Deputy Director/Attorney, Compliance & Training, PAH-Brooklyn

Brooklyn Legal Services; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 116,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days vacation

Health, dental and vision insurance

401(k) employer contribution

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Build Up Justice NYC seeks a Deputy Director/Attorney, Compliance and Training to supervise PAHB program staff representing low‑income tenants in eviction court and before administrative agencies. The role provides legal oversight, mentoring, and quality control to ensure ethical and compliant casework.

The Deputy Director leads case reviews, organizes staff development, develops procedures, and coordinates pro‑bono collaborations while ensuring accurate data for grant reporting and program

Qualifications

• Admitted to the New York Bar or eligible for admission.
• Minimum 5 years of civil and/or federal public interest litigation in NY; housing law preferable.
• Experience supervising attorneys, paralegals, and staff.
• Experience working with low‑income communities and coalitions.
• Strong written and oral advocacy in English; bilingual ability preferred.
• Hybrid work schedule: 3 days in-office / 2 days remote.

Responsibilities

• Lead weekly case assignment meetings and manage attorney staff.
• Coordinate and supervise program work, including case reviews and strategy.
• Develop and manage program procedures to meet case numbers and deliverables.
• Supervise writing attorneys and provide training on briefs, motions, and appeals.
• Oversee case management data accuracy for grant reporting.
• Manage pro-bono collaborations and program interns.
• Organize learning opportunities for staff career growth.

Skills

Leadership

Legal writing

Litigation

Advocacy

Communication

Diversity & inclusion

Bilingual

Education

Bar admission NY or eligible

Tools

Case management system

Legal research tools

Word processing

Job description

Since 1968, Build Up Justice NYC (BUJNYC) has provided free legal services for low-income residents of Brooklyn, pursuing neighborhood-based mission of justice, empowerment, and community development. For over half a century, we have utilized an array of legal and advocacy strategies—community organizing, affirmative civil rights litigation, and eviction defense to defend the rights of individuals and families. Collaboration with the city, state, and federal officials to enforce housing laws and develop legislative solutions is also an integral part of our strategy. BUJNYC has three core programs—Preserving Affordable Housing (PAH) Program, Consumer & Economic Advocacy (CEA) Program, and Community & Economic Development (CED) Program—each of which has unique initiatives and plays a vital community role to ensure basic needs are met and fundamental rights affirmed.

Position Summary

TheDeputy Director/Attorney, Compliance and Training willsupervise attorneys in the PAHB program that representlow-income tenants in Brooklyn facing eviction in court and before administrative agencies and bringing affirmative litigation. They will provide legal oversight, mentoring and guidance and quality control for all casework handled by staff ensuring compliance with legal compliance and ethical standards. The Deputy Director will lead case review and assignment meetings to ensure manage the continuing education and professional development of attorney staff.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Management

• Lead weekly case assignment meetings and manage assignments to ensure professional skills and experiences are developing for attorney staff;
• Coordinate and supervise program work, including scheduling and attending meetings and case reviews, assignappropriate casestotheteam, and provide support on case strategy;
• Participate in the development, implementation and management of program procedures to ensure meeting case numbers and other program deliverables;
• Supervise writing attorneys to facilitate development of templates, drafting legal documents, pleadings, motion brief and appeals and providing writing training for attorneys and paralegals;
• Oversee data in case management system to ensure it is up to date and compliance of program procedures are being maintained, gatherdata for grant reporting and provide support for grant reporting to funders;
• Manage pro-bono collaborations andprogram interns in coordination with Program Director;
• Organize learning opportunities for team to ensure career growth paths for staff attorneys are maintained;
• Conduct legal research and keeping current on state law and procedures within area of practice;
• Conduct trainings for community-based organizations and coalitions in the related substantive matters to include but not be limited to Know-Your-Rights housing workshops, clinics, and other educational outreach activities to ensure that tenants are aware of their protections under housing laws;
• Draft and update programmatic and educational materials for program staff and as requested for clients/outreach events;
• Attend meetings and perform administrative tasks related to the workand supervision, such as timekeeping and case tracking and notes;and
• Other duties as assigned.

Client Transactional Work

• Provide additional support as needed for client intake and screening, and provide advice, consultation, advocacy, and brief services to potential clients at clinical programs in the community and other community event;
• Conduct discovery and depositions and represent/facilitatecommunication with clients, negotiations with opposing counsel and advocacy with outside agencies on behalf of clients;
• Attend client meetings andparticipatein community outreach efforts promoting program services which may occur during evening and weekends as necessary;
• Use technical knowledge and experience, 2nd seat/co-chair/partner with staff attorneys on challenging and complex cases;
• As needed,represent clients facing eviction in court to ensure that the procedure is fair, and the law is appropriately followed and applied;
• As needed, represent clients innon-payment, holdover, HP, 7A, and harassment proceedings in housing courtand/orassistin settlement conferences;
• As needed, conduct discovery and depositions and represent/facilitatecommunication with clients, negotiations with opposing counsel and advocacy with outside agencies on behalf of clients;
• As a team leader, provide feedback and mentorship to staff attorneys and ability to represent the team.

Education, Skills and Experience

• Admission to the bar of the State of New York or eligible for admission;
• Minimum 5years’ experience working in New York civil and/or Federal, or other relevant public interest litigation;housing law preferable;
• Minimum 5 years’ experience working with clients in the nonprofit sector, low-income communities, community organizations and/or coalitions;
• Experience supervising a team of attorneys,paralegalsand administrative staff;
• Experience working with clients in the public sector, low-income tenant groups, communityorganizationsand/or coalitions;
• Excellent interpersonal skills anddemonstratedability to effectively communicate with individuals from diverse backgrounds, localorganizationsand people in desperate crisis;
• Demonstrated ability to interact with client/tenants of different races, ethnicities, ages, and sexual orientations in a multicultural environment and a commitment to diversity,equityand inclusion;
• Excellent legal writing,litigationand advocacy skills in English, bi-lingualin other languagepreferred;
• Ability to work independently with strong motivation, to manage a high case load, track case data, meet deadlines, and to be flexible;
• Computerproficiencysufficient to independently review and generate legal briefs/writingsand other supervisory tasks;
• Experience managing case management system to ensureaccuratedata collection and statistical tracking;
• Ability to collaborate as needed write narrative reports for grant and contracts;
• Basic knowledge of New York City and State housing laws and rules;
• Must be available to work hybrid work schedule with 3 days in-office/2 days remote with some nights and weekends as required;and
• Thorough commitment to Build Up Justice NYC’s mission.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary $116,000 - $134,000 dependent on years of experience.

• 27 days vacation
• employer paid health, dental and vision insurance
• employer contribution to 401(k)
• paid parental leave

Build Up Justice NYC is a diverse team that is committed to recruiting, supporting, retaining, and promoting a talented staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences that share the organization's commitment to racial, economic and social justice. At Build Up Justice NYC, diversity encompasses a variety of characteristics, lifestyles, and perspectives, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, disability, socio-economic status, and family status. We firmly believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is essential to both the quality of our client services and the personal satisfaction of our staff.

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply, including women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people from low-income backgrounds, and with lived experiences in the communities we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed.