Deputy Director - Legal Services

AgUpdate; Minneapolis (MN); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 126,000; Full time

Job summary

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in Minneapolis or St. Cloud seeks a strategic Deputy Director – Legal Services to oversee quality and impact of legal work across the organization.

The role partners with Managing and Supervising Attorneys, strengthens supervision practices, and guides operational systems that empower staff to deliver high‑quality advocacy. Travel statewide, manage budgets and resources, and ensure service delivery reflects communities served.

Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in Minnesota or able to obtain license.
• Minimum of 5–6 years of leadership/supervisory experience.
• Experience managing or overseeing legal programs or teams.
• Budgeting, grants, or organizational operations experience.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Responsibilities

• Oversee the quality and consistency of legal services across MMLA.
• Support Managing Attorneys and Supervising Attorneys; strengthen supervision practices.
• Lead budget, staffing, and resource allocation for legal services.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Director‑Litigation and Executive Director on strategic direction.

Skills

Leadership experience

Budget management

Strategic planning

DEI commitment

Education

Licensed to practice law in Minnesota

Job description

Deputy Director – Legal Services

Position Type: Full-time Exempt
Location: Flexible, Minneapolis or St. Cloud

Introduction:

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) is seeking a strategic, systems-oriented leader to serve as Deputy Director – Legal Services, a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the quality, consistency, impact, and effectiveness of legal services delivery throughout the organization.

The Deputy Director- Legal Services serves as a key organizational leader responsible for supporting Managing Attorneys and Supervising Attorneys, strengthening supervision practices, ensuring high-quality legal advocacy, and advancing operational systems that enable staff to do their work effectively. This position will coordinate the broad range of legal services under our comprehensive model of delivery across the organization, so legal services are as efficient and impactful as possible, given MMLA’s limited resources and high demand for services. The position will be located in either the Minneapolis or St. Cloud office but will require regular office hours in both offices and frequent travel to our locations statewide.

In organizing the delivery of legal services across the organization, this position will also be responsible for assuring MMLA meets its commitment to community-based legal services . This position represents a shift from geographically focused leadership to organization-wide oversight of MMLA’s delivery of legal services, ensuring that all legal units, across practice areas and locations, are functioning cohesively, effectively, and in alignment with MMLA’s mission, standards of excellence, history and traditions, and organizational priorities. This role will include budget, staffing, and resource allocation recommendations to accomplish the objective of defining appropriate legal services in relation to the communities served by MMLA, both urban and rural areas. This position will be responsible for ensuring legal services reflect the communities served by MMLA, by giving extensive autonomy, direct participation, and independent judgment for staff within each office, program, unit, and clinic as to the legal services to be provided to the defined community, within the parameters of organization-wide prioritized legal needs and coordinated legal services delivery. The Deputy Director-Legal Services will work in close collaboration with the Deputy Director-Litigation to ensure MMLA, through its approaches to legal services delivery; staff, volunteers, and supervision; and client education and engagement, is effectively providing the best legal services possible. In this role, the Deputy Director-Legal Services will lead on the strategic guidance and decision making as to how our legal services are best provided to which clients and communities in the most helpful ways and locations (what, where, and how), to deliver on our goal of equal justice for all. Through this leadership, this position will improve our ability to “say yes” to clients with high priority legal needs, and clarify our limited responsibilities to those we cannot, helping both client communities and partners fully appreciate and understand this necessary approach and the limits on staff, resources, and organizational capacity. As part of the executive leadership team, this role collaborates closely with the Executive Director to drive strategic direction, enhance organizational effectiveness, and ensure long-term sustainability. In the Executive Director’s absence, it acts as the primary external representative of the organization. Leadership development is a central component of this role.

Required Qualifications:

• Licensed to practice law in Minnesota or able to obtain license.
• Minimum of 5–6 years of leadership/supervisory experience
• Demonstrated experience managing or overseeing legal programs or teams
• Experience with budgeting, grants, or organizational operations
• Dedication to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience managing multiple legal units or practice areas
• Experience working in a unionized environment
• Experience in legal services, nonprofit, or public interest law
• Experience with organizational strategy, restructuring, or system-wide initiatives
• Experience developing supervisors or senior leaders

Compensation Information:

Deputy Director Salary Line

Salary is based on relevant prior experience and aligned with our organizational salary matrix. Candidates are placed on the schedule according to years of directly related experience to ensure consistency and equity. Range of salary: $88,817-$126,041.

Other Information:

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid is an Equal Opportunity employer.The terms and conditions of employment, including wages, benefits, and job security, may vary based on union status. Positions within our organization may be governed by collective bargaining agreements and union representation, while others are not.

For details, go to mylegalaid.org/employment.