What are the responsibilities and job description for the Housing Attorney – Veterans (No eviction defense) Hybrid, 4-day week position at National Legal Aid & Defender Association?
Position Description
Hybrid position; Four-day work week.
Organization Description
Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. (MHAS) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of low-income adults and children with mental health disabilities. We empower our clients to assert their rights, maximize their autonomy, achieve equity, and secure the resources they need to thrive in our communities. MHAS advocates on behalf of people of all ages, with an emphasis on obtaining government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination. MHAS also serves as a resource to the community by providing training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates. Additionally, MHAS participates in impact litigation and policy work to improve the lives of people with mental health disabilities.
About The Partner
Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) helps individuals with mental health needs, including transition-age youth, Veterans and their families, and those who may be struggling with homelessness. Their mission is to ensure that people with mental health needs achieve meaningful, healthy lives in their communities. MHALA uses an integrated, comprehensive service model that meets each individual where they are and tailors services to each person’s needs.
This position will partner with MHALA’s Veterans Services program to help Veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. MHALA’s Veterans services focus on housing stability and sustainability, including employment training and placement, to prevent and reduce homelessness and to promote stable living. MHALA offers personal financial planning as well as temporary financial assistance to help Veterans get back on their feet, including funds available to pay for rent and utilities.
Job Description
MHAS seeks to hire either a Senior or Staff Housing Attorney to lead MHAS’s behavioral health-legal partnership with MHALA’s Veterans Program. This partnership specifically targets low-income veterans with mental health disabilities at risk of homelessness. Through this project, MHAS provides legal advocacy for veterans to ensure they have the housing and other resources needed to achieve better mental health outcomes and overall well-being.
Attorneys with fewer than four years of experience may be considered for the position of Staff Attorney. Attorneys with four or more years of experience may be considered for the position of Senior Attorney, which handles cases related to the same subject matter but with an expectation that the cases will require a high level of legal expertise and experience, and an expectation that the Senior Attorney will provide legal training and technical assistance to other MHAS staff.
The ideal candidate will be expected to respond quickly to legal referrals from our partner in a range of subject areas, including, primarily, housing, public benefits, and tickets and expungement. This position will focus on homelessness prevention, providing direct representation to clients in conflicts with landlords, housing authorities, and non-profit housing and service providers, including pre-eviction legal services and legal services to improve habitability and ensure receipt of income or benefits to improve housing stability. Note: This position will not provide eviction defense representation in court.
Other responsibilities will include providing legal training and technical assistance to both staff and participants at Mental Health America of Los Angeles’s Veterans Program. The attorney will also take on other client and policy work as deemed appropriate to further MHAS’s mission and client goals.
Job Responsibilities Will Include
This is a hybrid position. While most work can be done remotely, and there are no regularly scheduled in-office days for the position, the Attorney will be required to attend two monthly MHALA meetings at their sites in Long Beach and Palmdale (one meeting per month at each site). Additionally, the Attorney may occasionally be required to attend in-person meetings at the MHAS office in Glendale, at partner organizations and/or other locations. All MHAS staff have access to the MHAS headquarters office as needed. MHAS equips all employees working from home with necessary technology and other office supplies. The Housing Attorney will be required to live in the Los Angeles area.
ANNUAL SALARY: $75,000 - $105,000 ($92,000 - $105,000 if filled by Senior Attorney; $75,000 - $89,000 if filled by Staff Attorney).
Four-day Work Week, Fringe Benefits, & Work Culture
On January 1, 2023, MHAS proudly and permanently adopted a four-day work week. All full-time MHAS employees, including this position, work four eight-hour days per week. The MHAS office is closed on Fridays.
Other benefits include paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave; employee health, dental, vision, long term disability, and life insurance; and mileage, parking, and transit fare reimbursement.
MHAS is proud of its collegial, family-friendly culture that respects the work/life balance of its employees. To that end, MHAS is willing to consider flexible work schedules on a case-by-case basis. MHAS also provides employees with frequent wellness opportunities, including trainings on stress management and mindfulness, group meditations, and regular, informal staff gatherings.
Commitment To Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Mental Health Advocacy Services seeks to fill all positions with people who share our values, including our organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage all interested individuals to apply - especially people of color; women; people from low-income backgrounds; people living with mental health and/or physical disabilities; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary; immigrants; people who have been affected by mass incarceration; and people from other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We strongly value lived experience with homelessness, housing insecurity, and/or economic instability. We believe that diversity is both a source of program strength and a matter of fundamental human fairness.
Hybrid position; Four-day work week.
Organization Description
Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. (MHAS) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of low-income adults and children with mental health disabilities. We empower our clients to assert their rights, maximize their autonomy, achieve equity, and secure the resources they need to thrive in our communities. MHAS advocates on behalf of people of all ages, with an emphasis on obtaining government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination. MHAS also serves as a resource to the community by providing training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates. Additionally, MHAS participates in impact litigation and policy work to improve the lives of people with mental health disabilities.
