Temporary Family Law/DV Attorney

Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) is a non-profit law firm. Our staff provide free civil legal services to individuals and families living in poverty throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our community-based service model includes a wide range of access points, including legal hotlines, six physical offices, and community-based advocacy clinics and intake points. We practice in multiple inter-related legal substantive areas to prevent and stop homelessness, increase economic stability, protect low-income consumers, expand access to healthcare, and enhance safety for survivors of interpersonal violence. Our clients include the working poor, families with children, foster youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, individuals impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems, and persons with disabilities. The core of our community-based practice is working alongside our individual clients to protect their legal rights, resolve immediate crises and remove legal barriers to long-term stability and escaping poverty. BayLegal is also uniquely positioned to identify patterns of illegal practices and engage in opportunities to protect the legal rights of low-income communities and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public services through broader advocacy and impact litigation.

Family Law/DV Practice Team: BayLegal’s family law practice team works to protect and advance domestic violence survivors’ legal interests in each of BayLegal’s service counties and statewide. Our attorneys represent survivors in restraining order actions, child custody and visitation, dissolutions of marriage, child and spousal support, and other family law actions, and supports survivors in obtaining VAWA, U Visa and other immigration relief. Our team works to educate the community on legal options for survivors and engages in direct services, policy advocacy and litigation across various areas of poverty law to address and prevent abuse. 

Position: BayLegal seeks a family law attorney with a strong commitment to public interest and social justice advocacy to join our team.  This position will be based in BayLegal’s San Mateo County office. Some travel will be necessary for client meetings, court appearances, and other work. This is a temporary position lasting approximately 6 months. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Learn about and advocate for the diverse legal needs of undeserved and vulnerable communities in San Mateo and the broader Bay Area to reduce homelessness, enhance stability, and address social justice;
• Represent low-income survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in an array of family court proceedings, including dissolution, child custody and support, parentage actions, and restraining orders;
• Represent immigrant survivors of interpersonal violence in seeking and obtaining immigration relief through U Visa, VAWA, and Adjustment of Status petitions;
• Work with colleagues to identify issues and ways to improve access and legal protections for survivors of interpersonal violence;
• Provide workshops and technical assistance to community partners and client communities on family law and a broad range of civil legal issues;
• Work collaboratively with attorneys practicing in BayLegal’s other substantive areas.   
• Engage with, build and foster broad public-private partnerships, including with governmental agencies, courts, community-based organizations, and pro bono partners to ensure integrated services, client outreach and address barriers facing BayLegal's client community.
• Engage in other tasks and projects that further the interest of fostering BayLegal's mission and operations as a non-profit.

Required Qualifications:

• Member of CA Bar in good standing. Candidates who have recently passed the California Bar are welcome to apply. 
• Commitment to complying with all California Rules of Professional Conduct, BayLegal funding requirements, and firm standards, policies, and practices;
• Experience or demonstrated commitment to public interest law and social justice advocacy;
• Experience and/or interest in working with survivors of trauma;
  • 1 or more years of relevant family law experience preferred;
• Language fluency and proficiency in Spanish preferred;
• Humility in working with colleagues, clients, and individuals of all identities, experiences, and perspectives;
• Current proficiency, and ability to improve proficiency, in technological equipment, hardware and software necessary to perform duties of the position;
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with the ability to be detail oriented;
• Experience and commitment to working collaboratively with a dynamic team;
• Curious and self-directed with the ability to anticipate what needs to be done;
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects while maintaining a firm grasp of individual project details;
• Sense of humor and proactive problem-solver.

Hybrid Work Option: BayLegal is committed to the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community.  BayLegal employees are expected to work on-site and in-person at a designated BayLegal office or community-based advocacy site at least three (3) days per week and may work remotely from home on a part-time basis.  BayLegal employees are expected to reside in California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical BayLegal base location during the standard work week.  

Compensation and Benefits: We offer a diverse, family-friendly environment, and compensation based on competitive public interest salaries along with medical and dental benefits, paid holidays, and sick leave.  Compensation is based on experience and competitive public interest salaries. The estimated annual salary range is $83,948 - $138,127 placement in range determined primarily by years of related experience.   

Work Environment and Physical Activity:  
Work Environment: This position is primarily sedentary. When in office, the applicant can expect to be working at a desk in a temperature-controlled office, in a modular space or individual office. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  

Physical Activity: BayLegal provides this list for transparency of the physical activity that may be required for this position. BayLegal is committed to being a workplace that supports applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants and employees may request reasonable accommodation and BayLegal will engage in an interactive process.

While performing duties of the job, employees may occasionally be required to sit for prolonged periods; be ambulatory; travel; use hands to type; feel objects, operate tools, and/or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employees may regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Applications: BayLegal is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Recruitment, placement and promotions are conducted without regard to an individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability status, veteran status or sexual orientation, or any other classification protected by Federal, State, and local laws & ordinances. We will consider qualified candidates with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of all Federal, state and local laws. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.