Legal Services Director jobs in Springfield, MA

Community Legal Aid (CLA), the free civil legal aid organization serving the low-income and elderly residents of central and western Massachusetts, seeks an experienced attorney to serve as its Deputy Litigation Director. CLA's advocacy team handles over 8,000 cases a year in a wide variety of areas, including housing, domestic relations, public benefits, employment, re-entry, and education. CLA is a fiscally sound, administratively strong agency supported by a dedicated staff, management team, and Board of Directors. CLA has over 150 staff working across multiple offices.

The Deputy Litigation Director will be a part of CLA's management team and will:

• Help the Litigation Director coordinate, support, and supervise major litigation and appeals, and co-counsel or otherwise participate directly in those efforts;
• Help identify systemic issues that affect CLA's clients, and help develop litigation and/or other advocacy strategies to address them;
• Work with other supervisory staff to help develop the litigation skills of CLA's advocates;
• Review and edit advocates' written advocacy, including submissions to courts and agencies;
• Help advocates prepare for oral arguments, including participating in moots;
• Help support CLA's DEI advocacy subcommittee that strives to advance and build capacity for racial justice advocacy;
• Engender a culture of raising and pursuing attorney fee-shifting claims; and
• Help develop and maintain a litigation docket that summarizes potential and pending litigation and applicable statutes of limitations.

Qualifications:

• Licensed to practice law in Massachusetts or eligible for admission to the bar at the time of hiring.
• At least five years of litigation experience, preferably significant experience litigating complex civil cases in state and federal court, both at the trial and appellate levels.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, and an ability to work with frequent deadlines.
• History of creative and high-impact advocacy and substantive expertise in legal issues affecting low-income people.
• Substantial experience mentoring and training other advocates.
• Ability to facilitate collaboration and build and sustain productive and respectful working relationships with others.
• Prior experience with low-income populations and a demonstrated ability to relate effectively to a diverse clientele and staff are preferred.

The Deputy Litigation Director will be based in CLA's Springfield or Worcester office. The position will require some travel to CLA's offices across central and western Massachusetts to support and build relationships with staff in person.

Salary DOE. CLA offers a very generous benefits package that includes 401(k) with employer-paid contribution; low-cost health insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for employees and their dependents; malpractice insurance; paid leave (4 weeks vacation, 3 personal days, 12 sick days, and 13 holidays); and relocation stipend.

Please apply online. Alternatively, you can submit your cover letter and resume to: Alicia Vaughan, HR Director, Community Legal Aid, 370 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608, or email avaughan@cla-ma.org. In your cover letter, please indicate your area(s) of substantive law expertise and litigation experience, an explanation of your interest in this position, and your office of preference.

CLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strives to ensure that our staff members reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. CLA encourages applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.