Staff Attorney - Family Law (Temporary)

Title: Family Law Attorney

Full/Part Time: Full Time, temporary (February 2026 – October 2026)

Position Type: Non-Civil Service / Staff

Confidential: Yes

Salary Range: $ 93,183.36 – $ 130,696.13, annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Benefits: Eligible to accrue vacation and sick leave, pro-rated personal time and paid holidays. Health insurance and other benefits including FSA offered through the GIC. State retirement plan through the Massachusetts State Retirement Board and optional additional Retirement through Empower Retirement. Expenses incurred such as travel to court and meetings with clients are reimbursable.

Main office location: 100 Hancock Street, Suite 1002, Quincy, MA 02171

Work location: Quincy office. MHLAC has adopted a hybrid work model. Once oriented, employees are required to work in person at least one day per week in their work location.

Website: www.mhlac.org

Deadline: Accepting cover letters and resumes until position is filled, however applications received after January 5, 2026 may not be considered.

Qualifications

• Membership in the Massachusetts bar required;
• Law degree from an accredited law school required;
• Experience litigating family law cases strongly preferred;
• Experience in the delivery of legal services to indigent persons preferred;
• Experience with persons with mental health issues, psychiatric disabilities and/or institutionalized persons preferred but not required;
• Ability to work efficiently and multi-task;
• Ability to focus attention on detail in all facets of work (writing, interviewing, case presentation, etc.);
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with clients and co-workers under sometimes stressful circumstances;
• Fluency in a foreign language used by significant numbers of MHLAC clients a plus;
• Ability to travel to court hearings and to meet clients required.

Duties

• Screen new requests for legal assistance from indigent persons with a child custody and parenting time case who have or are perceived to have mental health concerns and/or psychiatric disabilities;
• Interview prospective clients and conduct informal investigations to determine whether potential cases are consistent with office priorities and have legal merit;
• Collect and review documents, pleadings, court orders and other materials relevant to review and consideration of cases;
• Provide legal advice, referrals, brief service and advocacy in the areas of family law (divorces, unmarried parent cases involving custody and parenting time of minor children), restraining orders and domestic violence, and in occasional child welfare involved cases;
• Provide limited assistance representation in some of the aforementioned substantive case areas;
• Litigate cases for clients accepted for representation – conduct discovery and research, engage in motion practice, engage in alternative dispute resolution activities, negotiate with other parties and opposing counsel, identify creative solutions for interventions for families and in settlement negotiations, and handle all aspects of Pre-trial hearings, contested evidentiary hearings and trials;
• When called upon, and in concert with the Supervising Attorney, engage in training and presentations regarding the Family Law Project’s advocacy;
• With the assistance of the Supervising Attorney, prepare grant reports and materials to support said reports;
• Supervise the family law case work of interns and AmeriCorps legal advocate.

Eligible to accrue vacation and sick leave, pro-rated personal time and paid holidays. Health insurance and other benefits including FSA offered through the GIC. State retirement plan through the Massachusetts State Retirement Board and optional additional Retirement through Empower Retirement. Expenses incurred such as travel to court and meetings with clients are reimbursable.

Fluency in a foreign language used by significant numbers of MHLAC clients a plus