Education Staff Attorney
: Job Details :

APPLICATION DEADLINE:

Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN

Founded in 1975, Legal Services for Children (“LSC”) is one of the country's first non-profit law firms dedicated to providing free legal representation and social work services to children. Our mission is to ensure that all children in the San Francisco Bay Area are raised in a safe environment with equal access to a meaningful education and other services that are necessary to thrive and grow. We believe that youth deserve positive alternatives to unnecessary placement in foster care, juvenile justice facilities, and immigration detention. LSC started the interdisciplinary approach that is considered a best practice in juvenile law today. We deploy attorney-social worker teams to assist Bay Area children who need to access the legal system to stabilize or improve their lives. LSC's attorneys represent children in legal matters that involve guardianship, dependency, school discipline, immigration, and other civil legal matters. Our social workers provide crisis intervention, case management, counseling, and psychosocial assessments. LSC staff also engage in policy and advocacy projects aimed at advancing the rights of children.

To promote social justice and best serve our clients, LSC is committed to maintaining a diverse staff and providing services with cultural humility. We are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion and ensuring a workplace where staff can flourish and grow professionally, and well beyond. We strongly encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities and historically oppressed groups including People of Color and LGBTQ individuals to apply. Bilingual/bicultural candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

ABOUT THE POSITION

LSC seeks a Staff Attorney to represent students in exclusionary school discipline, special education, and related matters (including dependency, guardianship, immigration) as part of an interdisciplinary social work-attorney team. This position will be a member of the EDGE (Emancipation, Dependency, Guardianship and Education) Team and will serve as the Education Lead. This position requires fluency in Spanish.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Provide advocacy, representation, and guidance to clients facing recommendations of expulsion and expulsion appeals and special education matters, including representation with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Section 504 matters, district and state administrative complaints, Manifestation Determination Reviews, and Dispute Resolution

• Support the team in education advocacy before other tribunals, including juvenile, probate, and immigration court

• Conduct workshops and Know Your Rights training sessions to educate clients and professionals on expulsion defense and special education laws, regulations and protections, and best practices

• Mentor, train, and provide technical assistance to colleagues and pro bono attorneys on education advocacy

• Train/supervise law student interns on Education Advocacy

• Collaborate with clients to develop effective strategies for resolving educational disputes and complaints.

• Collaborate with community partners and statewide coalitions to confront school push-out practices, school policing, and the school to prison nexus

• Review data reporting regarding school discipline by SFUSD to provide accountability

• Visit clients, attend court and school meetings, and engage with the community in person throughout San Francisco and immediate Bay Area

• Additional tasks as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Member in good standing of the State Bar of California (or another state) with up to 4 years of relevant experience as an attorney

• Fluency in Spanish

• Experience in school discipline defense, including representation in manifestation determination reviews, or minimum of one year litigation experience in any area

• Strong knowledge of federal and California education laws and regulations

Preferred:

• Personal experience with the juvenile legal system, school discipline or special education strongly preferred

• Experience with mentorship and/or supervision of others

• Excellent interpersonal, listening, and communication skills, including the ability to facilitate, write persuasively and clearly, build strong partnerships and coalitions, and work as part of a team

• Diversity of professional and personal experience demonstrating the ability to work well with diverse groups of people including families and youth (especially older youth) and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and to providing services with cultural humility

• Deep commitment to elevating the voices of young people impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems

SALARY & BENEFITS

Salary scale is non-negotiable and is based on years of relevant experience as an attorney, ranging from $75,854-$84,342 (0-4 years). Benefits include fully paid health insurance for employees and majority paid for child dependents (medical, dental, and vision), retirement contribution and generous paid leave (vacation, sick, holiday, and sabbatical). LSC also offers a flexible spending account for qualified health expenditures.

LSC has a “hybrid” model in which the employee can work a blend of field, home and office. This position is based in San Francisco and requires presence in the area with the ability to come to the office and other locations in the Bay Area.

This position is in a bargaining unit represented by IFPTE Local 20.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please send cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references to ...@lsc-sf.org with “Education Staff Attorney” in the subject line. In your cover letter, please address the following in order for your application to be considered:

LSC's clientele is extremely diverse, and the majority of our clients are low-income youth of color. To ensure that our agency is best serving these children, LSC strives to promote an evolving set of behaviors and attitudes amongst our staff, as well as policies that enable us to work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community. We see this as a commitment to enhance the provision of our services to all clients; to raise the level of positive client outcomes; and to create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural humility and diversity amongst our staff? Feel free to think broadly about your response to this question, applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences.