Staff Attorney - Waukegan

Every day people across Illinois are denied the basic rights to which they are entitled under the law simply because they cant afford a lawyer. Its our mission to change that.

Prairie State Legal Services Inc. is seeking a Staff Attorney to join our team in the Waukegan office. Staff attorneys at PSLS provide a wide range of legal services to some of the most vulnerable members of our communities including lowincome individuals older adults veterans and people with disabilities. We focus our services on legal problems that impact the ability of our clients to meet their basic human needs including physical safety access to healthcare adequate housing and financial stability. Prairie State is the only legal aid organization in the majority of our area and we pride ourselves on providing highquality legal services to our clients while fostering a work environment that is motivating collaborative and rewarding with plenty of opportunities for professional growth.

Responsibilities
Among other duties as assigned the Staff Attorney will:

• Provide legal services to lowincome individuals covering a wide range of legal issues including housing family public benefits consumer health education and other areas
• Interview applicants for legal services and assess their legal issues with a focus on those issues that have an immediate impact on their basic human needs
• Provide legal services including legal research and factual investigation counsel and advice brief services and document preparation dispute resolution and representation of clients in administrative and judicial proceedings
• Develop and maintain networking relationships with local bar associations and with local state and federal governments and community agencies that serve our client population
• Conduct outreach events with client communities including client education and intake events at community partner locations
• Provide accurate and complete information for grant reporting to grant funders including documenting services in the case record
• Actively participate in an internal task force related to one or more areas of our practice
• Exhibit a high level of personal energy organization and commitment to the position and the PSLS mission

Salary and Benefits
The Staff Attorney position is a fulltime position at 37.5 hours per week. PSLS offers a salary that is competitive with similar organizations. The salary range for the Staff Attorney position is $70000 $90231 annually for newly licensed attorneys and increases with each year of relevant experience. PSLS is committed to providing an excellent comprehensive benefits package to its fulltime employees that includes:

• Health insurance including the opportunity to qualify for a wellness credit
• Dental Insurance
• Vision insurance
• 403b Retirement Plan including employer contributions
• Extensive training and education program
• Flex scheduling and partial remote work available
• PTO that starts at 3 weeks/year and increases with additional years worked at PSLS
• Paid sick leave
• 6 weeks of paid parental leave after one year of employment
• 12 Paid holidays

Qualifications

• Candidates currently admitted to the practice of law in the State of Illinois or admitted in another state and eligible for reciprocity in Illinois are preferred. Consideration will be given to law graduates who will be sitting for the next bar exam.
• Experience in trial advocacy and negotiation preferred
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent oral/written communication research skills and computer competency
• Organizational and case management proficiency
• Ability to work effectively as a team member
• Spanish language proficiency is preferred but not required
• Some travel is required; applicant must have a valid drivers license and/or reliable transportation
• We will give preference to candidates who have experience providing services to lowincome individuals

PSLS is an equal opportunity employer that strives to create a diverse and inclusive working environment. We recruit employ pay and promote qualified applicants and employees without regard to race color national origin or citizenship ancestry religion sex disability familial status marital status sexual orientation gender identity age pregnancy military status or unfavorable discharge from military service or other characteristics protected by law.

Required Experience:

Staff IC