THE ORGANIZATION
The Center for Justice Innovation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community safety and racial justice. Since 1996, we’ve worked alongside communities, courts, and those most directly affected by the justice system to build stronger, healthier, and more equitable neighborhoods. With a team of over 900 staff and an annual budget of $130 million, the Center carries out its mission through three core strategies:
Operating Programs that pilot new ideas and address local challenges;
Conducting original research to evaluate what works—and what doesn’t; and
Providing expert assistance and policy guidance to reformers across the country and beyond.
Backed by decades of on-the-ground experience and nationally recognized expertise, we bring innovative, practical, and lasting solutions to justice systems nationwide.
Learn more about our work at www.innovatingjustice.org .
THE OPPORTUNITY
Community Justice Connect, operated by the Center for Justice Innovation, is a network of storefront centers that provide free legal information, assistance, and referrals to people with civil legal problems. The program seeks to solve issues in areas like housing, public benefits, employment, family law, and immigration before they become emergencies that must be litigated in court. Currently, Community Justice Connect operates in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. In addition to community justice workers (non-lawyers) providing direct service assistance, the program trains community volunteers to provide assistance to their neighbors.
The Community Justice Connect program is seeking an Attorney-in-Charge. Reporting to the Director of Civil Access to Justice Initiatives, the Attorney-in-Charge oversees development and execution of the program model, supervision of Program Managers, and implementation of programmatic initiatives. The Attorney-in-Charge is responsible for coordinating high-quality, consistent practices across the program, including supporting program staff with daily operations of the program, and collaborating with a range of civil justice partners, community leaders, social service providers, and city and state government stakeholders. The Attorney-in-Charge ensures that the legal information provided by the team is accurate and up-to-date, and also offers limited instances of brief legal advice for visitors. They must stay abreast of developments in a wide set of civil legal fields and maintain systems for regular training and sharing updates in real time.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Legal Expertise:
Provide legal expertise to the Community Justice Connect project, offering support and guidance to volunteers and staff;
Oversee civil legal training for program volunteers and staff, including the development and implementation of accessible, educational resources and programming;
Act as the primary point of contact for Connect staff and volunteers on legal matters that arise from visitor issues. The candidate must have extensive knowledge of civil areas of law which affect low-income residents, including Housing Law, Government Benefits, Consumer Debt, Immigration, and/or Family Law; and
Provide brief legal advice to visitors regarding civil areas of law, including but not limited to: eviction proceedings, government benefits termination proceedings, such as fair hearings of Article 78 proceedings, child support and/or custody proceedings, etc.
Vision and Strategic Program Development
Collaborate with Housing Justice Initiatives: Work closely with the broader Housing Justice Initiatives Department to develop and implement housing strategies that align with the broader mission of increasing community-based access to justice;
Facilitate conversations with program staff to identify, sustain, and explore new funding sources, and to develop and coordinate new initiatives;
Ensure all program sites are meeting or exceeding program goals;
Work in collaboration with leadership on strategic…