Staff Attorney, Care Court

Be part of a critical effort to prevent homelessness in San Francisco. The Justice & Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco (JDC) advances fairness and equality by providing free legal services to low-income people and educational programs that foster diversity in the legal profession. JDC currently has an exciting opportunity for a Staff Attorney, CARE Court at its Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) in San Francisco’s Civic Center/Tenderloin area.

About HAP:

HAPis working to prevent homelessness in San Francisco, and to reduce the negative effects of homelessness on the individuals and families with whom we work. At HAP, we have found that our work has the greatest impact when we focus on eviction prevention, benefits advocacy and immigration issues. Our clients are individuals and families who are homeless or who are at serious risk of homelessness. While each client comes with their own story of struggle, we give priority to clients who have mental health disabilities, as they often have the most difficulty navigating the legal system without representation. Our office utilizes a holistic approach to the problems our clients face by providing both legal representation and supporting social services.

HAP is a program of the JDC, a non-profit provider of legal services to low-income and indigent San Francisco residents. JDC serves clients by recruiting and training private attorneys and legal support staff to assist individual clients and by utilizing staff to provide direct representation to clients. HAP is primarily a staff-based project.

About The Job:

The Staff Attorney will enter client information and case notes into a database and will assist in collecting and reporting data and outcomes as required by the State Bar. The Staff Attorney will interact with other members of the HAP Staff, and will attend HAP and JDC staff meetings and other HAP Staff functions.

Work is performed at the Superior Court at 850 Bryant Street in San Francisco.

The successful candidate will have the following:

Education & Experience:

• J.D. is required

Skills & Requirements:

• Ability to work with clients who have mental disabilities, opposing counsel, representatives of the court, and service providers
• Ability to multi-task in a high volume, fast-paced environment and independently prioritize with high attention to detail
• Ability to demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to think creatively and strategically, and exercise good judgement in implementing and applying policies appropriately and in making effective decisions quickly
• Must be a member of the California State Bar in good standing
• Open to Training and Ability to de-escalate agitated clients or clients who are in crisis
• Bilingual speaking ability in Spanish desirable
• Must be culturally sensitive and able to understand and represent HAP’s mission: committed to public service and experience with or a desire to work with diverse communities
• Experience representing clients in civil or criminal court or administrative proceedings. A newly licensed attorney will be considered if they have relevant experience as a student or in the mental health field
• Strong writing, editing, and verbal skills

Why Work For Us:

We offer a collaborative work environment, a progressive work culture, and a wonderfully diverse staff. Additionally, we have a standard 35-hour workweek, flexible scheduling (manager’s discretion), and we are a mission and values based organization.

We also offer competitive pay and a generous benefits package that includes: a choice of medical insurance plans, dental insurance, vision insurance, pretax commuter, health, and dependent care accounts, employer paid short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, the opportunity to contribute to a retirement account, and more!

To Apply:

Please submit your resume and cover letter.

Equal Opportunity Employer

JDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We conduct all employment-related activities without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or any other classification protected by applicable Local, State or Federal employment discrimination laws. JDC welcomes diversity in the workplace.