Domestic Violence & Family Law Team Manager (Attorney)

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) seeks an attorney to serve as one of our Domestic Violence & Family Law Team Managers. The Team Manager has the overall responsibility for supervision and mentorship of staff assigned. Team Managers make personnel and legal decisions on a regular basis. 

This position can be based out of any of TRLA's offices (https://www.trla.org/offices), including Victoria, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Del Rio, and Edinburg.

Primary duties and responsibilities of this position include:

• Supervising the legal work of the staff assigned by the Group Coordinator, including biannual case reviews, regular spot checks of closed cases, and regular check-ins with staff to ensure that staff are providing high quality, trauma informed and holistic services;
• Ensuring staff supervised are accepting cases in line with Group priorities and that attorney has a balanced and appropriate caseload in line with Group expectations for an attorney of their experience level;
• Assisting Group Coordinator in setting expectations for staff supervised and clearly communicating expectations with staff;
• Reviewing intake disposition decisions on a regular basis for staff supervised to assure that equitable treatment is extended to all clients and that disposition decisions are made in a manner that is consistent with TRLA policies and priorities;
• Encouraging and supporting a healthy work culture and being able to recognize and support employees with vicarious trauma and burnout, including ensuring that staff are able to take advantage of breaks and time off from work;
• Identifying staff for mentorship and co-counseling opportunities and recognizing staff strengths and how best to utilize them;
• Reviewing and approving Litigation Tier Approval submitted by team members for new litigation consistent with TRLA policies and priorities;
• Approving litigation expenses of up to $500 per case;
• Reviewing all significant cases on a regular basis to assure that the quality and timeliness of legal work by team members is maintained;
• Enforcing compliance with relevant grants, funding regulations, and program policies;
• Maintaining coordinated communications among team members on case developments, co-counsel assignments, and developments in the law through regular meetings and/or conference calls, email, or other written materials;
• Encouraging staff development and promoting continuing legal education activities for staff to assure that they have access to relevant training opportunities;
• Coordinating and supervising community legal education and outreach activities for staff;
• Identifying cases and clients in the practice area that do not readily access the intake system and assuring that all clients have equal access to program resources;
• Preparing routine forms and default legal advice, developing procedures, and making recommendations for other improvements that enhance the efficiency of program operations;
• Monitoring and reviewing changes in laws, and coordinating forums to review such changes;
• Analyzing case trends and issues affecting clients;
• Implementing policies and procedures adopted by the TRLA Board of Directors or promulgated by the Executive Director;
• Approving leave requests of team members in coordination with branch managers;
• Disciplining and terminating employee team members when case-related;
• Responding originally to team member’s substantive complaints;
• Approving case-related training and travel requests of team members;
• Having a public relations role with the bar, community, and client organizations as a TRLA representative;
• Taking all actions necessary or appropriate to bring team resources to bear on the legal problems of clients, in a manner that is consistent with program rules and policies. 

Qualifications & Preferences

• Licensed to practice law in Texas, able to waive in, or pass the next available bar exam. 
• Experience in family law and working with survivors of violence.
• Excellent and independently driven case development, legal research, and writing skills.
• Demonstrated team-player with strong interpersonal skills in collaborating and communicating with others.
• Preference for candidates with experience in project management or other supervisory roles.
• Strong office management organizational skills, including implementing systems to ensure the team complies with various requirements and meets case deadlines.
• Preference given to persons bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Experience working with diverse populations, including non-English-speaking and migrant communities.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice; preferred knowledge of the TRLA service delivery area.