Staff Attorney

Youth Represent is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney to join our team.

Youth Represent is dedicated to using direct legal services, policy advocacy, community education and strategic litigation to advance change at the individual and collective level, centering young people in the work we do together. Through holistic legal representation, integrated mental health services, organizing, and youth development, we help young people navigate some of the most complex and inequitable systems in our city.

As a small team of community lawyers, our work is different from what you would expect at a traditional legal services organization. Our work is innovative, collaborative, and shifts with the ever changing and expanding needs of our youth. As a result, this position requires someone who is self-motivated and driven to problem-solve issues as they arise. This is an exciting position for someone who wants to do legal work but also has a passion for working directly with young people, playing an instrumental role in cultivating trust and building authentic relationships with them.

The person who will best succeed in this role:

• Truly enjoys collaboration – Which means working alongside a close-knit team of paralegals and social workers dedicated to advancing client-centered solutions and contributing to our organization’s practice addressing and mitigating the impacts of the criminal legal system across different areas of young people’s lives.
• Has a demonstrated commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Applies an introspective DEI lens when considering one’s actions and biases when advocating and working with Black, Latiné, and other people of color, including clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
• Feels a real sense of ownership to get things done as a partner to the team – This person sees it as their responsibility to meet the needs of our clients with responsiveness and flexibility. They are able to balance a client caseload along with project management needs, which often includes cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with program coordinators of community-based organizations (CBOs).
• Possess a strong desire to work across multiple fields of law that have an intersectional impact on the lives of system impacted and incarcerated youth. Those with prior legal experience are excited to share their expertise in building out and strengthening our core practice areas, particularly in criminal defense, education, housing, name change law, or employment litigation.
• Centers those most impacted through collaboration and participatory engagement whether it’s meeting an individual client’s needs, collaborating with partnership sites, or determining the content of a Know Your Rights workshop, this person deeply understands the need to listen to those most directly impacted and have them lead, navigate, and transform disempowering systems.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Successfully manage a caseload including litigation before state courts, as well as administrative agencies throughout New York City.
• Liaise and travel to partner organizations in all five boroughs to arrange and provide legal reentry services to clients who face collateral consequences of criminal legal involvement.
• Provide legal representation in our core practice areas, which include the following: records, early defense work (pre-arraignment advocacy), criminal court case mitigation, criminal defense (misdemeanor representation, DATs, etc.), employment (Fair Chance Act), reentry support (early release from probation, Certificate of Relief from Disabilities, etc.), and name change law for transgender and gender nonconforming youth, along with growth into new areas.
• Work closely with paralegals, social workers, and support staff to provide comprehensive reentry services to youth and maintain client communication.
• Lead client intake meetings, facilitate legal workshops and staff trainings.
• Participate in staff meetings and trainings; and support the strategic development of the organization.
• Coordinate partnership site visits and liaise with their staff to: cultivate partner relationships; efficiently implement the project; and ensure partner needs and expectations are met. Community-based partnership organizations include: Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Clinic, schools, alternative to incarceration programs (ATIs), workforce development programs, LGBTQ+ youth shelters, NYCHA community centers.
• Fulfill office administrative requirements, including database entry and case reporting.
• Supervise the work of law school interns, clinical students, and other office interns.
• Support policy, advocacy, and fundraising efforts for the organization.
• Other duties as needed and determined by Senior Staff.

QUALIFICATIONS

• J.D. Degree from an ABA accredited law school & licensed to practice law in the State of New York
• At least 1 year experience practicing law is strongly preferred, including experience managing a caseload of at least 40 clients
• Experience working with justice-involved youth
• Superb research, analysis, writing, and oral advocacy skills
• Initiative, good judgment, a strong work ethic, and attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with others
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• A personal approach that values and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance
• Spanish-speaking candidates a plus

All initial interviews will be conducted remotely.

Our Manhattan office operates on a hybrid schedule, 3 days in-person and 2 days remote.

SALARY RANGE & BENEFITS PACKAGE

• Youth Represent is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.
• Salary for this position is $79,568 - $89,528, commensurate with experience.
• We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, covering the full premium for our medical plan. Other benefits include vision and dental coverage, disability, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, commuter benefits, a 401(k) plan, and a generous parental leave policy. We also offer four weeks of paid vacation and nine holidays, and we close the office the week between Christmas and New Years.

Union

• This position is a member of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys-UAW Local 2325.

How to Apply:

Interested applicants should click on the following link for the online application portal. Please combine your cover letter AND résumé with the title (or file name) “YR Staff Attorney – [your last name, your first name]" into one document in PDF format.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with a priority deadline of July 31, 2026.

Applications without cover letters that directly address the candidate’s fit with the key qualifications will not be considered.

Youth Represent is an equal opportunity employer and is cultivating a truly equitable and anti-oppressive workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities and experiences. We particularly encourage applicants from marginalized communities, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, and those directly impacted by the differing legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting a hiring process that is equitable and accessible to all.