Staff Attorney
Staff Attorney
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$ 78856 - 118324
1 Vacancy
Job Description
Homeless Action Center (HAC) is a communitybased legal services program founded in 1990 to provide legal services to people who are homeless in Alameda County. HACs specialty is public benefits advocacy with a focus on Social Security disability benefits and a goal of stabilizing and increasing clients income so that they can obtain sustainable housing and health care. Employing a clientcentered model and harm reduction framework HACs staff work closely with other legal and social services programs to assist clients in meeting their emergency and longerterm needs during the process of obtaining benefits. HAC is committed to advancing diversity equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an antiracist organization and society. Please refer to .
DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION
The Homeless Action Center is committed to advancing diversity equity and inclusion initiatives and working diligently toward an antiracist organization and society. HACs Director of Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) and Social Impact and the Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Committee with the support of other dedicated staff have put in a tremendous amount of work towards positively impacting change around diversity equity inclusion and racial justice. HAC employs DEI principles at all stages of the hiring process collects and analyzes data on staff demographics and retention and periodically engages with consultants to assess the organizations culture facilitate processes and working groups and make recommendations with implementation strategies for improvement. HACs Executive Director has declared that DEI will be one of the organizations top priorities and the Management Team in partnership with staff continues to strive to increase DEI within HAC.
Staff Attorney Position
Staff Attorneys will primarily represent clients in applications and appeals for SSI/Social Security Disability benefits and/or CAPI benefits.
Duties include but are not limited to the following:
DIRECT CLIENT SERVICES
- Represent forty clients in all stages of the application process for Social Security disability benefits/CAPI including initial reconsideration administrative hearings the SSA appeals council and federal district court:
- SSI/SSDI/CAPI representation generally includes the following minimum duties: contact potential clients; interview clients assess status eligibility and determine status of any existing or prior claims complete internal HAC and external SSA and other agency forms; initiate filings/appeals in a timely manner to protect eligibility; pursue read and summarize medical records and other evidence; correspond with clients physicians and other treatment providers; arrange medical assessments and transportation to medical appointments; submit information electronically; collaborate with SSA and its proxies via phone email fax and mail; develop legal arguments and write persuasive letters; and maintain regular contact with clients.
- Should the case proceed to the hearing level the attorney will represent the client at an Administrative Hearing which typically includes drafting and submitting a prehearing brief preparing client testimony and an opening statement answering questions from the judge conducting a direct exam of the client and cross examining medical and vocational experts.
- Negative or partially favorable hearing decisions will be assessed for appealability and attorneys may file for Appeals Council review and possibly District Court review and/or file new claims as the situation dictates.
- Occasionally assist clients with issues related to receipt of disability benefits such as overpayments payee issues and employment issues.
- Maintain case files and electronic records following agency guidelines.
- Calendar all deadlines and other caserelated dates in agency case management software (Prevail). Use Prevail reports and other features to manage your caseload.
- Help clients apply for and retain other public benefits e.g MediCal General Assistance and CalFresh.
- Provide legal advice brief services and referrals to ones SSI clients as needed to help them with issues beyond SSI/SSDI and public benefits.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Be or become competent in Social Security law. Stay uptodate on the subject matter.
- Be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
- Adapt to changes and challenges in law office procedures resources for clients and technology.
- Practice empathy cultural humility harm reduction and traumainformed lawyering on a daytoday basis and learn and practice deescalation.
- Develop a familiarity with eligibility criteria for HACs services and the scope of HACs services.
- Carry a caseload of 40 SSI/SSDI cases at all levels of the administrative process.
- Maintain contact with clients which may include travel and visits to homeless encampments and other places people stay.
OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES
- Perform periodic helpline shifts and dropin clinic shifts providing and documenting brief service assistance.
- Attend monthly staff meetings and periodic allstaff trainings.
- Attend regular case reviews with managing attorneys.
- Assist in office cleaning.
- Track time and complete monthly timesheets.
- Maintain your schedule in Outlook learn and follow procedures for making your in/out of office presence known.
- Maintain shared information resources such as Sharepoint outlook contacts resource binders and other sources of shared efficiency.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Must be an active member in good standing in the State Bar of California. Direct Legal Services preferred especially experience with SSI/SSDI benefits. Those eligible for the Provisional Licensed Attorney program are encouraged to apply.
- Excellent written and oral communication particularly advocacy.
- Sensitivity to people with disabilities of diverse backgrounds. Our clients are vulnerable resilient people who deserve your absolute best work.
- Must be compassionate wellorganized hardworking reliable dedicated flexible enthusiastic detailoriented justiceoriented and have the ability to work cooperatively with others in a collegial yet challenging environment.
- Must be comfortable applying harm reduction principles and deescalating clients.
- Commitment to cultural humility clientcentered services and traumainformed principles.
ADDITIONAL VALUES AND CORE COMPETENCIES
HACs Core Competencies are the skills we expect all of our staff to have and continually develop regardless of role or level. These core competencies are the skills that reflect how we live our values support a consistency of staff experience across HAC and help us understand what is expected of us and where we have room to grow.
