SUPERVISING ATTORNEY, PUBLIC BENEFITS UNIT

Brooklyn Legal Services, a program of Legal Services NYC, is seeking an experienced attorney to lead our Public Benefits Unit as Supervising Attorney in our expanding Housing-Housing-Public Benefits Initiative.  

Our Organization & Public Benefits Unit 

Brooklyn Legal Services, part of Legal Services NYC, provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population. Legal Services NYC (“LSNYC”) fights poverty and seeks justice for low-income New Yorkers. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of almost 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps more than 110,000 New Yorkers annually.  BLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients — preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income support, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability, and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for the disabled.  

LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (“DEIB”) efforts. As a social justice organization, we are committed to fighting for a workplace that is as diverse, equitable, and inclusive as possible for everyone. Our DEIB committee and numerous affinity groups work to foster collegial relationships among staff at all levels and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work.  All employees are expected to learn about, seek to understand, and work to realize our DEIB goals. The Supervising Attorney’s duties will include actively working to advance LSNYC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging goals.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced attorney to join our Public Benefits Unit (“PBU”) as a Supervising Attorney in our Housing-Public Benefits Initiative. In partnership with our Right to Counsel (“RTC”) Housing Unit and Tenant Rights Coalition (“TRC”) Unit, our PBU fights to retain, obtain, or increase public benefits, including cash public assistance, SNAP, WIC, HASA, and rent subsidies (such as FHEPS and CityFHEPS). The Unit will also specialize in health law issues, helping people obtain or retain public health insurance and services such as Medicare, Medicaid, and home- and community-based services. Our housing and public benefits staff will work hand in hand to achieve the greatest results for our clients and provide the highest quality holistic services. 

In partnership with our Housing unit supervisors, the Supervising Attorney will shape the direction of our housing-related public benefits practice, identify systemic benefits-related trends, and bring affirmative litigation to challenge policies, statutes, and rules that unfairly and unlawfully deny equal access to public benefits.  

Among other responsibilities, the Supervising Attorney will:

• Supervise a team of 3-5 advocates;

• Handle administrative and grant responsibilities;  

• Collaborate with our Housing Units, RTC and TRC; 

• Create and conduct a training program for public benefits advocates

• Evaluate, assess, and reimagine our housing-related public benefits practice; and

• Carry a small caseload.

Our ideal candidate is a creative social justice attorney and manager who excels at working with teams, is an outstanding teacher and mentor, understands the bureaucratic maze that is public benefits, and recognizes the over-sized role diversity, equity, and inclusion issues play in our clients’ and teams’ lives.

The Supervising Attorney is expected to work closely with our Directors of Housing practices, our Director of Intake, and other supervisors in Brooklyn and across LSNYC.

Experience & Qualifications

Qualifications include:

• An attorney licensed to practice law in New York;

• A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equity;

• Excellent analytical, written, and communication skills;

• Excellent persuasive writing and editing skills;

• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills and the ability to provide supportive and consistent supervision to attorneys, paralegals, and support staff in a fast-paced and high-volume practice;

• An excellent collaborator who enjoys working with, and being a part of a team;

• Significant experience (at least five years) in public benefits, including command of cash public assistance, SNAP, rent subsidies, and emergency assistance grants rules, processes, and pitfalls;

• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and utilization of DEIB lens in the project, work, and supervision;

• An ability to adapt quickly and correct course;

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with an aptitude for building relationships with people across disciplines, job titles, and agencies;

• Grace, kindness, and empathy, particularly when under pressure, for our clients, team, and agency partners;

• Excellent teacher, facilitator, educator, trainer, coach, and mentor;

• Belief in our ability to create systemic change and commitment to working towards that goal;

• Consummate project management skills, including command of time management and organizational skills, staying on top of multiple projects, planning backward, anticipating obstacles, identifying and involving stakeholders appropriately, and using resources wisely;

• Prior experience (at least two years) representing tenants in nonpayment and holdover proceedings in NYC, and working knowledge of housing laws, court procedures, public benefits, and best practices in the field; 

• Fluency or proficiency in Spanish or another language commonly spoken by NYC residents preferred, but not required; and, 

• Mentoring/supervising a group of advocates in a fast-paced environment, and providing trainings and supervision to newer advocates preferred, but not required.  

How to Apply

Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to bkhiring@lsnyc.org. Please write “Public Benefits Unit Supervising Attorney” in the subject line of the email. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls.

BLS offers a generous benefits package. Salary is commensurate with experience. LSNYC is an affirmative action, equal-opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and people over the age of 40 are all welcome and encouraged to apply.

BLS acknowledges that applicants from groups that have been historically marginalized are less likely to apply for positions unless they feel that they meet 100% of a job description’s qualifications. We understand that the ideal candidate might not completely meet the criteria listed above or be equally proficient in each area; we especially encourage applicants who are impacted by LSNYC’s work to submit their application anyway.

All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons. 

Job#17_2024; Posted 2.2024

Salary Range Based on Years of Experience: $103,200 - $165,120