Associate Attorney (Consumer Law)

Job Summary

• Associate attorney sought for federal court litigation firm representing consumers in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases.
• The position is currently open and applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
• A strong preference is for someone who can begin now full-time. This can be either a licensed attorney or law school graduate waiting on bar admission. However, I will consider a 3L if they can work at least part-time now and then full time shortly after they take the bar exam this summer.
• The position is in person, but with a possibility of eventual transition to hybrid depending on demonstrated ability.
• Excellent writing skills are essential.

Job description and duties.

• You will learn how to litigate a federal suit from intake all the way through trial or settlement, and will be involved at each step along the way. You will meet with prospective clients, draft complaints, substantive motions, and discovery, perform legal research, and become involved with the firm's entire caseload.
• Critically, you will be drafting or revising substantive motions, such as oppositions to motions to dismiss and cross-motions for summary judgment, often on cutting edge issues of consumer law.
• Unlike many litigation firms, you will from the beginning be involved in substantive work.
• I will provide as much training and supervision as you need and desire, but I expect you to be able to manage your own time and provide drafts of documents sufficiently ahead of a deadline for me to be able to review and provide comments and edits.
• I will expect you to learn the substantive law quickly but thoroughly, and will provide you the training and resources to be able to do so.
• While you do not need prior litigation experience, you should be ambitious and able to work diligently without micro-management.
• This will be rewarding work for anyone interested in quickly gaining experience in doing federal litigation that many attorneys do not get for years working at other firms. We have a major trial coming in July.

About the firm and our cases.

• This is a two person firm representing consumers for over 20 years in cutting edge issues resulting major rulings in this field.
• This is public interest work in the private firm context. Many of our cases are co-counseling with area Legal Services organizations, such as CAMBA. Our clients are low-income or working class.
• We primarily sue debt collection law firms in federal court for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by, for example: restraining and refusing to promptly release bank accounts known to contain exempt funds, such as social security; filing multiple baseless eviction suits for rent known not to be owed; executing on judgments known to be based on false affidavits of service; and other deceptive or unconscionable acts.
• We sue credit reporting agencies or furnishers of credit information for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by, for example, continuing to misreport debts as owed when provided proof that it is not. We sue crooked car dealers who impermissibly pull the credit reports of identity theft victims to fraudulently sell vehicles.
• We also sue banks under the Electronic Funds Transfers Act (EFTA) for failing to reasonably investigate fraudulent bank transfers.
• More information about our firm can be found on our website, www.NewYorkConsumerAttorney.com which includes a listing of some of our court decisions.

Compensation:

• $65,000 - $100,000 per year, depending on experience.
• 3 weeks paid vacation.
• 401(k)
• Fully paid for attendance (travel, hotel, tuition) for annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference by the National Consumer Law Center.