Supervising Attorney - Housing Practice Group

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO)’s mission is to provide civil legal aid and advocacy to overcome unfairness and injustice, reduce poverty, and increase opportunity. LASCO has a long-standing history of being committed to searching out the patterns, causes of, and solutions to the repetitive and fundamental legal problems facing low-income Ohioans and pursuing the legal recourse needed to address those problems. Since 1966, our organizations have helped thousands of Ohio’s poor obtain and keep housing, secure public benefits, worked with families to gain and maintain economic stability, and helped domestic violence survivors to live free of fear and abuse and to obtain the resources needed to sustain themselves and their children.

LASCO is actively seeking a dedicated professional Supervising Attorney to provide support to our Columbus-based Housing Practice Group. In collaboration with the Managing Attorney, you will be responsible for directly supervising staff, reviewing and closing cases, collecting, maintaining and reporting data, community education, assisting in identifying and pursuing funding, ensuring that impact and other projects are completed and continuing to manage your own case and impact work.

Are You Someone Who:

• Is dedicated to improving the lives of low-income individuals in our communities?
• Enjoys helping clients triumph over adversity?
• Is motivated, professional and thrives within a collaborative, team-driven environment?
• Believes successful resolution can be reached beyond traditional litigation?
• Is interested in developing a wide range of legal skills and experiences?
• Promotes a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and quality?
• Has expertise in a wide range of Housing litigation and experiences? 
• Is able to effectively balance being responsive to emerging issues raised by attorneys and driving to meet organizational priorities?

You Will:

• Supervise and support the TAP Team including attorneys with a wide range of skills and experiences including training, feedback and evaluation, and reviewing/closing TAP cases among others 
• Support new attorney litigation and administrative advocacy skills and development as appropriate depending on the needs of individuals, office and teams
• Collaborate closely with the Managing Attorney on broad organizational goals, impact plans and staff support among other areas
• Serve as primary point person for case strategy including coordination of motions and major arguments for consistency and strength 
• Supervise collection, maintenance and reporting of data including grant reporting
• Ensure the Housing team meets case number goals including a monthly reporting of the number of cases resolved in the past month by the a team as a whole, and by each individual attorney, and how those cases were resolved 
• Assist with grant requests, applications and other grant requirements in collaboration with Development and the Team Managers
• Develop, implement and participate in active strategic involvement in the local community including legal education, outreach activities, clinics and other community events to positively impact client communities 
• Collaborate with other legal services attorneys on statewide efforts
• Promote community relations and build community relationships by engaging with the public and partner service providers
• Develop and maintain local bar/bench relationships, relationships with local legislators and other community leaders
• Remain current on emerging legal topics and identify relevant trends related to substantive area of focus
• Be a part of a community of collaborative and mission driven professionals
• Co-counsel, when appropriate as well as determine other methods of effectively supporting attorneys’ success in and out of the courtroom
• Provides other assistance to attorneys as requested by the Managing Attorney or Executive Director

You Have:

• Demonstrated progressive experience practicing law with specific expertise in the areas of housing law
• Excellent communication skills, both orally and written, with diverse audiences
• High ability to gather, coordinate and report required data
• High ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment
• High ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion
• Ability to facilitate collaboration as well as build and sustain productive relationships with diverse groups and organizations
• Demonstrated ability to successfully lead, manage and develop a diverse team of professionals
• Ability and willingness to collaborate and coordinate with the Managing Attorney of the Team specifically and the management team as a whole
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion both internally and externally
• Strong work ethic with an ability to connect big picture ideas to day-to-day work
• Ability to prioritize workload to manage time and tasks and delegate responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications, knowledge of current technologies and commitment to remain up to date with industry best practices
• English language proficiency is essential and Spanish/English bilingual skills are a plus. Additional languages – even better
• Juris Doctor from an accredited law school and admitted to the Bar of the State of Ohio (or if not currently admitted, eligible to waive in) required
• Prior Legal Aid or related work experience a plus, but not required

Other Details:

• It is the policy of LASCO not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability, age, ancestry, and military status or any other characteristic protected by law.
• This position reports to the Managing Attorney, is based in Columbus, Ohio and requires some travel throughout the service area.
• Salary is dependent upon level of experience.
• LASCO offers an excellent comprehensive benefits package, currently including an employer funded HRA (up to $12,000), employer-paid employee dental and vision insurance, a language skills differential ($2,500-$3,500 annually), paid vacation, sick and holiday time, LRAP (up to $6,000), and ongoing training and development opportunities.

To Apply:

Submit resume, writing sample, references, and letter of interest. In your letter of interest, please address the following for your application to be considered:

LASCO’s clientele is diverse, and all of our clients are low income. To ensure that our program is best serving our communities, LASCO 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.