About The Partner
Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) helps individuals with mental health needs, including transition-age youth, Veterans and their families, and those who may be struggling with homelessness. Their mission is to ensure that people with mental health needs achieve meaningful, healthy lives in their communities. MHALA uses an integrated, comprehensive service model that meets each individual where they are and tailors services to each person’s needs.
This position will partner with MHALA’s Veterans Services program to help Veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. MHALA’s Veterans services focus on housing stability and sustainability, including employment training and placement, to prevent and reduce homelessness and to promote stable living. MHALA offers personal financial planning as well as temporary financial assistance to help Veterans get back on their feet, including funds available to pay for rent and utilities.
Job Description
MHAS seeks to hire either a Senior or Staff Housing Attorney to lead MHAS’s behavioral health-legal partnership with MHALA’s Veterans Program. This partnership specifically targets low-income veterans with mental health disabilities at risk of homelessness. Through this project, MHAS provides legal advocacy for veterans to ensure they have the housing and other resources needed to achieve better mental health outcomes and overall well-being.
Attorneys with fewer than four years of experience may be considered for the position of Staff Attorney. Attorneys with four or more years of experience may be considered for the position of Senior Attorney, which handles cases related to the same subject matter but with an expectation that the cases will require a high level of legal expertise and experience, and an expectation that the Senior Attorney will provide legal training and technical assistance to other MHAS staff.
The ideal candidate will be expected to respond quickly to legal referrals from our partner in a range of subject areas, including, primarily, housing, public benefits, and tickets and expungement. This position will focus on homelessness prevention, providing direct representation to clients in conflicts with landlords, housing authorities, and non-profit housing and service providers, including pre-eviction legal services and legal services to improve habitability and ensure receipt of income or benefits to improve housing stability. Note: This position will not provide eviction defense representation in court.
Other responsibilities will include providing legal training and technical assistance to both staff and participants at Mental Health America of Los Angeles’s Veterans Program. The attorney will also take on other client and policy work as deemed appropriate to further MHAS’s mission and client goals.
Job Responsibilities Will Include
- Providing competent legal assistance to clients through advice and counsel, research and writing, negotiation, and administrative advocacy;
- Identifying clients’ legal issues and devising effective strategies to solve clients’ legal problems;
- Maintaining an independent caseload and providing support on other cases as needed (for Senior Attorneys, including cases that require a high level of legal expertise and experience);
- Researching unfamiliar areas of law using appropriate legal research tools;
- Drafting clear and concise legal documents using proper tone and language based on audience;
- Providing technical assistance and training to staff at other organizations and to members of the community;
- Supervising law clerks and collaborating with pro bono partners;
- Assisting with project administration and reporting;
- Participating in policy advocacy projects as requested;
- In-person attendance twice a month at MHALA meetings in Long Beach and Palmdale (one meeting per month at each site);
- For Senior Attorneys, providing substantive expertise, guidance, and training to the entire MHAS legal services team; and
- Assisting with other projects and tasks as identified related to MHAS’ mission.
This is a hybrid position. While most work can be done remotely, and there are no regularly scheduled in-office days for the position, the Attorney will be required to attend two monthly MHALA meetings at their sites in Long Beach and Palmdale (one meeting per month at each site). Additionally, the Attorney may occasionally be required to attend in-person meetings at the MHAS office in Glendale, at partner organizations and/or other locations. All MHAS staff have access to the MHAS headquarters office as needed. MHAS equips all employees working from home with necessary technology and other office supplies. The Housing Attorney will be required to live in the Los Angeles area.
ANNUAL SALARY: $75,000 - $105,000 ($92,000 - $105,000 if filled by Senior Attorney; $75,000 - $89,000 if filled by Staff Attorney).
Four-day Work Week, Fringe Benefits, & Work Culture
On January 1, 2023, MHAS proudly and permanently adopted a four-day work week. All full-time MHAS employees, including this position, work four eight-hour days per week. The MHAS office is closed on Fridays.
Other benefits include paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave; employee health, dental, vision, long term disability, and life insurance; and mileage, parking, and transit fare reimbursement.
MHAS is proud of its collegial, family-friendly culture that respects the work/life balance of its employees. To that end, MHAS is willing to consider flexible work schedules on a case-by-case basis. MHAS also provides employees with frequent wellness opportunities, including trainings on stress management and mindfulness, group meditations, and regular, informal staff gatherings.
Commitment To Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Mental Health Advocacy Services seeks to fill all positions with people who share our values, including our organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage all interested individuals to apply - especially people of color; women; people from low-income backgrounds; people living with mental health and/or physical disabilities; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary; immigrants; people who have been affected by mass incarceration; and people from other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We strongly value lived experience with homelessness, housing insecurity, and/or economic instability. We believe that diversity is both a source of program strength and a matter of fundamental human fairness.
Salary : $75,000 - $105,000