VOCA Staff Attorney (Non-Profit)

LEGAL AID OF SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, INC.

VOCA Staff Attorney (Non-Profit)

Location: West Chester (Chester County, PA)

Schedule: Full-Time

Salary: Starting at $65,500 – commensurate with experience

SUMMARY

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (“LASP”) seeks a passionate attorney focused on providing client-centered, culturally competent, trauma-informed legal services to victims of domestic violence for its West Chester Office in Chester County. This position is funded through a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

LASP serves individuals with low incomes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. This is a full-time position. The attorney will receive a salary commensurate with experience and LASP’s personnel policy.

Staff currently work on a hybrid basis. The successful candidate will be expected to perform in-office work as well as be able to work remotely.

Key Responsibilities

• Interviewing clients, assisting in determining eligibility for services, and ascertaining and investigating facts.
• Conducting legal research and interpreting statutes, case law, regulations, and other sources of law.
• Providing advice and counsel to clients.
• Preparing legal documents, including but not necessarily limited to briefs, pleadings, motions, notices, correspondence, memoranda, discovery, and documents responsive to discovery requests.
• Developing strategy and arguments for presentation of cases and assisting in preparation of witnesses for hearings and trials.
• Representing clients in trial and appellate courts and before quasi-judicial or administrative agencies.
• Reviewing decisions and consulting with supervisor to determine merit of potential appeals.
• Engaging with external professional and community organizations relevant to casework.
• Conducting clinics, community education, and workshops.
• Participating in LASP team efforts to achieve office and program goals, including program-wide affinity groups and task forces.
• Developing knowledge of community needs and referral resources.
• Enhancing skills and substantive knowledge through training, CLE, and other educational opportunities.
• Abiding by all applicable professional standards of ethics and practice.
• Completing required administrative tasks including entering notes and timekeeping in LASP case management software and maintaining physical files.
• Ensuring that requirements of grants and contracts which may provide funding for the position are followed and assisting with grant reports.
• Performing other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.

SUPERVISOR

VOCA Supervising Attorney.

QUALIFICATIONS

• License to practice law in Pennsylvania or admitted in another jurisdiction and eligible for admission to Pennsylvania.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office products, case management software, and online legal research tools.
• Passionate commitment to public interest law and serving low-income individuals and vulnerable populations.
• Strong written and oral advocacy and organizational skills required.
• The successful candidate must be willing to accept complex and challenging cases and develop creative strategies to assist clients.
• Spanish language fluency is desirable.

Compensation and Benefits

LASP offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including a 401(k)-retirement plan with generous employer contributions, health insurance with 100% employer-paid premiums, ancillary benefits, and generous paid leave, including holidays, floating holidays, vacation, sick, personal, and parental leave.

Equal Opportunity Employer

LASP is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate in the recruitment, selection, or advancement of employees on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices at LASP, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. LASP makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

TO APPLY

Send resume and cover letter that includes the job title (Chester County VOCA Staff Attorney) to Carolyn Johnson, Chief Counsel, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, at [email protected]. Position will remain open until filled.