DeKalb Staff Attorney - Atlanta Legal Aid Society

Decatur, GA 30030

About the Job

Atlanta Legal Aid Society (“Legal Aid”) seeks a Staff Attorney for its DeKalb County office located in downtown Decatur. Our non-profit law firm represents low-income people in a variety of civil legal matters including family, housing, consumer, public benefits, education and health law. The staff currently consists of a managing attorney, 8 staff attorneys, 1 housing/domestic violence navigator, 1 paralegal, and 3 support staff.

Responsibilities:

The Staff Attorney handles a mixed caseload using a variety of methods including community education, advice and referral, brief service, transactional work, negotiation, mediation, and litigation.
Attorneys are also encouraged to participate in task forces, committees, social service organizations, and local bar associations.

Qualifications:

A Georgia bar license is required; three or more years of experience is preferred.
Applicants must possess a strong work ethic, excellent legal writing and oral advocacy skills, good communication and listening skills and the ability to work in a team and alone.
Adaptability, appreciation of diversity and the ability to balance compassion and pragmatism are necessary.
A demonstrated commitment to public service, participation in law school clinics or trial advocacy courses, familiarity with poverty law, and previous work with low-income people are strongly preferred. Proficiency in languages other than English is highly valued.

Salary and Benefits: The salary for three years of legal experience is $59,600. (The salary offered may increase or decrease depending on the actual, relevant experience of the selected candidate.) Salaries currently increase annually based on a salary scale. We recently engaged a compensation consultant to review our current structure and make recommendations for improvement. The program provides generous fringe benefits including 18 paid holidays (in 2024), 6 weeks paid time off, 6 weeks parental leave; health (including optional dental and vision coverage), life, and long and short-term disability insurance; partial payment for dependent health insurance; a salary reduction option for a flexible spending account; educational loan reimbursement up to $600 per month (after a set off of other loan reimbursement amounts); voluntary tax-sheltered annuity with 3% match; Georgia Bar dues and CLE expenses. Legal Aid offers a hybrid work schedule that allows staff to work 2 days remotely subject to management approval and a probationary employment period. This position may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Application Requirements: Submit a letter of interest; resume; writing sample (advice letter, pleading, legal memorandum, or brief); official law school transcript (a copy is acceptable pending your order of an official transcript); and the names, phone numbers and email addresses of three professional references (preferably individuals who have supervised or managed your work) as one (1) PDF using our online application system at atlantalegalaid.org/jobs. Only applications with all of the requested documents will be considered for an interview.

Your application will be acknowledged. No phone calls please. For assistance with technical difficulties in submitting your application, please email career@atlantalegalaid.org.

Legal Aid considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Source : Atlanta Legal Aid Society