Staff Attorney, Housing Justice

BACKGROUND:

Philadelphia Legal Assistance (“PLA”) is the federally funded civil legal aid provider for Philadelphia’s indigent community.  We provide high-volume, high-quality and innovative legal representation in administrative and court proceedings, including all levels of state and federal courts. We also provide community education, advice, referral, and support of pro se representation. Our focus is on legal matters addressing basic human needs: family safety, health, income maintenance, and home preservation.

PLA seeks to immediately hire a full-time attorney to work as part of its Consumer Housing Unit, with a focus on tangled title cases.  The attorney selected for this exciting and demanding position will help low-income individuals throughout Philadelphia preserve their homes, stabilizing families and neighborhoods in the process.  In many cases, the attorneys will be saving homes that have been passed down through multiple generations or are the subject of a title dispute.   This attorney will represent clients facing a variety of tangled title legal issues arising out of, but not limited to, mortgage foreclosure and tax foreclosure issues.  The work will also include community outreach and education. 

Responsibilities include:

• Probate and estate administration;
• Register of Wills pleading and practice;
• Orphans’ Court litigation;
• Filing quiet title actions;
• Defending against ejectment actions;
• Drafting, executing, and recording deeds and other documents necessary to enable homeowners to obtain record ownership of their homes and supervising paralegals preparing such documents;
• Participating actively in in working groups and task forces to reduce and prevent tangled titles and to achieve housing equity;
• Pursuing litigation and other strategies designed to reduce obstacles to individual homeownership.
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QUALIFICATIONS:

• Law degree and admission to a PA Bar, or a willingness to take the PA bar exam.  Candidates with at least 3 years of client representation experience are preferred, but less experienced attorneys will be considered;
• Creativity, tenacity, empathy, patience, and a passion for justice for low-income individuals;
• Experience in probate and real property law preferred, but not required;
• Supervisory experience preferred, but not required;
• Fluency in a second language, particularly Spanish, preferred;
• Ability to manage a significant caseload of individual clients;
• Excellent legal analysis skills;
• Excellent work ethic, organization, and communication skills;
• Excellent legal research and writing skills;
• Excellent litigation skills and oral advocacy skills;
• Experience and interest in policy work and others forms of systemic advocacy;
• Possess sound professional and legal judgment;
• Experience and ability to work with low-income and vulnerable diverse individuals;
• Illustrate a high-level commitment to racial justice advocacy;
• The ability to work cooperatively as part of a team.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: 

Salary is commensurate with years of experience based on union scale. For example, Law clerk (less than 1 full year practicing law without bar passage) salary is currently $59,000 annually. Attorney 1 (less than 1 full year practicing law with bar passage) salary is currently $68,500 annually. Attorney VI (five years practicing law) salary is $81,800 annually. PLA offers a generous benefit package in addition to salary: health insurance premiums paid in full for employee and family, cash incentives for health insurance opt out, vacation, personal, and sick leave, thirteen (13) paid holidays, 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution based on years of service, paid parental leave, life insurance and short-and-long term disability benefits.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) is an equal opportunity employer. PLA values a diverse work environment and strongly encourages women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, people who have experienced poverty or homelessness, and people who have had prior contact with the juvenile, criminal, or child welfare systems to apply. PLA invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice.  Interested applicants should email a cover letter and resume, preferably in one PDF document, to: work@philalegal.org.            

Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as the position will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is identified.