STAFF ATTORNEY POSITION (2 Job Openings) | HOUSING UNIT NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED EVICTION DEFENSE (Revised Posting)

Greater Boston Legal Services is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Accessible Employer and strives to ensure that our staff members reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) seeks two attorneys to join its Housing Unit as part of its new Neighborhood-Based Eviction Defense Project in partnership with the City of Chelsea. 

As this new project begins its operations, the attorneys will work together with local community organizations, La Colaborativa, The Neighborhood Developers (TND), and other groups and City agencies, to develop impact legal work and community lawyering and to implement innovative anti-displacement and housing stabilization strategies across the city.   

Responsibilities include: Representing tenants in Housing Court in Chelsea and Boston, staffing Lawyer for the Day programs in court, Staffing housing clinics in several locations in Chelsea, advising tenants and community partners on various legal housing matters, and conducting community trainings. The attorneys will also be required to maintain regular communications with various interested groups and agencies. Occasional weekend and evening hours may be required. 

This position is based in our Boston office and may also include some of the full range of activities of the Housing Unit, including support for tenants who live in public and subsidized housing, helping tenant organizations preserve affordable housing, shelter advocacy, legislative and administrative advocacy projects, impact litigation, and any other work of the Housing Unit. Should funding for this position change, the attorney may be required to assume work in a different area of law within GBLS. 

Qualifications: Admission to, or comity with, the Massachusetts Bar, or those sitting for July 2024 Bar Exam. 0 to 5 years of experience is preferred. Prior housing law and/or trial experience is preferred. Fluency in Spanish is strongly desired. Attorneys with lived experience of displacement or gentrification are encouraged to apply. 

Salary is based on a union scale with a starting salary of $72,000 for an attorney with no experience to approximately $79,500 for an attorney with 5 years of experience. GBLS offers a generous benefits package, retirement contribution, a student loan repayment assistance plan for eligible attorneys, and generous PTO leave. 

Candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and a brief writing sample to the Human Resources Department via e-mail at jobs@gbls.org. Please refer to Job Code: HU-ATT when applying for this position. Application will be reviewed on a rolling basis after April 22, 2024. 

GBLS values diversity and encourages applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.