1530-Staff Attorney

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

POSITION:                 StaffAttorney

CLOSING DATE:     PositionImmediately Available and Closed WhenFilled

LOCATION:               Hybrid Remote – San Angelo, Texas

OVERVIEW: Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT)seeks a dynamic, self-starting attorney who has vision, initiative, and a demonstrated commitmentto public interestlaw to fill a staff attorney position in its San Angelo, Texas office. In addition to providing daily representation in civil legal matters, the successful candidate will demonstrate a commitment toidentifying and taking advantage of opportunities for strategic advocacy and toengaging in outreach to and collaborationwith low-income persons, including community groups that are made up of or serve the indigent.

DESCRIPTION: LANWT is a non-profit public interest lawfirm that provides high-quality freecivil legal services to low-income persons in 114 counties in North and West Texas.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: A staff attorney must be able to gather evidence, adviseclients about their rights, draft legal documents, and conduct civil lawsuits. A staff attorney must interview clients and witnesses with culturalcompetence, as well as handle other tasks in representing clients. A staff attorney represents clients in court andbefore quasi-judicial or administrative agencies of government.The staff attorney also interprets laws, rulings, and regulationsfor clients and the clientcommunity. The staff attorneywill provide legal assistance in areas of general civil law, includingbut not limitedto: employment, housing, family, foreclosure prevention, consumer,probate, special education, social security, public benefits, bankruptcy and landlord-tenant law.

The staff attorneyalso designs and carries out outreach and community legal education and works closelywith the community and low-incomecommunity groups to furtherLANWT’s missionof reducingpoverty by providingequitable access to the civil justice system. The staff attorney may superviseandcoordinate activities of legal, clerical,volunteer, or student workers. Inshort, the staff attorneyis expected to handle a caseloadinvolving substantial litigation and other justice-related advocacy,periodically attend evening legal clinics, and devise andparticipate in community legal education programs and outreach offered by LANWT.

In fulfilling this mission,the attorney will provide high-quality representation to indigentclients in accordancewith LANWT’s policies andprocedures and with an attorney’s responsibilities undertheTexas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct,theTexas Lawyer’s Creed, and the American Bar Association’s Standardsfor Providers of Civil Legal Services to the Poor.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Licensed to practice law in Texas.
• Prior experience handling contested litigation cases preferred.
• Strong understanding of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Texas Rules of Evidence.
• Prior legal services, publicinterest, or volunteer experience serving low-income persons preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to think and plan strategically and to develop and implement projects.
• Possess a strong work ethic and a sense of accountability.
• Fluent in Spanish – both verbal and written is preferred.
• Excellent attendance record.
• Ability to engage in occasional work-related travel.

SALARY: Current entry-level salary for a new attorney is $73,815 per year. The salary for the successful applicant may be significantly higher, based on applicant’s years of experience.

BENEFITS: Excellent benefits package that includes paid vacation and holidays; a retirement plan; health, dental, vision and life insurance.

Please submit a cover letter expressing interest, a resume, and three professional references during the application process.

LEGAL AIDOF NORTHWEST TEXAS IS AN EQUALOPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER VETERANSARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY