Supervising Attorney

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. Make the Road New York operates community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island and White Plains, Westchester County. With a membership of 28,000, MRNY tackles the critical issues facing our communities, including workplace justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant rights and civil rights, TGNCIQ justice, public education, health care access, and immigration reform. (TGNCIQ = transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer). MRNY is a newly unionized workplace.

MRNY is a multi-service organization. Our member-led organizing committees -- which work on the issues named above -- implement strategies to combat shared problems, and develop leadership and the capacity for civic participation. We also provide an array of high-quality bilingual services: We offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), citizenship preparation, and in-school and after-school youth programs. We have a robust legal program that offers direct representation across a spectrum of practice areas, including employment law, immigration law, housing and benefits, and TGNCIQ civil rights; we also take on impact litigation as a strategy for achieving broad change. Our health program offers facilitated enrollment into health insurance programs and SNAP benefits, a community health worker home visit program, nutrition education and emergency food pantries, health care navigation, and more."

Legal and Support Services at Make the Road New York:

The Department of Legal and Support Services at MRNY works to strengthen the organization’s organizing work by (1) helping to envision and implement leverage strategies (including strategic litigation) that help win our organizing campaigns; (2) providing technical legal support for policy work; and (3) providing legal and support services to high-need immigrant communities and help meet the immediate needs of MRNY’s members. The Department currently employs approximately 50 attorneys and advocates. Our legal team is integrated into all aspects of the organization’s work.

Current Opening:

We are currently hiring a Supervising Attorney to oversee our Workplace Justice practice. Our team currently includes 4 other employment attorneys and 3 paralegals who handle a wide range of employment-related legal matters facing our community members, including wage theft, workplace discrimination, paid sick leave, retaliation, paid family leave and health and safety issues on the job. Our Workplace Justice legal team collaborates closely with and provides strategic support on worker organizing campaigns to improve and enforce labor standards at the city and state levels. The Supervising Attorney will supervise legal support on workplace justice policy and organizing campaigns. The Supervising Attorney will also have a small docket of workplace justice cases that will be predominantly wage theft and employment discrimination cases.

Key Responsibilities but not limited to:

• Oversee the provision of workplace justice-related legal services to MRNY’s membership base of low-income New Yorkers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Westchester County. The team handles a docket that involves a range of legal representation and advocacy, from direct negotiation and resolution of cases, filing administrative claims, to multi-plaintiff federal court litigation.
• Provide exceptional supervision and support to the attorneys on this team.
• Work closely with MRNY members and organizers to envision and implement strategic affirmative litigation projects and other strategies that strengthen MRNY’s workplace justice organizing.
• Provide technical legal support for MRNY’s robust workplace justice-related policy and organizing campaigns, including drafting legislation; training other staff and members on the legal aspects of campaigns; writing reports; lobbying visits in support of policy campaigns; drafting materials for various audiences on our key policy campaigns and victories; responding to media inquiries; and representing MRNY at meetings with elected officials and coalition partners.
• Coordinate community outreach, including know-your-rights workshops, and legal clinics.
• Handle a small direct legal services caseload in the area of employment law.
• Manage workplace justice-related grant reporting and supervise case data and fulfillment of reporting requirements.
• Participate in the leadership of the Legal Department to advance departmental and organizational goals, and to develop and maintain strong funding relationships to sustain our work.

Requirements:

• Eligible to work in the US
• Admission to practice law in New York State
• Fluency in Spanish Language
• At least 4 years of workers' rights advocacy and employment litigation experience
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high energy environment

Job Competencies:

• Interpersonal and organizational skills of the highest caliber.
• Commitment to helping cultivate a high-performing department that utilizes the law creatively in the fight for systemic change.
• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and strong attention to detail
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and complete assignments under strict deadlines in a fast paced environment.
• Strong legal writing and research skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Flexible work schedule, some evenings or weekends required
• High level of accountability and initiative; needs to be a self-starter and eager to do team work to support the organization as a whole
• Relevant lived experience, including, but not limited to, having been a member of a low income, immigrant community

Salary and Benefits:

MRNY offers an excellent benefit package including health insurance, 401K, and generous paid vacation, sick, personal days. The salary range for this position is from $104,500 to $115,500

How to Apply:

Please attach cover letter/resume and submit all documents to the Make the Road New York career center.

Make the Road believes that social change is best achieved through grassroots community-based organizing that flows directly from and engages the community demanding the change. As a membership-based organization, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, criminal history, or Veteran status. We strongly encourage those from historically excluded groups to apply.