Civil Action Practice Right to Counsel Housing Team Staff Attorney

The Bronx Defenders (BxD)—an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx—seeks a passionate attorney committed to housing defense to work as a Housing Staff Attorney.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders, run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders throughout the country on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Civil Action Practice

The Civil Action Practice (CAP) provides comprehensive legal services to the people we represent and their families by fully integrating civil representation with our criminal, immigration, and family defense practices. Our goal is to minimize the severe and often unforeseen fallout from legal system involvement and facilitate the seamless reintegration of the people we represent into their communities.

Our Civil Action Practice attorneys and legal advocates represent people in every forum in New York City – administrative, state, and federal – to address these problems, and provide comprehensive representation to assist people in overcoming civil legal barriers to housing, eviction, employment, and public benefits, and address instances of police misconduct, criminal record errors, and civil forfeiture.

Housing Justice & the Right to Counsel

Recognizing the challenges to accessing affordable, quality and safe housing in New York City, The Bronx Defenders has a team exclusively dedicated to providing tenants at risk of losing their homes with defense attorneys for their Housing Court cases. Our Right to Counsel Housing Team was developed in response to the 2017 New York City Right-to-Counsel initiative, which provides tenants facing eviction in Housing Court, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) administrative proceedings, and other civil fora with access to free legal representation. Our attorneys collaborate with social workers and benefits specialists to supplement clients’ legal defenses and provide additional services, support and resources committed to a Housing First perspective--an approach to homelessness that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. As a provider of Right to Counsel in the Bronx, we regularly staff in-court intake and are part of the NYC Right to Counsel Coalition.

Responsibilities

The Civil Action Practice seeks a staff attorney to focus on housing justice and to advance its Right to Counsel in Housing Court work. Responsibilities are listed below.

• Advise, support and defend individuals navigating proceedings related to eviction, lease/benefits termination, barriers to obtaining housing and other housing-related proceedings
• Staff Housing Court intake to provide representation to tenants in Housing Court
• Advise and represent clients in community intake with housing related issues
• Represent individuals in negotiations, administrative and judicial proceedings and trials
• Collaborate with criminal, immigration, and family defense attorneys, advocates, benefits advisors and social workers to assess and address the housing needs of our clients and the Bronx community
• Staff the Community Housing Helpline on a rotating schedule with other members of the team
• Participate in community training and public education
• Enter and maintain accurate client data and files, information and notes regarding advocacy and representation in case management system
• Help identify systemic problems that affect clients while thinking creatively about new strategies and solutions for systemic change

Qualifications

To be eligible, applicants must have:

• J.D. and sit for the upcoming New York State Bar Exam, or
• Admission to practice in New York or eligibility for admission to the New York State Bar Pro Hac Vice

To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate:

• Commitment to challenging systemic injustice and defending people at risk of eviction
• Experience working in and with racially, ethnically and socioeconomically marginalized communities
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of the people we represent
• Strong verbal and written advocacy skills
• Strong legal analytical skills as well as capacity to explore non-legal resources and solutions
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters
• Commitment to raising one’s cultural consciousness and challenging oppressive practices on an interpersonal and institutional level
• Spanish fluency is preferred but not required

This is a hybrid position that will require at least 21 hours of in-person work per week.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys. This position is within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 1-10 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $82,574 to $111,240. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick, and parental leave policy. More specific information about salary and benefits will be provided when and if an offer is extended.

To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and a cover letter in one document when prompted. Your cover letter should share why you want to do this work at our office, some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position, and any additional information you would like for us to consider. This information allows us to understand your distinct perspective, experience and potential beyond the work history summarized on your resume. If selected for the position, your resume will be used to determine the number of years of directly relevant professional experience you have; this will be used to determine your salary. Therefore, we encourage you to include all directly relevant professional experience on your resume. Please note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted through December 31, 2025, but be considered on a rolling basis. Please contact Dani Avello Kammerer, Deputy Director of the Civil Action Practice, via email at Danisbela@bronxdefenders.org with any questions regarding the position.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating an anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who are directly impacted by criminal, civil, family and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.