New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) is seeking applications for a staff attorney position in its Disability Justice (DJ) program.
For nearly 40 years, NYLPI has been a leading civil rights advocate for New Yorkers marginalized by race, poverty, disability, and immigration status. These communities define our work; they shape our priorities, and their struggles for justice demand innovative solutions. We strive to create equal access to health care, achieve equality of opportunity and self-determination for people with disabilities, ensure immigrant opportunity, strengthen local non-profits, and secure environmental justice for low-income communities of color. NYLPI pioneered the practice of community lawyering in the five boroughs of New York City. Our interdisciplinary teams of advocates use every tool available – community organizing, impact litigation and individual representation, policy advocacy, media, pro bono partnerships, and public education – to solve seemingly intractable problems, develop leaders, and build collective power to achieve justice and equality.
The work of the DJ Program is founded on principles of equality of opportunity, self-determination, and independence for people with disabilities. In partnership with individuals and community organizations, we use a wide range of advocacy tools to assert the rights of New Yorkers with disabilities to equal access to a variety of critical services, including education, health care, housing, and police protection. We advocate for individuals with disabilities to live as independently as possible in the community with the support services they need, and we combat abuse and neglect within institutions. Our advocacy also encompasses the realm of communication access, specifically the rights of deaf or hard of hearing individuals and limited English proficient individuals with disabilities to participate equally in New York City programs and services.
The Staff Attorney will take on existing systemic advocacy and have ample opportunity to lead and collaborate on new campaigns, as well as individual representation in some or all of the areas described above. The Staff Attorney will engage in legal, policy, and administrative advocacy, as well as community organizing and outreach, coalition-building, and media work. In particular, the Staff Attorney will focus on NYLPI’s access to justice advocacy for people with disabilities including campaigns devoted to protecting the rights of New Yorkers with disabilities to equally access the court system, as well as to be free from discrimination while incarcerated at jails or prisons. The Staff Attorney will also carry a docket of cases promoting the rights of students with disabilities in New York City’s public school system to a free appropriate public education.
Qualifications:
Must be an attorney in good standing
Must either be licensed to practice law in the State of New York or be eligible for admission to the New York bar at the time of hiring (must be admitted within one year of hire)
Minimum of three years relevant litigation and/or direct representation experience (outstanding applicants with less experience will be considered)
Excellent writing, analytic, interpersonal, and public speaking skills
Ability to work independently, as well as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
Excellent strategic judgment and the drive to originate and effectuate challenging campaigns
Commitment to community lawyering principles and disability rights
Fluency in a second language strongly preferred
Federal litigation experience a plus
How to apply
Please send cover letter, resume, brief writing sample (3-5 pages) and three references by July 24, 2015 to jobs@nylpi.org with the words: Attention: DJ Attorney Position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please mention in your cover letter where you saw this advertisement. Visit us to learn more at www.nylpi.org.
NYLPI offers a competitive salary and comprehensive employer-paid benefits, including health insurance, short and long term disability and life insurance, an outstanding retirement savings plan and fifteen (15) days of vacation during the first year of employment.
NYLPI is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color and individuals with disabilities. We are committed to advancing social equality and civil rights in our advocacy, and we value the dynamism and perspective that staff diversity brings to the work and culture of the office. We seek to maintain a staff that is diverse along many axes, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, and national origin; disability; socioeconomic background; and sexual orientation and gender identity. NYLPI recognizes the ongoing need to foster and support diversity at all levels of the organization.