Supervising Attorney

Raise the Floor Alliance (RTF) is an Illinois based nonprofit and legal clinic that supports excluded and exploited workers in low-wage industries to know, defend, and improve their employment rights. RTF was founded by Arise Chicago, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Chicago Community & Workers Rights, Chicago Workers Collaborative, Latino Union, Warehouse Workers for Justice, and Workers’ Center for Racial Justice. As a backbone organization and space for collective action, RTF brings strength to our community partners by providing research, communications, policy, and legal support for campaigns that promote safe, dignified, and stable work.

Overview of Role

Raise the Floor Alliance’s legal department specializes in areas of the law that are of particular concern to excluded and exploited workers, including among others, workplace sexual violence, immigration protections for workers engaged in labor disputes, and expanding opportunities for workers with criminal records. RTF’s litigation practice concentrates heavily on wage and hour cases, but also expands into discrimination, civil rights, and other labor and employment cases. Supervising Attorney duties include:

Litigation – 60%

• Oversee legal projects, and community training and outreach;
• Directly represent low-wage workers through all stages of wage and hour claims and/or employment discrimination claims before municipal, state, or federal courts or agencies. This includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:
  • Conducting intakes and follow-up calls with potential worker clients;
  • Communicating with worker clients by phone and in writing;
  • Conducting and/or reviewing legal research on all issues encountered in a case;
  • Drafting and filing documents with the courts or government agencies; and
  • Developing legal case strategy.
• Conduct Know Your Rights trainings and legal advice clinics for worker centers and community organizations across Chicagoland;
• Travel in metro area to meet with workers who can’t come downtown, as needed; and
• Train workers’ centers staff to flag legal issues.

Supervision – 30%

• Develop, train, support, and supervise staff attorneys, paralegals and legal fellows.This includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:
  • Assisting in the development of legal case strategy;
  • Reviewing and revising written correspondence, pleadings, and other documents to be filed in court or with a government agency; and
  • Providing constructive feedback to legal staff to foster their and the department’s growth.
• Collaboratively plan and support weekly department staff meetings to review caseload and identify areas of needed support; and

Administration – 10%

• Support the integration of RTF’s case tracking system Clio;
• Attend weekly RTF-wide staff meetings;
• Assist Executive Director and Development Director with tasks related to compiling data, time keeping, and preparing reports for grants;
• Communicate with worker centers regularly about potential cases referred to RTF;
• Collaborate on a case-by-case basis with worker centers to complement organizing with legal strategy and manage expectations; and

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctor is required;
• Admission to the Illinois Bar is required, though a willingness to take the Illinois Bar if already submitted to practice into another jurisdiction will be considered;
• Labor and employment litigation experience is preferred, though not required;
• At least 3 years of litigation experience is required;
• Labor and employment litigation experience is preferred;
• Supervision experience is required;
• Spanish language fluency is strongly preferred,
• Excellent research and writing skills required;
• Strong oral communication skills required;
• Ability to multi-task, to work in a small office setting, and to work independently and in a team;
• Access to a car and willingness to travel in the greater Chicagoland area strongly preferred;
• Willingness to work occasional evening or weekend hours as needed;
• A demonstrated commitment to social justice and to building a strong, vibrant labor movement that centers the experiences and needs of the most marginalized

Our competitive benefits package includes a 32-hour work week for full-time employees; 100% employer-covered health & dental care premiums; annual student loan stipend of $5,250 disbursed each pay period; cell phone and travel stipends; 14 paid sick days; 5 vacation days that increases with each year on staff; 9 paid holidays and annual year-end office closure; flex and comp time; employer-facilitated retirement benefits; and hybrid in-person/remote office.

Spanish fluency strongly preferred