Staff Attorney - Housing Justice

National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

National Legal Aid & Defender Association in Philadelphia is seeking a Staff Attorney specializing in Housing Justice. This role involves providing comprehensive legal services, direct representation, and community outreach to assist older tenants and homeowners.

The ideal candidate must be licensed in Pennsylvania with a focus on housing law. Responsibilities include client representation in eviction cases, conducting legal education workshops, and systemic advocacy to improve housing services.

Qualifications

• Must be licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania.
• Experience in housing law and tenant rights highly preferred.
• Strong communication and organizational skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide civil legal assistance to older tenants.
• Represent clients in eviction and housing matters.
• Conduct community outreach and legal education workshops.
• Participate in quality control and case management.

Skills

Client representation skills

Legal research

Community engagement

Advocacy

Holistic approach to legal needs

Language interpretation services

Education

J.D. from an accredited law school

Admission to the bar in Pennsylvania

Tools

Legal case management software

Job description

Position Summary

The Staff Attorney, Housing Justice provides comprehensive legal services, direct representation, community engagement, and systemic advocacy to prevent displacement and preserve housing stability. This includes both tenant rights (evictions, unsafe housing, subsidy issues) and homeownership preservation (foreclosure, tangled title, and estate‑related housing issues).

Role‑Based Duties And Responsibilities

Client‑related

• Handle all aspects of client representation, including, but not limited to, screening and interviewing walk‑in and/or emergency clients.
• Conduct client interviews by telephone or in person to give legal opinion or recommend a case is accepted for further services.
• Filing necessary court documents timely.
• Analyzing facts to prepare appropriate case strategies.
• Preparing for all court appearances.
• Assessing holistic legal needs of clients and making referrals internally and externally.
• Providing technical assistance to staff and volunteer attorneys.
• Retrieving, transcribing, and performing prescreen data entry in the case management system as needed.
• Preparing and mailing retainers and letters.
• Drafting court documents.
• Communicating with clients or third parties via telephone, email, text message, or other means.
• Preparing case files for hearing/trial.
• Maintaining case files and case management database.
• Conducting home visits to frail or homebound clients.
• Handling other case or client related tasks as necessary.
• Utilize Language line or other interpretation services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) older adults.
• Provide information and referrals to older tenants, linking them to other resources and supportive services, including emergency financial assistance, support groups, health services, and other resources.

Community Outreach and Education

• Represent SeniorLAW Center at professional committees/coalitions related to housing to advocate for better services and access to justice for older tenants and homeowners.
• Develop and present legal education workshops.
• Aid in the development of educational materials and resources for older tenants, homeowners and best‑practice resources for professionals.
• Aid in planning, organizing, and attending community outreach and tabling events.
• Assist with community clinics focused on housing related issues.
• Coordinate with Project Director to update website, E‑News, and other communication tools with project related information.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate in scheduled project‑related staff and Legal team meetings.
• Provide support to other colleagues agency wide as needed.
• Assist with on‑boarding staff as needed.
• Become knowledgeable of and follow all SeniorLAW Center’s personnel and legal policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate and model commitment to SeniorLAW Center’s mission and values.
• Participate in SeniorLAW Center’s culture of philanthropy and events to support the organization.
• Assist with quality control and case management data collection and reporting, as necessary.
• Other responsibilities to further mission of the project and organization.

Project‑Based Duties And Responsibilities

Client‑related

• Provide civil legal assistance to older tenants and homeowners including, but not limited to:
• Represent tenants in eviction, ejectment, and illegal lockout matters.
• Filing preliminary injunctions or other pleadings challenging illegal lockouts.
• Representation in administrative hearings for public or subsidized housing tenants.
• Represent tenants in complaints before the Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission.
• Filing of and representing older tenants in other civil legal matters as assigned by Project Director.

Homeownership Preservation

• Represent homeowners in mortgage foreclosure diversion and litigation.
• Resolve tangled title issues through probate, estate administration, and deed preparation.
• Draft wills and planning documents to stabilize housing ownership.
• Provide advice and brief services on home‑ownership‑related legal issues.
• Provide advocacy and referrals to SeniorLAW Center clients with the primary focus on older tenants and homeowners.
• Assist with housing‑focused community clinics.
• Assist with housing‑focused client council.
• Other duties as identified by Project Director.

Systemic Advocacy

• Identify systemic problems affecting older tenants and homeowners.
• Work with local, statewide, and national partners to develop creative solutions.

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.