Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) advocates with and for Marylanders experiencing poverty to achieve equity and social justice through free civil legal services, community collaboration, and systemic change. Since 1911, Maryland Legal Aid has worked hand in hand with communities and individual clients to remedy their most fundamental civil legal issues and dismantle the systemic barriers that threaten stability, security, and access to justice for underserved Marylanders.
MLA seeks an experienced attorney for its newly-created Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development position. The Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will guide, support, and expand the capacity of MLA’s 12 offices across the State to provide legal support to low-income community-based groups and organizations that seek to achieve lasting change for underserved populations. The Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will train local staff to work effectively with community groups and organizations, help craft and implement strategies to enable those groups to achieve their goals, and strive to have MLA recognized as a problem-solving partner by members of the communities we serve.
The Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will be part of MLA’s Statewide Advocacy Support (SAS) Unit, made up of Directors of Advocacy who have deep expertise in their areas of practice. Like those Directors, the Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will work in close collaboration with MLA’s local office staff to ensure that each of our offices have the capacity to serve as community lawyers in their service area. To spearhead MLA’s work with community-based groups, the Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development must have a deep understanding of, and experience with, working with low-income persons and groups and be able to use the full array of tools available to lawyers and their clients for achieving change, including litigation, policy advocacy, and community education.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Community Lawyering & Collaboration
- Help MLA staff identify and develop opportunities for meaningful community lawyering. Methods may include outreach, environmental scans, data analysis, community listening, community education, legal or social services clinics, and participation in community events.
- Help MLA staff nurture existing and future partnerships with local groups or organizations.
- Coordinate with Chiefs of regional offices to foster community lawyering across Maryland and to identify and pursue opportunities for building and enhancing relationships with low-income community groups and organizations.
- Represent MLA in advocacy coalitions, bar committees, meetings with agency staff, and other external settings, bringing advocacy and community lawyering opportunities back to individual offices, the MLA Executive Team, and other Advocacy Directors.
- Establish a “community lawyering” task force, to periodically bring together staff engaged in community lawyering activities to share information and strategies.
- Pay attention to trends and issues affecting low-income communities and help lead efforts to coordinate responses to such trends and issues when there appears to be a community lawyering opportunity.
Leadership, Supervision, Training, & Mentoring
- Directly supervise attorneys and paralegals assigned to the SAS Community Lawyering team.
- Mentor staff and help resolve difficult questions that may arise as staff engage with and represent community groups or organizations. This may include accompanying local staff members to community meetings, negotiations, presentations, or in other fora.
- Train MLA staff to work as an effective legal resource for groups and organizations.
- Participate in hiring, as requested by the Executive Team and colleagues.
- Upon request by Executive Team members, advise on and participate in committees regarding MLA-wide institutional projects such as strategic planning implementation, fundraising/grant opportunities, and Board meetings.
- Act as a role model in meeting administrative or other programmatic requirements, including timekeeping deadlines, grants, and compliance requests and in modeling professional demeanor.
- Perform other tasks as assigned by the Chief Legal Director or Executive Director.
Policy Advocacy & Impact Litigation
- Develop, lead, and ensure high quality and high impact advocacy and litigation to accomplish community goals, working with partners, stakeholders, decisionmakers, bar committees, advocacy coalitions, and the public and the national legal services community.
- Identify situations for which pro bono counsel may be needed to provide specialized or technical assistance on organizational governance or in areas of practice outside of MLA’s expertise and coordinate with appropriate MLA staff to secure such assistance.
- Provide hands-on support, as needed, for activities that emerge from MLA offices’ community lawyering efforts. While the Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will not generally be responsible for leading litigation or policy advocacy that could emerge from partnerships with community groups, it is expected that the Advocacy Director for Community Lawyering & Development will work closely with those who will spearhead any such effort to ensure that the effort remains consistent with the group or organization’s goals and that the group retains an appropriate role in such litigation or policy advocacy.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- JD from an accredited law school.
- Current Bar membership in good standing to practice law in any state, Maryland preferred. If licensed to practice in another state, a commitment to obtain licensure in Maryland two years after hire.
- 7+ years of legal experience, preferably in a legal aid or similar program.
- Possess a deep knowledge and appreciation for the variety of challenges facing low-income Marylanders and the tools that are available to legal aid lawyers to address those challenges.
- The ADCDL must have experience in at least several of the substantive areas of legal aid practice, which may include housing, employment/barriers to employment, public benefits, family law, or consumer rights.
- Demonstrated experience working effectively with community groups or organizations, preferably those whose members are low-income persons.
- Experience supervising staff, including those who are not lawyers.
- Demonstrated ability to motivate, advise, coach, and give constructive feedback to legal staff at all levels.
- Experience effectively using current technology and remote communications to supervise and work effectively with staff located in multiple offices.
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
- The ability to lead a team of professionals across offices.
- Experience advocating for policy reform at the federal, state and/or local level.
- Willingness to spend significant time in MLA offices across the state as needed and to travel to conferences.
- Passion and commitment to the mission, vision, and values of Maryland Legal Aid and to building an equitable, inclusive organizational culture.
BENEFITS
The salary range for this position is $ 110,000 - $ 135,000. In addition, MLA provides employees with a generous benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, 4 weeks paid time off, paid sick leave, 14 annual paid holidays, and more! Future flexibility regarding a hybrid work arrangement is a possibility after the onboarding period.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Please submit a resume and cover letter with your online application.
- References will be required at the time of the final interview.
- No telephone calls, please. The position will remain open until filled.
Maryland Legal Aid is committed to equity, justice, and inclusion. As an equal-opportunity employer, MLA seeks to hire employees from diverse backgrounds and perspectives that are reflective of the communities we serve, including people with disabilities, people of color, women, and members of traditionally underrepresented groups.