Law Graduate, Family Defense Practice (Queens)

About CFR

The Center for Family Representation Inc. (CFR) is an award-winning, innovative law and policy organization that serves primarily Black and Brown families and youth in Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx with an interdisciplinary legal defense model that serves more than 2400 clients every year. CFR was originally founded in 2002 to dramatically change the trajectory of indigent parents being prosecuted by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Our goal is to defend and protect our clients’ rights, reduce the harm of family separation and prevent or minimize the time any child spends in the foster system. CFR provides interdisciplinary family defense with a model that was unique at our founding and that is now being replicated nationally: we assign every client an attorney and a social work staff member, and teams have the support of parent advocates, who are parents with direct personal experience of being investigated and prosecuted by ACS. CFR was the first agency in the country to integrate parents with lived experience into legal teams and now has 6 parent advocates working in all three of our family defense locations. CFR’s Community Advocacy Project represents parents during a child protective investigation (to avoid court involvement where possible) and assists parents in clearing their names from state maltreatment records.

Job Description

CFR is seeking a Law Graduate that will begin working in our Queens office in Fall 2024.

Responsibilities:

• Work as part of CFR’s interdisciplinary legal teams (comprised of attorneys, social work staff, paralegals and parent advocates) to provide our clients with high quality legal defense and meet objectives such as keeping children out of foster care, shortening lengths of stay for children in foster care, promoting quality visiting arrangements and insuring that families receive services that are well-tailored to expediting safe and lasting reunification
• Represent parents in Family Court who are respondents in Article 10 and all related supplemental proceedings, including Termination of Parental Rights proceedings
• Pursue interim appeals on behalf of CFR’s clients
• Keep case data, client legal notes and files up to date
• Participate in CFR’s policy initiatives
• Work collaboratively with CFR's Home for Good teams
• Where appropriate, supervise law school interns

Law Graduates joining CFR can expect intensive, interdisciplinary training on CFR’s Cornerstone Advocacy model, family court, the child welfare/family regulation system, client interviewing, and other critical skills. CFR is dedicated to providing ongoing professional development in best practices in all these areas in a variety of training forums for all staff.

 Throughout the pandemic our policy has been that all staff need to be in person when client or role responsibilities require that. Our current policy is: all employees whose work is primarily working with clients will be able to work from home up to three days per week and will work in the office at least two days per week.

Qualifications

• Law school graduates or current 3Ls who are awaiting results of the February bar or will take the bar for the first time in July 2024.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal and communication skills, an ability to work as part of a team and a desire to share in both the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor.
• Prior experience with public benefits, housing, criminal defense or immigration is preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish or other languages and experience with public benefits, education, housing or immigration is all desirable.
• Individuals who apply should be able to demonstrate strong interpersonal and communication skills, a commitment to interdisciplinary representation of parents and a desire to share in both the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor.

CFR offers a generous compensation package, including a competitive base salary as well as health, 403(b) and vacation benefits. The salary, benefits, and employment policies relevant to this position are governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between CFR and the CFR Union, part of ALAA (Association of Legal Aid Attorneys) UAW 2325.