Health and Disability Rights Unit Staff Attorney

Atlanta Legal Aid Society; Decatur (GA); On-site; USD 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid holidays

Holidays and paid time off

Parental leave

Education loan reimbursement

Hybrid work schedule

Job summary

Atlanta Legal Aid Society is seeking a Staff Attorney for its expanding Health and Disability Rights Unit. The role focuses on representing low-income clients in health, housing, benefits, and disability matters, including partnerships with Grady Health Systems.

The attorney will handle complex cases, collaborate with healthcare providers, educate the community, and participate in systemic advocacy and cross-agency work. Hybrid schedule with two days remote is available.

Qualifications

• Active Georgia Bar in good standing, or eligible to sit for Georgia Bar exam.
• Minimum of three years of relevant legal experience.
• Excellent legal writing, analysis, advocacy, and work ethic.
• Commitment to public service; poverty law experience preferred.
• Spanish language proficiency valued.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive legal representation to individuals with health needs, including HIV/AIDS, mental illness, disabilities, and developmental delays.
• Collaborate with healthcare providers through Medical-Legal Partnerships to address social determinants of health.
• Engage in community education and participate in task forces and committees.
• Balance client needs with organizational resources in a hybrid team model.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Bar admission Georgia

Legal writing

Advocacy

Public service

Bilingual Spanish

Job description

Atlanta Legal Aid Society (“Legal Aid”) seeks a Staff Attorney for its expanded Health and Disability Rights Unit. Our non-profit law firm represents low-income people in a variety of civil legal matters, including family, housing, consumer, public benefits, education, and health law. This new unit combines our Health Law work for persons with HIV and AIDS, our Medical Legal Partnership with Grady Health Systems, and our Disability Integration Project for adults and children with significant disabilities who are in institutions or who are at risk of entering institutions and for whom we advocate to receive publicly funded home and community-based services (established by the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C.), and support so they can live full lives in the community. The new unit enables us to assist clients with a broader range of legal issues affecting their mental and physical health and well-being. The unit currently consists of an Interim Managing Attorney, 4 full-time staff attorneys, 1 part-time staff attorney, 2 paralegals, and 1 grants coordinator.

Responsibilities:

• Client Representation & Advocacy: Provide comprehensive legal representation to individuals with significant health needs—including HIV/AIDS, mental illness, physical disabilities, and intellectual/developmental disabilities. Manage a mixed caseload involving housing, consumer protection, public benefits, and community integration.
• Innovative & Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) Advocacy: Employ creative advocacy strategies to achieve community integration, including Olmstead-related work. Collaborate with healthcare providers through Medical-Legal Partnerships to identify and address the social determinants of health. Provide on-site legal consultation, brief service, and cross-disciplinary case conferencing within clinical settings to ensure patient stability.
• Client-Centered Engagement: Demonstrate resilience and creativity in overcoming barriers to justice. This includes employing patience and flexible problem-solving to assist clients who may face significant obstacles in traditional legal processes.
• Empowerment & Self-Help: Expand the unit’s impact by providing limited-scope assistance, self-help advice, and brief service, empowering clients with the tools to resolve legal issues independently.
• Transactional & Systemic Work: Participate in cross-agency benefit procurement and systemic advocacy to foster sustainable relationships between legal and social service systems.
• Community Education: Lead community education presentations for partners, courts, and the public. Participate in relevant task forces and committees.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Active member in good standing in the State Bar of Georgia (strongly preferred), or eligible to sit for the next Georgia Bar exam.
• Minimum of three years of relevant legal experience.
• Excellent legal writing, analysis, advocacy, and work ethic are required.
• Demonstrated commitment to public service, participation in law school clinics or trial advocacy courses, familiarity with poverty law, previous work with low-income people, and an appreciation for diversity are strongly preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, listening, and organizational skills.
• Ability to balance compassion and pragmatism.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and in a collaborative, hybrid team model.
• Proficiency in languages other than English, particularly Spanish, is highly valued.

Salary and Benefits:

• This position offers a salary of $70,250, but may vary (up or down) depending on work experience. Salaries are reviewed annually and may be adjusted based on available funding.
• Generous fringe benefits, including 16 paid holidays in 2026, 6 weeks of paid time off (accruing at 2.5 days per month), and 6 weeks of parental leave (12 weeks after one year).
• Individual health insurance, including optional dental and vision coverage, with partial payment for dependent health insurance.
• Life, long-term, and short-term disability insurance.
• Salary reduction option for a flexible spending account.
• Educational loan reimbursement up to $600 per month (after a set off of other loan reimbursement amounts).
• Voluntary tax-sheltered annuity with a 3% match.
• This position may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.
• State Bar of Georgia dues and CLE expenses.
• A hybrid work schedule that allows staff to work 2 days remotely, subject to management approval.

Atlanta Legal Aid Society considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected status.