago Counties.
This position can be based out of either Racine or Oshkosh Offices. Most Legal Action staff are currently remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but all staff will transition back to the physical office when it is safe to do so.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Legal Action Staff Attorneys are responsible for providing quality and aggressive representation of clients in individual service cases and to undertake impact work (that which has impact on groups of low-income persons or the systems that have the most effect on the low-income community), and for performing all duties associated with such representation.
• Attorneys must stay current with the areas of law that pertain to the low-income community as they change and develop, particularly in their area of specialization.
• Attorneys are expected to share responsibility for the development and maintenance of good working relationships with community groups and with state and local bar associations and others.
• Attorneys will be called upon to provide training and other assistance to volunteers who participate in Legal Action's Volunteer Lawyer Project.
• All attorneys perform intake duties and, where necessary, make appropriate referrals to other community agencies.
• All staff attorneys are responsible for serving on at least one of our Priority Committees: Housing; Employment; Consumer; Public Benefits; and Family. These priority committees are comprised of Legal Action attorneys practicing in those areas of law. They meet quarterly to discuss trends in the law and practicing in that area of law and to strategize the firm’s work on particular matters and issues. This staff attorney priority committee assignment is to be determined.
• The Staff Attorney may be assigned additional duties from time to time.
SALARY
The salary for this position and all attorney positions are determined by Legal Action’s attorney salary scale. Under our attorney salary scale, an attorney with 0 – 1 years of experience would receive an annual salary of $45,727 for a 100% full-time position. An attorney with 5 years of experience practicing law would earn a salary of $52,347. An attorney with 10 years of experience would earn a salary of $58,967. In addition, the position may receive an annual increase if the Board of Directors approves it.
FRINGE BENEFITS
Legal Action Attorneys receive a full fringe benefit package which currently includes employer-paid health and dental insurance for employee, spouse, and family, and life and long-term disability insurance; a retirement plan contribution; generous sick leave accrual; and four weeks of vacation leave and four days of personal leave per year. (Legal Action employees with a spouse may be required to contribute to the health insurance premium if the spouse has other health insurance available.)
FLEX WORK
Legal Action is, first and foremost, committed to providing high-quality legal services to its clients. The provision of high-quality legal services demands that services are easily accessible to clients and potential clients. Low-income persons often have limited access to the technologies required to access our services remotely. It is also best practice to have a wide variety of avenues by which our services may be accessed. Moreover, establishing a meaningful relationship with clients is an essential component of providing high-quality legal services. For some clients, this may require face-to-face interactions with advocates and staff. Therefore, it is crucial that Legal Action offices be open, staff, and accessible to the public.
Legal Action also recognizes the paradigm-shift around work following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees’ expectations have changed and employers’ views regarding remote work have evolved. Flexible work options were previously a desirable employee benefit; they are now essential. Legal Action recognizes flexibility as a fundamental element of recruitment, retention, and supporting inclusion and diversity. Flexibility also assists employees in balancing work and personal commitments while meeting firm needs and objectives.
Legal Action supports flexible work arrangements that meet the goals of the organization and the employee. Non-probationary employees are eligible to request flexible work. Flexible work arrangements are defined as alternate work plans that consistently differ from the standard hours and/or work location. They could include one or a combination of the following options:
• Flextime: A work schedule with variable starting and ending times. Employees work the same number of scheduled hours as they would under a traditional arrangement.
• Part-time: A work schedule that is less than full-time (40 hours per week)
• Compressed work week: A work schedule that condenses a standard work week into fewer, longer days.
• Remote work: A work arrangement in which employees work at home or alternative worksite. Unless otherwise approved, the scheduled hours are the same as a traditional arrangement.
As of this posting, most Legal Action staff are working mostly remotely because of the pandemic, and this will continue until 11/30/21. After 12/1/21, all flex work arrangements for non-probationary employees will need pre-approval by management. We continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic (and its variants) and infection and vaccination rates carefully and may change these dates.
SUPERVISION
This position will report to Robert Held, Managing Attorney for the Racine Office or Jacqueline Jaworski, Managing Attorney for the Oshkosh Office.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD
The position is subject to a probationary period of up to one year.
GOVERNANCE
The position is governed by the Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. Personnel Policies which are subject to unilateral change by the Legal Action Board of Directors. As with any Legal Action position, there is no guaranteed period of employment and employment is at will, subject to termination at any time.
Required: The following qualifications are required at hire:
• Juris doctorate degree.
• Admission to the Wisconsin Bar upon hire.
• A commitment to civil legal aid and to providing quality and aggressive representation to low-income people and crime victims.
• Knowledge of state and federal law and procedure.
• A high standard of written and courtroom advocacy.
• Ability to communicate both orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner
• Ability to work harmoniously with others.
• Ability to handle and prioritize many pressing matters in various locations.
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout Legal Action’s service area to meet with clients and to attend court hearings.
• A deep understanding of the needs of low-income litigants.
• A professional commitment to participate in Legal Action’s racial equity legal advocacy.
Desired: The following qualifications are desired/preferred at hire:
• Prior experience in civil legal aid or other relevant experience.
• Experience and knowledge of the court systems in Legal Action’s overall service area or in other counties served by the Racine and/or Oshkosh office area.
• One to three years of legal experience.
• Prior legal work in the client community or in other programs to aid the poor.
• Ability to communicate with persons in the client community who speak a language other than English as their principal language (e.g., Spanish or Hmong), and cultural affinity with the client community.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
This position involves sedentary work, including sitting at a desk on a computer for an extended period. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a regular basis to lift, carry, push or otherwise move objects. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and/or laptop keyboard and use a telephone. Drives a motor vehicle while seated for extended periods of time daily. Occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, and stooping involved to retrieve various items and materials. This position works in an environmentally-controlled office environment with moderate noise from phones, printers and light office traffic in the LAW office.
Applicants must submit the following application materials via Legal Action of Wisconsin’s online applicant portal by using this link: https://secure.entertimeonline.com/ta/7988.careers?ApplyToJob=386048192
- Cover letter emphasizing your qualifications for the position, including an that are
- Resume
- Law school transcript (only required for applicants who graduated in 2018 or later)
- Writing sample
- Names and contact information for three professional references
Please submit and upload all the documents required. If the required documents are not submitted on or before the deadline, your application will be considered incomplete and we will not be able to consider you for this position.
Robert Held, Racine Office Managing Attorney and Jacqueline Jaworski, Oshkosh Office Managing Attorney are the hiring managers for this position.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
The position will be open until filled. To ensure early consideration, please submit application materials no later than close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Friday, September 3, 2021. Interviews will be conducted virtually.
Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
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