Staff Attorney

The Alliance for Children's Rights is a nonprofit organization that provides free, holistic legal services and advocacy to youth and families impacted by child welfare and juvenile justice systems in Los Angeles County and works to enact policy changes statewide. Our lawyers, advocates, and social workers, together with hundreds of pro bono attorneys and community volunteers, work to ensure young people in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, and those living in guardianships or who have been adopted can overcome barriers to stability and success and access the education, healthcare, and financial supports they need. Since 1992, we have helped over 150,000 children and young adults. For more information visit: www.allianceforchildrensrights.org.

The Alliance for Children’s Rights is seeking a dedicated individual to join our Education Program as a Senior Special Education/Early Intervention Attorney. This is an exempt, full-time paid position.

*This is a remote position but will need to travel to the Los Angeles office on occasion.*

WHAT YOUR IMPACT WILL BE:

The Education Program prides itself on providing its team members with the support and resources necessary to be successful. We believe that education (including early intervention) services are essential in creating opportunity for youth, especially those facing systemic barriers to success, including those who face multiple barriers such as children of color and children with disabilities – both of whom are disproportionately overrepresented in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We ground our advocacy in our clients’ goals and our vision for creating education equity from an intersectional perspective.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Attorney will support children with more complicated disabilities and their families, within the education, early intervention, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems to secure the education services our clients have identified as necessary to their success in school and in life, by providing zealous advocacy in IFSP and IEP meetings, informal dispute resolution, and mediations. The position will include training and supervising pro bono attorneys, interns, and law clerks. The Senior Attorney will also assist in the development and delivery of community trainings and tools to support clients, caregivers, and other stakeholders (e.g., CASA, social workers, probation officers) in understanding special education and/or early intervention rights.

IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL POSSESS

• J.D. Degree
• California bar admission.
• 3+ years of special education advocacy, including representing disabled children with complex needs at IEP meetings, mediations, and/or due process hearings.
• Personal, educational, or professional experience in:regional center early intervention advocacy, school district special education advocacy; child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or education systems (e.g., former teacher or social worker, CASA,); and/or working with diverse populations, towards goals of equity and racial justice.
• Bilingual Spanish skills highly preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Excellent advanced written and oral communication, active listening, and presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with clients, attorneys, medical staff, child welfare and probation professionals, the judiciary, and members of the public
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to work independently and manage competing tasks in a fast-paced environment
• A strong work ethic, dedication, and enthusiasm for taking on responsibility
• Demonstrated ability to work as a team member with a pleasant and collegial approach
• Commitment to social justice
• Experience and comfort building rapport and working effectively with families, children, and young adults
• Proactive and flexible, with the ability to work in an environment with shifting priorities and demands
• Advanced negotiation skills demonstrated through attendance at multiple informal/alternative dispute resolutions, and/or mediations
• Ability to identify issues that require an administrative due process hearing, versus more informal measures of advocacy
• Demonstrated ability to independently handle a caseload of 30+ cases at any given time
• Capable of mentoring and supervising pro bono and junior Staff Attorneys, interns, and legal assistants

This is an exempt, full-time paid position, with target starting annual salary in the range of $75,000 to $90,000 DOE. Benefits include generous vacation and paid holidays; comprehensive health plans covering 100% of the employee cost of medical, dental and vision insurance; life insurance; flexible spending accounts for childcare and health expenses; generous retirement savings plan with company contributions to your 403(b) after one year of employment, and discounts on fitness memberships and other activities.

The Alliance for Children’s Rights is committed to building and supporting a culturally diverse and inclusive environment that values all staff members’ backgrounds and perspectives in our work. We strongly encourage individuals from all traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and prohibit discrimination against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other unlawful basis.