Social Worker Position

Appellate Advocates, founded in 1995, is a not-for-profit organization that provides high quality post-conviction legal representations to individuals convicted in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Appellate Advocates’ attorneys represent clients in the Appellate Division Second Department, Court of Appeals Second Circuit, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island Supreme Court and Immigration proceedings.

Appellate Advocates’ attorneys also provide post-conviction legal representation in sex offender hearings, immigration proceedings, sex-traffic cases, and Domestic Violence Survivor Justice Act (DVSJA) cases. Appellate Advocates’ staff of attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and reentry staff, work collaboratively and across disciplines to deliver client-centered holistic representation.

Appellate Advocates is accepting applications for a Social Worker position. This position reports directly to the Director of Social Work.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with team members including attorneys, paralegals, and reentry staff to advocate and support clients both in the community and who are incarcerated.
• Responsible for a caseload of clients with varying needs and case-related deadlines, ensuring timely action and intervention.
• Gathering factual mitigation through interviews and obtaining records.
• Analyzing records.
• Provide extensive mitigation reports on clients’ behalf.
• Advocate orally for clients in court.
• Make appropriate referrals to address clients’ social service needs (drug treatment, mental health treatment, housing, and other benefits).
• Conduct visits to incarcerated individuals in jails and prisons.
• Provide crisis intervention when needed.
• Provide supportive counseling as needed.
• Maintain case notes and documentation in an electronic database.

Qualifications

• Must have LMSW
• Experience working with individuals who have experienced trauma and/or IPV and those who are justice impacted.
• Ability to write persuasive mitigation reports, biopsychosocial and social work assessments.
• Must have strong analytical, organizational, and people skills.
• The ability to work as part of the defense team in a client-centered practice.
• Must have strong clinical assessment skills
• Bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply. Spanish language fluency is preferred. Salary and Benefits: This is a full-time, non-exempt, salaried position. Salary is commensurate with experience based on a collectively bargained pay scale, with a range from $75,196.70 to $83,253.48. Appellate Advocates offers a generous benefits package, including health and dental insurance, a 401(k), flexible spending and transit account, and paid sick and vacation time.

Application Deadline: July 7, 2025

To Apply: Please submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and list of references to attention: Elia Johnson, as a single PDF to apply@appad.org, referencing “Social Worker Position” in the subject line. Applicants with disabilities may e-mail apply@appad.org or call Melissa Taveras, Executive Assistant, at (212) 693-0085, ext. 252, to request and arrange accommodation for submitting an application.

Appellate Advocates is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, disability, or genetic information. Appellate Advocates is deeply committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and seeks to hire staff that reflect the full range of racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic identities of the communities we represent, particularly those communities disproportionately affected by the criminal legal system. We strongly encourage people historically underrepresented in the practice of law to apply.