Strategic Advocacy Staff Attorney - Albany

Pay Type:

per year Benefits:
Health/Dental/Vision, TSA/Retirement, Vacation, Sick and Personal PTO, Moving Expenses, College Tuition Assistance/Loan Repayment, Professional Licenses, Professional Memberships, flexible hybrid-remote and alternative work schedule options, and more!

The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, a nonprofit civil legal services program, is seeking a Strategic Advocacy Staff Attorney. Legal Aid's mission is to fight for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty and for a society that is inclusive and equitable for all. We transform lives, build communities, and empower people by using the law to address individual and systemic wrongs and inequities.

Our service area spans sixteen counties, in upstate New York, encompassing six regional offices. This position is based out of our Albany Office. For more information about our work, staff, and clients, visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). .

We are a unionized program with excellent benefits, offering generous time off, excellent health insurance coverage with premiums primarily paid by LASNNY, health and long-term disability insurance, retirement contributions, tuition reimbursement, qualifying moving expenses, and flexible hybrid-remote and alternative work schedules.

Attorneys in our Advocacy Department will implement strategies for impactful advocacy for economic and social justice in a broad range of civil legal issues. This requires a systemic approach that addresses deep‑seeded inequities rather than surface‑level issues. The staff attorney will collaborate with other practice areas at LASNNY to identify and challenge systemic civil rights violations and injustices affecting large groups of our clients in various legal fields, such as unequal access to safe housing, employment discrimination, and wrongful denial of public benefits .

The staff attorney will center community and co‑create solutions providing community legal education and support to community‑led advocacy efforts. In strategic impact cases, the staff attorney will plan, develop, file, or defend lawsuits whose outcome impact more than one individual and that focus on changing laws or protecting the rights of those impacted . In addition to providing direct representation to clients or client groups, the attorney will also utilize all other available advocacy tools to effectively achieve the client's desired goals - from litigation, coalition collaboration, white paper drafting, participation in the rule making process, media campaigns, among others.

Litigation and Legal Advocacy

• Develop and execute legal strategies in collaboration with the Advocacy Director, other LASNNY staff, and community partners to address systemic issues
• Conduct legal research and provide analysis on complex systemic legal issues
• Identify and work collaboratively with other staff and pro bono co‑counsel
• Draft and review pleadings, briefs, motions, memoranda, advocacy letters, and rule making comments
• Lead and manage litigation matters from selecting the appropriate plaintiffs/petitioners through trial and/or settlement .
• Mentor and co‑chair with other practice staff attorneys; ensure team compliance with all deadlines and case requirements.
• Take, perfect, and argue appeals on a variety of civil legal matters

Community Engagement and Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with LASNNY staff and community‑based organizations to identify new advocacy opportunities that address community‑identified systemic legal issues and organizational priorities
• Conduct community education, outreach, and build relationships with communities served by LASNNY
• Draft educational materials for media and for the larger community
• Collaborate with the communications team for litigation efforts, client stories, and impact
• And other duties as determined by the Advocacy Director

• Applicants must have a Juris Doctor and be admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York or be eligible for admission. Admission to the US District Court for the Northern District of New York is a plus.
• Minimum 7 years of post‑admission legal experience
• Must be willing and able to travel…