Managing Attorney, Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB)

The Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB) of The Legal Aid Society is the largest post-conviction public defender in New York City, annually providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 1,000 people with misdemeanor, felony, and homicide convictions. 

CAB has an opening for a Managing Attorney to work with the Director of Post-Conviction Legal Operations and the Director of the Criminal Appeals Bureau in the management of the Bureau.  The Managing Attorney’s Office (MAO) is responsible for handling the procedural aspects of the appellate practice.  This includes receiving case assignments from the courts, obtaining the record on appeal, distributing cases to the staff attorneys, and generally helping to ensuring the smooth administration of the office.  MAO also supervises CAB support staff and supports all CAB clients before they are assigned to a staff attorney. 

The Managing Attorney will oversee the daily operations of MAO, supervising MAO staff, liaising with court personnel, ensuring efficient progression of cases, and troubleshooting issues. The Managing Attorney exercises significant discretion and judgment in resolving non-routine matters. The position involves a constant balancing of competing needs to ensure that our clients’ rights are protected. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supervises the Managing Attorney’s Office staff, including training, coaching, mentoring, and developing staff to advance their professional growth
• Oversees intake of new CAB assignments, including updating and developing protocols and supervising the Assistant Managing Attorneys in the record collection and screening processes
• Assigns cases to staff attorneys, including running reports to identify cases ready for assignment and assessing attorney capacity
• Supports clients not yet assigned to a staff attorney by overseeing client correspondence and visits to incarcerated clients
• Supervises the Notice of Appeal Project to ensure that our clients’ right to appeal their criminal convictions is properly protected
• Builds relationships with key court personnel and other stakeholders in the criminal legal system to advocate for the interests of CAB and our clients
• Assists in the preparation of reports to the courts and Legal Aid’s funders
• Participates in office leadership and decision-making, including, but not limited to, recruitment and hiring, advice on best practices, and office policies
• Other duties as assigned

Required Documents

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample

Requirements

• Admitted to practice in New York State or the ability to secure immediate admission pursuant to 22 NYCRR 520.10
• At least five years of experience practicing law, with a strong preference for experience practicing criminal appellate law
• An aptitude for motivating, training, and managing attorney and non-attorney staff
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including ability to communicate with clients, judges, courts administrators, and legal practitioners
• Excellent administrative and organizational abilities
• Demonstrated interest in serving low-income communities and a commitment to indigent defense

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range/ Salary: $135,000 to $145,000

SALARY AND BENEFITS 

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if an offer is made. 

Click here to read more about the benefits of working at The Legal Aid Society 

HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOAN FORGIVENESS 

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. 

Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below. 

studentaid.gov 

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs 

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION 

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us. 

WORK AUTHORIZATION 

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.) 

HOW TO APPLY


All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.