Supervising Attorney - Law

Position Description

Legal Assistance of Western NY seeks to fill an opening for a Supervising Attorney in the area of Housing Law, specifically:
Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws. This position can be located in our Olean, Rochester or Geneva office. We encourage applicants with a wide range of substantive legal experience to apply. We expect those who fill this position will grow and adapt their practice to the needs of the community and the organization, and place an emphasis on supervision skills and the ability to practice in multiple forums.

The candidate must have the caring, patience, and emotional maturity to help low‑income people overcome crisis situations.

The Supervising Attorney provides leadership and supervision in supplying comprehensive legal services to eligible clients and the ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of how civil legal issues affecting low‑income communities intersect with social and economic justice. Supervisors play a critical role in realizing LawNY®’s vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Every supervisor is expected to actively engage in learning and becoming increasingly skilled in supervision that supports this vision.

• Admitted to practice and in good standing in New York State
• Three (3) years experience providing legal services as a licensed attorney.
• Demonstrated commitment of service to low‑income people.
• Experience with civil rights or fair housing investigation and litigation.
• Commitment to engaging in learning and developing supervision skills that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The beginning salary for a Supervising Attorney at LawNY with 3 years of experience is $85,000 and the salary for a Supervising Attorney with 30 years of experience is $116,600. Salary will be based on experience. LawNY is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF).

• 94% Employer paid Medical Premium with 100% Employer paid in‑network deductible
• 100% Employer paid Dental Insurance
• 100% Employer paid Life Insurance
• 100% Employer paid Enhanced Short‑term Disability
• 100% Employer paid Long‑term Disability
• Vision Insurance
• 20 Paid Vacation days per year
• 12 Sick days per year
• 5 Personal days per year
• 13.5 Holidays plus 2 floating Holidays per year
• 35‑Hour Work Week
• Hybrid Work Schedule (new staff are able to work from home up to 3 days per week. After 6 months, this increases to 5 days per week with Manager approval, as workload permits)

• Provide respectful culturally competent legal services to clients with low income including advice, negotiation, litigation and administrative advocacy.
• Manage multiple tasks and deadlines while supervising caseload of supervises and coordinate the periodic review of the cases.
• Identify leadership development and mentoring opportunities for supervises and train less‑experienced attorneys, paralegals and/or other staff in their pursuit of career advancement.
• Create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for supervises.
• Build relationships and collaborate with human services providers, non‑profit organizations, community groups, and impacted community members as well as the courts, administrative tribunals, and the private bar to address legal problems within our community.
• Take responsibility for proper grant management requirements, program reporting, timekeeping, file maintenance, case closing, and compliance review.
• Maintain a high level of professional competence through attendance of training sessions, seminars and conferences and individual efforts to keep abreast of current developments in the area of poverty law and the application of an equity lens to client service.

• Experience incorporating an anti‑racist and anti‑oppressive lens into legal practice with an understanding of the concepts of structural and institutional racism and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Experience with eviction defense and other legal issues affecting housing.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including a commitment to providing…