Executive Director

 
Executive Director
Chicago, IL
 
Uptown People’s Law Center (UPLC) is not your typical legal aid clinic. Its origins stretch back to the early 1970’s, as one of a group of survival programs supporting community organizing in Uptown. This included the fight by former coal miners and their widows to secure black lung benefits for disabled coal miners, as well as efforts to combat slumlords and displacement. Over the years, UPLC grew into a stand-alone, full-service legal clinic. It has refined and sharpened its legal practice to reflect the changing times and the evolving legal needs of the people of Uptown and throughout the state. Its lawyers and support staff have developed strong expertise in the areas of housing law, Social Security disability benefits, and prisoners’ civil rights.

UPLC’s constituency is the people of the Uptown neighborhood, the poor and neglected throughout the Chicago area, and prisoners in Illinois. It works to improve people’s quality of life through high quality, community-oriented lawyering and by leveraging the law to effect social change.

UPLC is seeking a dedicated and dynamic leader at this critical point in its 45-year history to use the power of the law to protect the rights of people holistically in the areas of housing law, Social Security disability income, and prisoners’ rights.  

The organization has grown eight-fold (from a budget of $250,000 to more than $2.1 million) in the past decade, and its success in winning cases, vindicating the rights of its clients, and serving as a valuable training ground for young lawyers has brought it renown both within the Illinois prison system and nationally for its prisoner civil rights work, and is a leading voice in tenants’ rights and Social Security disability, particularly for people with criminal records. The next Executive Director will serve as the organization’s primary spokesperson and will have the opportunity to build on this success and purpose through ongoing and deepening relationships with the community of lawyers, law schools, prisons, and the people of Uptown and beyond.
 
The salary range for this position is between $160,000 and $180,000 and will be commensurate with experience. UPLC offers a comprehensive benefits package, including but not limited to very generous vacation, sick, personal, and flex time, group health insurance, employer contributions to an IRA, as well as a flexible work week.

A bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university is required, and a candidate with a J.D. is strongly preferred. Candidates without a J.D. but with a master’s degree (or higher) in business administration, social service administration, or other relevant management field will also receive priority consideration.  Current or prior experience in the field or experiences that would result in a key understanding of the cause is advantageous. Successful candidates may come from the nonprofit or for-profit sectors.  

To apply, please submit a current resume and letter of introduction, as soon as possible, to Kittleman & Associates, LLC at https://apptrkr.com/5593444 (click the Apply button at the bottom of the page). For best consideration, kindly submit your application prior to Monday, September 23, 2024.

For further information about Uptown People’s Law Center, please see https://www.uplcchicago.org/.