Family Defense Practice Custody Staff Attorney

The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks passionate attorneys with a commitment to public defense to join our Family Defense Practice.

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. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Family Defense Practice

As residents of the most heavily disinvested borough in the city, families in the Bronx experience the highest rates of family policing and parent-child separation. We serve as the primary institutional provider defending parents and caretakers against the painful and unnecessary removals of their children in the Bronx. Together, our attorneys, social workers, and parent advocates provide the legal defense and support necessary to keep families together and interrupt generational cycles of family court involvement.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Family Defense Practice Custody Supervising Attorney, the Custody Staff Attorney will work with attorneys to assist in the litigation of Family Court Articles 5, 6 and 8 cases including matters of custody, visitation, family offense, guardianship and paternity. The Custody Staff Attorney will be expected to develop an understanding of the relevant law by attending trainings, facilitating trainings, and working with the Training and Legal Departments in order to carry out the following responsibilities:

• Zealously represent parents in child protective proceedings in Bronx Family Court and litigate legal matters in any concurrent cases including custody, visitation, paternity, and family offense cases both orally and in writing
• Effectively communicate and negotiate with judges, children’s attorneys, and opposing parent attorneys on behalf of our clients
• Assist parents in accessing appropriate resources and services to restore or maintain full parental rights
• Collaborate with social workers and parent advocates in the Family Defense Practice, as well as attorneys and advocates in the criminal defense, civil action and immigration practices on enmeshed issues that arise in other venues
• Collaborate to provide coverage for cases to ensure that all the needs of our clients are met
• Maintain case files and data in BxD’s case management system
• Provide consultation on custody, visitation, paternity, guardianship and family offense issues to both the Family Defense Practice as well as other practice areas
• Maintain a system to track the outcomes in custody, visitation, paternity, guardianship, and family offense cases
• Maintain in-house resources including, but not limited to, a bank of decisions and orders, research articles, expert lists, sample stipulations, model motions, reply briefs and other materials related to custody cases
• Provide mentorship to junior attorneys
• Supervise and train interns and externs
• Collaborate with the Training Director to facilitate in-house trainings on matters related to custody, visitation, paternity and family offense proceedings

Qualifications

To be eligible, applicant must have:

• Ability to practice in New York or ability to practice pro hac vice until they are admitted to the New York State Bar Association
• Minimum of one year of experience as an attorney in family law or related field

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Commitment to directly defending parents charged with abuse and/or neglect in custody, visitation, paternity, guardianship and family offense proceedings
• Experience working in and with racially, ethnically and socioeconomically marginalized communities targeted by systemic injustice
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate with people from various backgrounds, identities and experiences
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with lawyers and non-lawyers
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of clients
• Strong research, writing, and courtroom advocacy skills
• Strong analytical skills and capacity to employ non-legal resources in cases
• 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
• Spanish language proficiency is highly desirable, but not required

This is a hybrid position that will require at least 21 hours/week of in-person work, subject to union terms.

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 2-10 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $86,833-$114,577. 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 leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). 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.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a 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 identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those 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 serve.

Full-time employees are 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 leave, and parental leave policy.

Spanish language proficiency is highly desirable, but not required