Staff Attorney - Woodstock, IL

Position Description

Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. is seeking a Staff Attorney to join our team in the Woodstock office. Staff attorneys at PSLS provide a wide range of legal services to some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, including low-income individuals, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities. We focus our services on legal problems that affect our clients' ability to meet their basic human needs, including physical safety, access to healthcare, adequate housing, and financial stability. Prairie State is the only legal aid organization in most of our area, and we pride ourselves on providing high-quality legal services to our clients while fostering a motivating, collaborative, and rewarding work environment with plenty of opportunities for professional growth.

Responsibilities

Among other duties as assigned, the Staff Attorney will:

• Provide legal services to low-income individuals covering a wide range of legal issues, including housing, family, public benefits, consumer, health, education, and other areas
• Interview applicants for legal services and assess their legal issues with a focus on those issues that have an immediate impact on their basic human needs
• Provide legal services, including legal research and factual investigation, counsel and advice, brief services and document preparation, dispute resolution, and representation of clients in administrative and judicial proceedings
• Develop and maintain networking relationships with local bar associations and with local, state, and federal governments and community agencies that serve our client population
• Conduct outreach events with client communities, including client education and intake events at community partner locations
• Provide accurate and complete information for grant reporting to grant funders, including documenting services in the case record
• Actively participate in an internal task force related to one or more areas of our practice
• Exhibit a high level of personal energy, organization, and commitment to the position and the PSLS mission
  
  

Salary and Benefits

Benefits

The Staff Attorney position is a full-time position at 37.5 hours per week. PSLS offers a competitive salary compared to similar organizations. The salary range for the Staff Attorney position is $70,000 - $90,231 annually, with increases for each year of relevant experience. PSLS is committed to providing an excellent, comprehensive benefits package to its full-time employees that includes:

• Health insurance, including the opportunity to qualify for a wellness credit
• Dental Insurance
• Vision insurance
• 403b Retirement Plan, including employer contributions
• Extensive training and education program
• Flex scheduling and partial remote work available
• PTO that starts at 3 weeks/year and increases with additional years worked at PSLS
• Paid sick leave
• 6 weeks of paid parental leave after one year of employment
• 12 Paid holidays
  
  

The Organization

PSLS is a nonprofit civil legal aid organization that has served northern and central Illinois for more than 45 years, maintains 11 office locations, and has a staff of over 200, including training and litigation staff with extensive experience. Our 36-county service area includes rural communities, suburban areas, and mid-size urban cities, which necessitates the development of diverse strategies, and we encourage our staff to cultivate and utilize creative approaches to reach and serve our client population. Employees of PSLS benefit from the expertise and community connections of their local office staff, as well as robust program-wide resources. We strive to provide a range of services responsive to our clients' needs. PSLS has excellent fiscal controls and upholds the highest rating from Charity Navigator and Guidestar. For more information regarding PSLS services and operations, please visit our website at https://pslegal.org.