Staff Attorney, Group Representation - Preserving Affordable Housing Program-Brooklyn

Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 82,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation days (27)

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Parental leave

Job summary

Build Up Justice NYC seeks a Group Representation Staff Attorney to represent low-income tenants in eviction defense and related housing matters in Brooklyn, NY. You will advise tenants, advocate for their rights, and manage a busy caseload with frequent court appearances and filings.

The role requires NY bar admission and experience with housing law, plus strong writing and client-centered advocacy. A hybrid in-office/remote schedule is provided, with ongoing community outreach and stakeholder

Qualifications

• Admission to the bar of New York is required.
• Experience representing low-income tenant groups or community coalitions is preferred.
• Strong legal writing, advocacy, and negotiation skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Represent low-income tenant associations and individuals in housing matters.
• Handle a caseload of full representation cases in housing court and related proceedings.
• File complaints with DHCR and conduct outreach to inform tenants of their protections.

Skills

Admission to NY Bar

Tenant rights advocacy

Client counseling

Litigation experience

Multicultural communication

Spanish language proficiency

Caseload management

Legal writing

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.

The Group Representation Staff Attorney will represent low-income tenant associations confronting landlords harassing low-income residents and seeking to vacate buildings; individuals and families facing eviction; low-income tenant co-ops seeking to reinforce and sustain themselves; community institutions facing closures or adverse actions due to extraordinary market pressures and neighborhood displacement; low-income tenants in fair housing litigation; as well as community groups involved in struggles against pervasive housing discrimination, neighborhood segregation, and other issues critically affecting the future of their communities.

They will provide brief advice on a range of housing issues and handle a caseload of full representation cases, i.e. HP cases for repairs and/or harassment, non-payment, holdover, and 7A, proceedings in housing court, which involves frequent motion practice, discovery, and depositions, communication with clients, negotiations with opposing counsel and advocacy with outside agencies on behalf of clients.
Further, they will file complaints with DHCR on behalf of rent stabilized tenants. They will also conduct workshop and outreach events to ensure that tenants are aware of their protections under various fair housing laws.

To be successful in this role, you must have:

• Admission to the bar of the State of New York is required;
• Have a passion for social justice and helping and representing clients in low-income tenant groups, community organizations, and coalitions;

• Experience working with clients in the nonprofit sector, low-income tenant groups, community organizations and/or coalitions;
• The ability to meet with a group of tenants for the purpose of advising them of their rights and obtain their cooperation of filing affirmative litigation;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with client/tenants of different races, ethnicities, ages, and sexual orientations in a multicultural environment;
• An understanding of the City’s housing market and/or experience in housing law practice;
• Ability to work independently with strong motivation, to manage a high caseload, to meet deadlines, and to be flexible;
• Have excellent legal writing, litigation and advocacy skills;
• Computer proficiency sufficient to independently review and generate materials relevant to the position;
• Maintain up-to-date client information in Brooklyn A’s case management system to ensure accurate data collection and statistical tracking,
• Collaborate as needed with program managers and development team to write narrative reports for grant and contracts;
• Attend meetings, and perform administrative tasks related to the work, such as timekeeping and case notes;
• Demonstrated ability to publish articles effectively advocating on behalf of clients and Build Up Justice NYC;
• Language proficiency relevant to our clients, especially Spanish;
• This position requires three days in-office / 2 days remote hybrid work schedule.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary $81,600 - $103,200 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.