Community Law Attorney; Employment Law​/Public

Community Law Attorney (Employment Law/Public Benefits) - San Francisco, CA Full-Time, Exempt Hybrid (3 days minimum in-office)

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. And to solve this, we just need to discover what the steps are. At Open Door Legal (ODL), we’re pioneering the country’s first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us.

To achieve this ambitious goal, we’ve created an award-winning and best-in-class legal aid organization full of passionate, motivated, gritty, thoughtful, and team-oriented people.

We believe that injustice is the heart of poverty, and we're looking for someone to join us in having a systemic impact on how we, as a society, ensure justice for all.

We are hiring a Community Law Attorney (Employment Law/Public Benefits) to represent clients in employment law and public benefits matters. For the employment law context, this includes wage and hour, wrongful termination, harassment and discrimination claims. For the public benefits context, this includes Social Security, Medi Cal, Cal Fresh, CAAP/General Assistance, and Unemployment Insurance. This will be a full-time position designed to expand the capacity of our employment and public benefits team.

You would report directly to our Senior Employment Litigation Attorney, who also has a background in SSDI appeal representation. The Employment Law and Public Benefits practice group is part of the Litigation and Economic Justice Team.

Since the coronavirus pandemic struck the Bay Area and the United States, one thing has become eminently clear: that low-income individuals, families, and workers are disproportionately affected in times of crisis. Our employment team works hard to ensure that businesses and organizations are held accountable to their workers, that the benefits workers were promised come to them, and that power and agency are not taken from our low-income communities.

The work is fast-paced, is high-volume, and requires you to be organized, think critically and dynamically, and demonstrate empathy and awareness in understanding the needs of our community. If you want to make a difference in clients’ lives with us, we encourage you to apply! Overall, this position is intended to be a challenging and rewarding experience for someone who is interested in using that knowledge to impact the lives of local low-income community members.

• Embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and make sure that the needs of clients in our service area are met.
• Own a full caseload (as per team needs, which is currently 30 cases) and be responsible for making sure the clients’ goals are met.
• Perform employment law and public benefit intakes in-person and virtually across multiple physical Open Door Legal locations.
• Provide trauma-informed legal services and help clients stay updated on their case, maintaining consistently positive client feedback scores. Meet clients where they are, factoring in their cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and any barriers to service.
• Gain and maintain proficient knowledge of public benefit law and employment law. Attend trainings, review solutions, engage in casework, and discuss case strategy with your supervisor to obtain the skills and knowledge in best practices needed to competently represent clients, in areas relating to legal strategy, and in trauma-informed and culturally-sensitive direct services high-volume legal work.
• Support our Litigation and Economic Justice team with other tasks and casework as capacity allows.
• Efficiently utilize Salesforce, our client management system (CMS), to document case activities, maintain detailed and accurate client records, and ensure timely record updates.
• Commit to leading the office in representing our mission and values externally to potential clients, clients, and others as well as internally to all teammates and volunteers. Our…