Values
Core Competencies
Harm reduction
This value requires us to meet our clients where they are on their path in life and cocreate strategies for survival with the resources available. Harm reduction is in contrast to a model that conditions the receipt of services on abstinence socially acceptable behavior or gratitude. Harm reduction empowers others to make choices to reduce the harms associated with the experiences of precarity lack of access to treatment health care and permanent housing. A harm reduction and trauma informed mindset and ethos requires the following competencies:
- Centering client dignity and autonomy
- Interacting with our clients without fear or judgment
- Ability to interact with people experiencing severe mental illness under the influence of substances and at times displaying antisocial and offensive behavior
Radical Compassion
We expect our staff to have a demonstrated commitment to social change. Everyone deserves second chances especially our clients and we are not afraid of conflict in the service of solving problems and making HAC better. This value is about prioritizing relationship building and how we treat each other. Compassion at HAC also means understanding that socioeconomic systems not individuals are responsible for poverty. Compassion at HAC means:
- Practicing empathy in all interactions
- Having understanding and radical love for our clients first for each other as colleagues and for ourselves
- The ability to have difficult conversations manage conflict and face confrontation with humility kindness and respect
Redemption
We show up to this work with an understanding that HACs clients are not the typical clients of a legal services organization. We do not condition representation on perfect behavior and we are prepared to give multiple chances. Redemption at HAC means:
- We do not end relationships with clients because a client said the wrong thing missed an appointment or refuses to engage in drug treatment or health care
- We do not give up on our clients
- We go above and beyond for as long as it takes
Excellence
By excellence we mean the quality of the services we deliver the culture we foster and our commitment to growth and learning. We expect excellence to look like:
- Attaining successful outcomes for our goals and objectives
- Demonstrating cultural humility by taking a learning stance and being open to our clients and colleagues cultural experiences
- Growing professionally and always learning in order to deliver outstanding work product
- Collaborating across teams and being proactive in offering solutions to challenges
Honor
We feel honored to be able to do this work at this time in this community. Our clients entrust us with their most difficult and private struggles and we are able to offer some relief. Its hard work and it has meaning and is honorable as well. What this means in practice is:
- We show up with integrity an open mind and heart
- We are able to deal with workplace stress and change
- We are adaptable and responsive
- We all make mistakes take responsibility for them and extend each other grace
Justice
Justice is the systematic fair treatment of all people resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all. It is not just the absence of discrimination and inequities but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain equity through proactive and preventative measures. To embody justice at HAC everyone:
- Is committed to advancing racial equity
- Has been directly impacted by inequity or has lived experience of solidarity with oppressed groups
- Has a deep understanding of the impact of race class gender disability and other kinds of injustice.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Contact with clients who may have behavioral and psychiatric problems including shouting use of profanity and inappropriate behavioral choices.
- Supervision: assigned duties according to specified procedures and receives detailed instructions. Work is reviewed frequently. The employee performs a variety of routine work within established policies and procedures and receives instructions on assignments new policies or projects.
- Our offices have open spaces and thus can be loud and chaotic. While we are a working law office the layout as well as the nature of our work can mean that it is louder than a typical office space.
- We have animals cats and dogs in our offices.
- This position requires interacting with people living in homeless encampments. Encampments may be especially chaotic and may have debris drug paraphernalia rodents and other possible hazards.
- Occasional need to interact with clients that may be expressing anger both appropriately and inappropriately.
- The worker is occasionally exposed to perfume or scents in personal care products used by employees clients and visitors.
- The worker is occasionally exposed to cleaning products.
- The work environment includes traveling using various modes of transportation.
- The work environment may include driving an agency vehicle.
SALARY & BENEFITS
- Starting salary commensurate with experience based on scale; starting salary scale for recently licensed attorneys is $78856 increasing based on years barred and experience. Salary scale is examined at least annually.
- Employer paid insurance: health vision and dental as well as $150000 basic term life insurance policy longterm disability insurance and employee assistance program. Coverage includes 100 employer paid medical dental and vision insurance for employee and dependent spouse/domestic partner or children; when adding spouse/domestic partner and children 100 of the child premiums and 50 of the spouse/domestic partner premiums are paid by HAC. Additional optional life insurance shortterm disability accident and critical illness plans available.
- Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for healthcare or dependent care available.
- 50 Subsidy for Commuter Check program.
- Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) in the amount of $200 subsidy per month for all staff who have student loans regardless of salary or loan amount.
- 403(b) account available with employer contribution of up to 4 of annual salary.
- Generous vacation holiday and sick time.
HAC is a unionized workplace and members of the bargaining unit are represented by the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20 IFPTE. This position is part of the bargaining unit.
TO APPLY
Please submit a resume cover letter and list of three references IN ONE PDF DOCUMENT to . As part of your cover letter please address the following question:
In order to best serve our clients and our community HAC is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued. How has your personal background or experience professional or otherwise prepared you to contribute to social justice racial equity and diversity among our staff
HAC is committed to equity in hiring. We encourage people of color women people with disabilities older people LGBTQIA people and members of other historically oppressed groups to apply. It is HACs policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race color ethnicity ancestry religion age sex gender sexual orientation gender identity/expression pregnancy medical condition or genetic information veteran status national origin disability marital or other protected status. HAC will conform to the spirit as well as the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.
DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Nothing in this job description restricts managements right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time as needed.
Required Experience:
Staff IC
Employment Type
Full-Time
