Staff Attorney

Description:

A Social Services Organization has an immediate opening for a Staff Attorney to be a part of the dynamic Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) team. CPU represents clients in a wide and exciting range of consumer rights matters by helping low-income individuals fight devastating fraud, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection practices as well as assist those in need of crucial loan modifications and foreclosure defense.
The attorney for this position have the unique opportunity to be a part of the Taxi Advocacy Project (TAP) which assists NYC's yellow taxi medallion owners in various types of financial transactions and litigation cases. The attorney will work with lenders to resolve or reduce clients' grueling medallion loan debts. This is a unique chance to work with a dedicated population in desperate need of help, with NYLAG being one of the few agencies addressing medallion loan debt specifically. They will focus on providing the crucial screening, resources, information and some legal advocacy for clients; maintaining a significant client caseload of his/her/their own, and performing important legal intakes with clients and potential clients from a range of referral sources. The attorney's time may also be spent as needed on a wide range of relevant and necessary tasks for CPU, including conducting legal research; investigating new areas of relevant law; and many other tasks which may arise within and outside the unit.
The attorney working full-time on this project must be prepared to work out of the TLC center located in Long Island City up to 4 days a week, as needed. For the remainder of the days, the Attorney will be located in our main offices in the financial district, as well as go to court, clinics, work remotely or staff and other locations as needed.
Duties and Responsibilities:

• Desire to work directly with clients
• Represent clients in the restructuring of their taxi medallion loans
• Represent clients in the sale or transfers of their taxi medallion
• Handle various business transactions for medallion owners
• Handle real estate transactions from contract through closing
• Represent clients in Chapter 7 bankruptcies
• Represent clients in Surrogate Court matters
• Represent clients in consumer debt litigation
• Conduct thorough legal intakes with clients in need
• Represent diverse clients in various and dynamic legal areas including consumer law, consumer debt, bankruptcy, foreclosure prevention, and other financial related areas of law
• Litigate and conduct trials when necessary
• Investigate facts through interviews and document collection
• Advocate zealously on behalf of clients opposite various plaintiffs, lenders, organizations, and government agencies
• Prepare a variety of legal documents for own cases as well as to assist other attorneys
• Provide oral and written translations for attorneys who represent non-English-speaking clients in various scenarios, including court appearances if necessary
• Perform legal research
• Draft and distribute various outreach materials
• Conduct relevant legal workshops to client communities
• Data entry in client database and other outlets
• Manage and assign tasks to volunteers as needed
• Report to supervising attorneys on cases, legal strategies, scheduling, and other matters
• Work closely and collaborate with NYLAG's team of experienced attorneys, supervisors, and case handlers, and receive both hands-on and formal training.
• Other responsibilities as assigned

Qualifications:

• Admission to the New York State Bar Required
• Federal Court Admission preferred
• Fluency in any of the following languages is preferred: Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Haitian-Creole, Russian
• Experience with New York City legal firms, social services organizations, or experience with consumer law preferred
• A commitment to, and passion for, serving vulnerable New Yorkers and immigrant populations of diverse backgrounds
• Ability to handle a diverse caseload
• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• A desire to learn the relevant advocacy strategies and law
• Strong commitment to, and passion for public service
• Excellent communication, research, and writing skills
• Excellent oral, written, and analytic abilities
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work well with and enjoy collaborating with others

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