SSI Attorney (Limited Duration)

National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Oakland (CA); Vor Ort; USD 120.000 - 180.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) seeks an attorney for the Alameda County SSI Practice Team to advocate for low-income clients seeking Social Security disability benefits, SSI, and the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).

Based in Alameda County with potential travel within the county, the attorney will maintain a caseload, provide direct legal services, and participate in advocacy and community partnerships to improve access to public benefits.

Qualifikationen

• Commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy.

Aufgaben

• Advocate for underserved communities in Alameda County and the broader Bay Area to reduce homelessness and promote social justice.
• Maintain an active caseload and provide direct legal services focusing on public benefits claims (Social Security disability, SSI, CAPI).
• Represent individuals in administrative hearings related to public benefits and beyond to federal court as needed.
• Coordinate with BayLegal colleagues and community partners to address related legal issues and barriers.
• Engage in broader advocacy strategies to remove barriers to public benefits for vulnerable groups including immigrants, survivors of domestic violence, and people experiencing homelessness.
• Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and clients on public benefits and civil legal issues.
• Foster public-private partnerships with agencies, courts, NGOs, and pro bono partners for integrated services.
• Track and document services and funding deliverables in line with policy and funding requirements.

Jobbeschreibung

Position Description

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is a non-profit law firm. Our staff provide free civil legal services to individuals and families living in poverty throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our community-based service model includes a wide range of access points, including legal hotlines, six physical offices, and community-based advocacy clinics and intake points. We practice in multiple inter-related legal substantive areas to prevent and stop homelessness, increase economic stability, protect low-income consumers, expand access to healthcare, and enhance safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems, and persons with disabilities. The core of our community-based practice is working alongside our individual clients to protect their legal rights, resolve immediate crises and remove legal barriers to long-term stability and escaping poverty. BayLegal is also uniquely positioned to identify patterns of illegal practices and engage in opportunities to protect the legal rights of low-income communities and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public services through broader advocacy and impact litigation.

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is a non-profit law firm. Our staff provide free civil legal services to individuals and families living in poverty throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our community-based service model includes a wide range of access points, including legal hotlines, six physical offices, and community-based advocacy clinics and intake points. We practice in multiple inter-related legal substantive areas to prevent and stop homelessness, increase economic stability, protect low-income consumers, expand access to healthcare, and enhance safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems, and persons with disabilities. The core of our community-based practice is working alongside our individual clients to protect their legal rights, resolve immediate crises and remove legal barriers to long-term stability and escaping poverty. BayLegal is also uniquely positioned to identify patterns of illegal practices and engage in opportunities to protect the legal rights of low-income communities and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public services through broader advocacy and impact litigation.

BayLegal's Alameda County SSI Practice Team seeks an attorney with a strong commitment to the public interest and social justice advocacy. This position provides the opportunity to address a range of issues facing low-income individuals, with a focus on Social Security disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). This position is based in our Alameda County office and may require travel throughout the county as necessary to best serve our clients. As a member of BayLegal’s regional practice, there may be travel within BayLegal’s broader service area for purposes of meeting with clients and as necessary for training and advocacy. This position will end on June 30, 2027.

Key Responsibilities

• Advocate for the diverse legal needs of undeserved and vulnerable communities in Alameda County and the broader Bay Area to reduce homelessness, enhance stability, and address social justice.
• Maintain an active caseload and provide direct legal services to clients, with a focus on representing clients in obtaining Social Security disability benefits, SSI, and/or CAPI and accessing other county, state, and federal benefit programs, as needed.
• Represent individuals in all stages of administrative hearings related to their public benefits claims, from initial applications through federal court.
• Identify related legal issues and barriers and help coordinate services with BayLegal colleagues who specialize in those substantive areas and with community partners.
• Identify and engage in broader advocacy strategies to remove barriers to public benefits for client populations, including particularly vulnerable groups such as immigrants and refugees, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, people experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities.
• Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and client community on public benefits and a broad range of civil legal issues.
• Engage with, build and foster broad public-private partnerships, including with governmental agencies, courts, community-based organizations, and pro bono partners to ensure integrated services, client outreach and address systemic barriers facing BayLegal's client community.
• Track and document client and project services and funding deliverables in compliance with BayLegal policies and funding requirements and help promote BayLegal's mission and resource development.
• Engage in other tasks and projects that further the interest of fostering BayLegal's mission and operations as a non-profit.