Managing Attorney - Farm Worker Rights Division

Organization Overview

Colorado Legal Services (CLS) is Colorado’s statewide nonprofit legal aid program, with thirteen offices providing civil legal assistance to low-income Coloradans throughout the state. CLS provides free legal assistance in a broad variety of legal areas, including family law, public benefits, eviction defense, consumer protection, services to survivors of serious crime and human trafficking, and many others.

CLS has strengthened lives, assisted families, and supported communities–one person at a time for over 100 years. We are committed to providing high-quality, free legal advice and representation to eligible individuals throughout Colorado. We have a long history of successful impact and advocacy. CLS strives to bring about substantive, transformational change in the lives of those we serve. 

At CLS, we value representation. We value and respect our staff's wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We ensure representation of our client communities in our staff, Board of Directors and leadership teams. We also envision a fair, just, trusted, and harm reductionist legal system that emphasizes access to and implementation of true justice for every Coloradan.

Job Description

The Managing Attorney for the Farm Worker Rights Division (FWRD) leads legal advocacy for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, focusing on employment and civil rights law. FWRD also sometimes represents agricultural workers who have endured labor trafficking and other severe crimes in obtaining humanitarian visas for themselves and their derivatives. The Managing Attorney oversees a team conducting both litigation and outreach work. The role requires litigation expertise, community partnership, and management skills to ensure the program provides impactful and excellent advocacy for Colorado’s most exploited and vulnerable agricultural workers.

All of our managers have the responsibility of working with staff to meet CLS’ statewide organizational, professional, and community goals, which emphasize providing high-quality civil legal services to low-income Coloradans and achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients. They are guided by all four of our CLS values: excellent advocacy; empowerment, collaboration, and courage. They are responsible for being leaders, mentors, counselors, role models, hiring managers, teachers, administrators, time managers, culture creators, community engagers, crisis managers, and performance expectation setters. Managing Attorneys also practice law and manage their own caseloads in addition to their other duties. Our managers also continually work towards developing and growing competencies in the following areas: adaptive & collaborative management; coaching & empowering people; communication & active listening; community engagement; empathetic and trauma-informed leadership; and practice area expertise. While the responsibilities of a manager at CLS are wide-ranging and challenging, carrying them out successfully is vital to the success of the organization and to serve our client communities.

Job Duties

• Provides the oversight, assistance, guidance, and supervision necessary to ensure the effective administration, operation, and management of FWRD.
• Cultivates a culture that supports staff while holding staff to high expectations of performance by modeling patience, empathy, and sound judgment.
• Provides supervision and guidance for FWRD’s attorneys, paralegal, outreach coordinator, and interns, including periodically reviewing their legal work and providing training, professional development, employee coaching, and performance evaluation.
• Oversees staff workloads, client relations, external partner relations, and interpersonal team dynamics, and works with Senior Leadership on addressing personnel issues consistent with our Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Leads the FWRD team in representing agricultural worker clients before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, in the following areas:
  • Employment law (wage theft, working conditions, discrimination, human trafficking, and civil rights);
  • Humanitarian visas and naturalization for agricultural workers who have survived labor trafficking and other severe crimes, and those workers’ derivatives.
• Maintains an active, but reduced, caseload, which includes delivering sound legal counsel and exceptional advocacy that aligns with program objectives; clearly and transparently communicating with clients; performing client and witness interviews; carrying out case investigations; drafting pleadings and documents; ensuring comprehensive and up-to-date client case notes; and staying current in employment law and aspects of immigration law relevant to agricultural workers such as humanitarian (T & U) visas and naturalization.
• Working with the FWRD outreach coordinator, conducts and oversees extensive outreach, public education, training, and community relations with agricultural workers; service providers, promotoras, and other key partners across the state; and a Summer Outreach Program consisting of interns providing legal information to agricultural workers across rural Colorado.
• Working with the FWRD outreach coordinator, ensures that FWRD maintains and nurtures relationships throughout the state with trusted partners and promotora networks to maintain trust and credibility with the Colorado agricultural worker population.
• Ensures compliance with policies of CLS, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), and other funders, including those related to the assistance we provide to all individuals eligible for our services.
• Where consistent with LSC regulations, engages in policy work related to the rights of agricultural workers.
• Oversees and continually improves the dedicated FWRD intake system, including reviewing requests for assistance and making determinations as to eligibility and the extent of services FWRD is able to provide, including referral, advice and counsel, brief services, and litigation.
• Facilitates case acceptance meetings and trains staff on identifying the legal needs of agricultural worker clients, while providing constructive feedback to staff on cases discussed.
• Develops a strategic advocacy plan and case acceptance priorities in line with FWRD's mission.
• Timely reviews and closes all unit cases in compliance with LSC regulations.
• Attends management meetings, participates in statewide substantive task forces and working groups, and is available to offer case support to other CLS casehandlers seeking assistance related to the work of FWRD.
• Assists with grant management activities, including communicating with grantors, gathering data for and completing grant reports, and working with Senior Leadership to apply for grant funding.
• Handles other administrative and supervisory tasks for the Unit.

Qualifications

We are looking to hire an empathetic and trauma-informed attorney who is energetic, excited about leadership, experienced with outreach, and passionate about our mission. This individual must excel as a supervisor, attorney, and representative of Colorado Legal Services in the community. They must also have:

• An active license to practice law in Colorado or the ability to obtain a Colorado license as soon as practicable.
• Fluency in oral and written Spanish.
• Experience in direct client representation in employment and/or civil rights law.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to treat clients and staff with courtesy and respect.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong critical thinking, analytical, and organizational skills, and strong work ethic.
• Ability and willingness to travel to visit client populations throughout Colorado, especially during the summer months.
• Comfort and efficiency with Microsoft 365.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferably experience in immigration law related to agricultural worker and humanitarian visa programs.
• Prior personal or professional experience with the agricultural worker community.
• Experience with leading outreach and/or community engagement initiatives.
• Demonstrated commitment to providing effective and trauma-informed legal services to agricultural workers, including communicating through translators and interpreters with clients who speak Indigenous languages other than English and Spanish.

How to Apply

To apply, please use the "Apply for This Job" link on our careers page and submit your resume, cover letter, and legal writing sample no later than May 15. Please note that we will review applications on a rolling basis and begin our interview process in early May. In your cover letter, please tell us about your commitment to the work of this unit, your management style, and your approach to building a strong working team. Please reach out to Karen Vilner, our Director of People & Culture, at kvilner@colegalserv.org if you have any questions about the position.

Compensation and Benefits

Salaries are commensurate with years of experience. We offer a generous plan that includes 100% employer paid premiums for employee health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, as well as partial employer paid premiums for spouses/dependents, based on a sliding scale. We also offer Dependent Care and Medical Flexible spending accounts, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). CLS contributes $200/month to each employee's 403(b) retirement account and matches 100% of employee contributions up to 3% of employee salary; vesting occurs gradually will full vesting after 3 years of employment. Additionally, CLS offers generous paid time-off and 13 paid holidays per year.

CLS values its employees’ commitment to working hard for the population it serves and recognizes the importance of work/life balance. We promote and foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically safe work environment, striving to be a “Best Place to Work” in Colorado.

Spanish and English written and oral fluency required