Education Attorney, Civil Justice Practice

Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) seeks an attorney to join our Civil Justice Practice as an education attorney to provide legal representation for individuals with concurrent criminal legal, family court, and immigration matters.

BDS is a public defense office representing low-income New Yorkers in criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal matters. For nearly 30 years, BDS has worked, in and out of court, to protect and uphold the rights of individuals and to change laws and systems that perpetuate injustice and inequality. Our legal expertise work with clients is focused on the intersections of these legal systems that disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities living in poverty.

BDS represents thousands of people each year who have diverse, complex, and multi-faceted legal needs. In addition to a zealous legal defense, our interdisciplinary teams of attorneys, social workers and advocates provide a wide range of legal and advocacy services, including for housing, public benefits, education, and employment. BDS staff work collaboratively and across disciplines to deliver high-quality legal services that serve the people we represent, their families and communities.

BDS’s Civil Justice Practice (CJP) aims to reduce civil collateral and direct consequences from legal system involvement and provides legal services in Housing and Benefits, Education, Employment, and other matters. CJP also serves as a resource to BDS’s other practice areas, advising attorneys, clients, and other staff of potential ramifications of criminal and family court involvement, as well as accepting cases from community referrals at our community office.

Civil Justice Practice – Education Team

The Education Team works to remove barriers and ensure that our clients and their children receive access to appropriate educational services. Attorneys help clients understand the special education process, attain appropriate special education plans, and initiate due process proceedings to secure appropriate prospective and compensatory relief. We also represent clients in suspension hearings to limit unjust school removals. For clients living in shelters or with children in the foster system, we advocate for school enrollment and transportation accommodations to achieve school stability and work to ensure that school districts and foster agencies respect our clients’ right to make educational decisions while separated from their children. We extend our education advocacy to our school-age clients in juvenile detention and adult jail facilities to ensure they receive appropriate services while incarcerated and to facilitate reentry to the community. We strive to ensure immigrant populations can access education, including appropriate language access for parents and students. We also provide legal advocacy for eligible children and adults to access additional support and services through the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and/or Early Intervention.

Responsibilities

• Engage in direct representation of individuals on special education and school discipline matters.
• Conduct legal research, write legal memoranda, and train staff and outside organizations.
• Assist in identifying and developing impact litigation and policy platforms for systemic reform.
• Collaborate with attorneys and social workers in BDS criminal, family and immigration practices to address the varied education needs of BDS clients.
• Provide advice and counsel to criminal, family, and immigration defense colleagues and clients during ongoing proceedings.
• Additional responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Admission to the New York bar or eligibility to become admitted.
• 1 to 5 years of experience providing direct legal services representation.
• Experience with education law is a plus.
• Interest in working with clients who face multiple interrelated issues.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to work across practice with colleagues concurrently representing clients.
• Efficient, organized work style and an ability to prioritize quickly and manage multiple deadlines and emergencies.
• Candidates who are fluent in a second language are highly encouraged to apply.

Position Information

This is a full-time, non-exempt, salaried position in the collective bargaining unit. The normal schedule is Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. The position is based at BDS’s offices and NYC courts and administrative forums.

BDS determines salary on a pay scale based on education and experience. For this position there is a salary range of $90,000-$146,000 depending on the applicant’s education and experience. BDS offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance and a 403(b)-retirement plan. In order to support work/life balance and family-friendly policies, BDS has generous vacation, sick, holiday, family, and medical leave policies.

Application Instructions

Click “Apply Now” to submit a letter of interest to specify the strengths the candidate believes qualify them for the position as well as a current resume and a writing sample. Please submit your application by October 17, 2025.

Brooklyn Defender Services is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to celebrating diversity and maintaining an equitable and inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, expressions, orientations, disabilities, and experiences to apply. If you require an accommodation due to a disability or another reason, please contact the Director of Human Resources, Christina Wallace, at cwallace @ bds.org.

BDS offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance and a 403(b)-retirement plan. In order to support work/life balance and family-friendly policies, BDS has generous vacation, sick, holiday, family, and medical leave policies.