Join the World's Top Legal Talent Network

If you require an accommodation due to a disability to complete this application OR you are experiencing issues submitting your application and accompanying
materials please e-mail talent@disabilityrightsca.org.

Individuals who are Deaf or Disabled are encouraged to apply.

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Office Location: *Sacramento, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Ontario, Fresno, or Remote within California

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SALARY RANGE (DOE): *$63,063 - $92,352 annually

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Employment Status: * Regular, Full Time, Exempt

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WHO WE ARE*
Disability Rights California (DRC) is a statewide, non-profit legal organization dedicated to advancing the rights of Californians with disabilities. DRC works to achieve fairness and justice for people with disabilities through individual and impact litigation, state and federal policy and regulatory advocacy, and community education and training.

Housing Stability Project
DRC is seeking an attorney to join our new Housing Stability Project (“HSP”) team. With the anticipated influx of evictions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, DRC aims to significantly expand our work to prevent the displacement of persons with disabilities, particularly those in low-income communities and communities of color. HSP operates primarily on a proper telephone clinic model to assist people with disabilities throughout California on issues impacting their housing with select cases receiving representation for negotiations or at administrative or judicial hearings to preserve income or housing. Our goal is to empower individuals with disabilities to advocate for their rights as tenants. We also work with unhoused people to identify needed services and overcome accessibility barriers. HSP will also have social workers as part of the legal team to overcome barriers to housing stability. In addition to direct work with clients, we are adopting a multi-pronged approach by providing Know-Your-Rights training, workshops, advocating with government agencies and housing providers to improve access, and forming strategic partnerships with other service providers and community groups to leverage our resources and maximize the number of people we can assist.

We are a diverse and collaborative team that values flexibility, adaptability, and innovation in a legal landscape that has been significantly changed by the pandemic.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB
The Staff Attorney works under the direct supervision of one of the Supervising Attorneys for HSP and in collaboration with other Disability Rights California attorneys, advocates, and social workers in their legal, advocacy, and outreach efforts. Through a combination of direct client work and collaborative community outreach, the goal is to provide individualized help to prevent homelessness and combat systemic housing stability issues while meeting federal and state grant requirements.
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JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Staff Attorney 1 share responsibility with other legal and advocacy staff for providing information, referrals, advice, brief service, technical assistance, outreach, training, and limited representation in administrative and judicial proceedings to clients on legal matters impacting their housing stability.

Staff Attorney essential functions include:
Assist Clients – 80%

• Conduct statewide intakes on housing-related issues, including unlawful detainers, housing discrimination complaints, sub-standard conditions, and other legal issues that may impact housing stability. The majority of intakes will be by telephone, though we aim to explore new technologies for remote intake as well as some limited in-person intakes once we can safely do so.
• Create self-help and self-advocacy tools for a variety of legal matters with an emphasis on housing-related matters, including sample answers, demand letters, and other materials that a potential client can use to help maintain their housing.
• Work directly with advocates handling short-term assistance cases.

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• Identify systemic problems that affect our clients’ housing rights and address these challenges through collaborations with other practice groups within DRC.
• Other duties as assigned.

Community-Based Advocacy – 20%

• Engage in community lawyering practices with clients with disabilities, particularly clients experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
• Organize and participate in community-based legal clinics. This can include working with various community-based organizations to develop and schedule clinics, working within Disability Rights California to staff the clinics, attending legal clinics, and providing clients with information and advice at in-person legal clinics.
• Design and present trainings on various disability-related legal topics for service providers and the public.
• Develop and build relationships with community leaders with a focus on working in underserved communities (which includes language or ethnically distinct communities, rural communities, LGBTQI+ communities, individuals who live in facilities, and people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness).
• Other duties as assigned.

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MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS*
Juris Doctor degree (JD) and admitted to the California State Bar
Demonstrated commitment – through lived experience and/or employment history – to working with people with disabilities and low-income clients.

• Expertise in one or more substantive areas of law required for the position such as housing or eviction defense litigation
• Experience in one or more of: litigation, administrative practice, working on complex legal matters, and leadership and mentoring related to the position
• Demonstrated ability to successfully lead multiple advocacy projects such as intake/outreach projects, administrative proceedings, writs, eviction defense, or single client / single defendant lawsuits.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with laws affecting, rights of, and services for people with disabilities.
• Familiarity with various housing discrimination and other housing-related laws, including evictions.
• Experience in community organizing or development.
• Experience working in a high-volume legal clinic setting.
• Ability to communicate fluently in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, or American Sign Language.
• Experience working with and/or sensitivity to persons with disabilities and/or experience working with and/or sensitivity to persons from multi-ethnic communities.
• Life experience as a person with a disability OR direct experience as a caregiver of a family member with a disability.

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TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
Occasional travel required: Ability to travel occasionally for activities such as out-of-town meetings, training, or outreach activities up to 25% of the time.

WORKING CONDITIONS
The following describes general working conditions and requirements of the job, which can be performed with or without disability related reasonable accommodations. Duties are performed between an office environment and the field in a wide range of settings, including health care facilities; in client, group, or family homes; community agencies; or in community-based outpatient settings. Work areas are often noisy. Duties frequently require sitting, talking and/or hearing and occasional periods of standing, stooping, kneeling, and crouching. Weights to be lifted and/or moved up to 10 pounds are frequently encountered. Must be able to transport oneself to work-related meeting, centers, etc.

If you are interested in becoming a part of DRC, please submit the following:
1. Online Disability Rights California Application Form
2. Your resume
3. Cover Letter: We need a workforce that can utilize insights and strategies that can come from both professional and personal experience. In your cover letter, please tell us about yourself and why you are a great fit for this position and for DRC.
4. Sample of legal writing (i.e., a legal argument, letter or analysis) consisting of no more than 10 pages of text.

At Disability Rights California, we value diversity among our employees because unique perspectives allow us to effectively serve Californians with disabilities from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, age (over 40), Disability (mental and physical), sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military and veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

Disability Rights California endorses and supports the intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are applicants or employees who need accommodations.

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: Multiple Locations