Family Preservation Staff Attorney - Neighborhood Defender Service Inc

The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS) is a community-based, client-centered, holistic public defense office located in Harlem, providing the highest quality representation in criminal, civil, immigration and family courts to residents of Northern Manhattan and the Bronx who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. NDS clients are represented by multidisciplinary teams including attorneys, advocates, team administrators and social workers. NDS is accepting applications within our Family Defense Practice for a Family Preservation Staff Attorney. 

Overview

The Family Defense Practice at NDS represents parents in family policing cases (sometimes called “child welfare” cases) filed by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) as well as related family court cases, including custody, visitation and termination of parental rights proceedings.  Through our holistic approach to representation, the Family Defense Practice provides parents with the help they need—both inside and outside of court—to keep their families safe and stable. However, when clients’ families continue to be separated by ACS and the Family Court after Article 10 Disposition, the risk of termination of parental rights, or the civil death penalty, increases exponentially. Cases at this stage can evolve into complex civil litigation that will benefit from focused attention and experience. As part of NDS’s commitment to advancing due process rights for parents by fighting unwarranted state intervention in their lives and advocating for related systemic change, FDP seeks to hire an experienced attorney to provide direct representation on post-disposition and termination of parental rights (TPR) cases and to establish and develop our Family Preservation practice for all clients who face family separation.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Provide excellent client-centered representation with creativity, energy, enthusiasm and a commitment to trauma-informed, anti-racist, intersectional, non-judgmental, and holistic advocacy throughout the case;
• Take primary responsibility, with supervisory support, of all aspects of a caseload of post-dispositional Article 10 and TPR cases in Manhattan, including motion practice, discovery, oral argument, settlement negotiations, and hearings and trials;
• Co-counsel a small number of post-dispositional Article 10 and TPR cases in Manhattan;
• Engage in frequent in-person and virtual court hearings and litigation;
• Meet regularly with clients in-person in court and at NDS offices;
• Be responsive to and communicate clearly with clients who are often under great stress;
• Engage in formal and informal in-person and electronic advocacy with opposing counsel and attorney(s) for children;
• File motions, briefs and other related court papers on a frequent, timely basis;
• Provide effective oral advocacy in negotiation and argument in Family Court;
• Collaborate with social workers, client advocates, and other attorneys to secure optimal outcomes on behalf of clients;
• Provide mentorship to less-experienced attorneys;
• Represent NDS in city- and state-wide coalitions;
• Create and maintain training and resources for all attorneys on litigation post-dispositional Article 10 and TPR cases;
• Work under high pressure in an atmosphere of frequent emergencies and tight deadlines;
• Travel regularly to the satellite office in Lower Manhattan and Manhattan Family Courts and occasionally to the Central Office in Harlem.

• D. degree, admission to practice law in New York State or eligible for admission, and at least 5 years' experience litigating family policing cases, including TPR trials;
• Demonstrated commitment to parents’ rights, indigent defense, social justice issues and/or the Harlem or Bronx communities;
• Must be very flexible and possess a high level of organizational and administrative skills in order to manage a dedicated post-disposition and TPR caseload;
• Must possess excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Must be able to work cooperatively with attorneys and other NDS advocates, and problem-solve independently;
• Lived experience with the Family Policing System and other systems impacting NDS’s clients strongly preferred;
• Fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred.

 COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with experience and is in adherence to the NDS compensation scale.  For this position, the salary range for attorneys with 5-10 years of directly relevant experience is $88,000 to $104,000. Full medical and dental benefits, as well as other benefits, are provided. The salary, benefits, and employment policies relevant to this position are governed by the CBA between NDS and the NDS Union, part of ALAA UAW 2325.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample in a single PDF email to Myranda Mendez, with the subject line: “Family Preservation Staff Attorney, Family Defense Practice.” 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At NDS we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.