MANHATTAN LEGAL SERVICES 

 STAFF ATTORNEY – FAMILY LAW UNIT 

About Our Organization: 

Manhattan Legal Services is seeking a staff attorney to join our Family Law Unit. The Family Law Unit handles the full range of family law issues.  MLS’ Family Law Unit focuses on survivors of intimate partner violence and is an interdisciplinary team of attorneys, a social worker, and a paralegal whose mission is to provide holistic and culturally competent services to empower survivors of intimate partner violence to live free of abuse.  Our attorneys provide direct legal representation to intimate partner violence survivors in the full range of family law cases, including divorce, custody/visitation, orders of protection, and child support.  Finally, we conduct outreach and work in partnerships with community groups to ensure that we are best serving the community. This is a great opportunity to do substantive matrimonial and family law in underserved communities in Harlem and Upper Manhattan.  This position is funded to provide assistance to victims of crime, including providing information about Crime Victims' Assistance and aiding clients in applying for benefits and compensation through the Office of Victims Services. 

Manhattan Legal Services is part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), the largest provider of free civil legal services for low-income people in the country. The Manhattan office is dedicated to providing high-quality legal services in the areas of housing, family law, public benefits, employment, immigration, consumer, education, and disability rights. The Manhattan program has designated units serving particularly vulnerable populations including intimate partner violence survivors, people living with HIV, and people identifying as LGBTQ.  We work in close collaboration with low-income communities in NYC.  

As a community-centered, social justice organization, MLS is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where staff and clients feel welcome.  Through our various affinity groups and committees, we actively work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore, grow in our understanding of and challenge barriers to opportunity within our organization and through our legal work.  All employees are expected to learn about and seek to understand, identify and overcome barriers to justice, from individual preconceptions to structural obstacles, and work to realize our organizational goals and mission. 

The Role:  

The staff attorney will be responsible for litigation, advocacy, community outreach, and education throughout Manhattan and sometimes in other boroughs when collaborating with our community partners.  The attorney will focus on litigating issues that particularly impact survivors of intimate partner violence, including divorce, custody/visitation, orders of protection, and child support.  There is a community outreach component to the work, including doing client intake at regular outreach clinics, sometimes after-hours; establishing relationships with community-based organizations that serve survivors of intimate partner violence; and attending community-centered meetings and events, occasionally, after-hours and on weekends; and representing clients in a number of courts and administrative fora.  

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Conducting intakes, interviewing clients, providing advice, brief services and assessments for legal representation for new clients. 

• Proving safety planning and legal referrals to clients. 

• Advising and representing survivors of intimate partner violence in family law and matrimonial cases in New York County Family, Supreme and Integrated Domestic Violence courts. 

• Representing Manhattan Legal Services at community events, stakeholders meetings, and off-site legal clinics. 

• Conducting community outreach and education with our community-based partners. 

• Provide training to both legal and other community members, such as Know Your Rights training. 

• Complying with grant requirements, including providing information about Crime Victims' Assistance and aiding clients in applying for benefits and compensation through the Office of Victims Services 

• Develop and maintain relationships with individuals, organizations, and government agencies within the domestic violence and legal community in New York City 

• Working with social work team to assist clients in accessing non-legal support services and referrals 

Preferred Qualifications and Skills: 

• J.D. and admission to the New York State Bar required; 

• 2+ years of matrimonial and family law practice required; 

• Excellent analytical, writing, communication, oral advocacy, trial, and organization skills; 

• Fluency or strong working ability in Spanish, or other language(s) commonly spoken by our client communities strongly preferred; 

• Experience working directly with survivors of intimate partner violence strongly preferred; 

• Demonstrated passion for public interest law, social justice and commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color to advance equality. 

How to Apply: 

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples.  Cover letters must discuss particularized interest in working with the survivors of intimate partner violence. 

Salary and benefits are determined by the LSNYC Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls. 

Manhattan Legal Services is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.  People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons and persons over 40 are welcome and encouraged to apply.