Staff Attorney, Family Law Unit

De Novo, a community-based organization that provides integrated legal, mental health, and support services to empower our clients to achieve their goals seeks a full-time staff attorney in our Family Law Unit. De Novo strives to create a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and safe work environment that welcomes, encourages, and values everyone’s contributions and fosters an exchange of ideas and mutual learning. We strongly encourage qualified candidates from diverse personal, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds to apply.

Responsibilities include:

1. Provide legal assistance, including advice, brief service, legal representation, case consultation, in-depth intake, and referrals to eligible clients in family law cases.
2. Make referrals for clients as appropriate to counseling staff and/or case manager for crisis intervention, safety planning, case management, therapy, and other services.
3. Collaborate with community-based social services and other legal services programs.
4. Provide family law consultations to community partners and their clients. When appropriate refer clients to De Novo’s housing, disability, and immigration units.
5. Staff De Novo’s Family Law Clinic. At the clinic, we provide legal assistance, including advice, brief service, case consultation, and referrals.
6. Conduct community outreach to agencies serving victims of crime, including agencies that serve ethnically diverse populations.
7. Ensure that clients are aware of available services including victim compensation.
8. Collect required data and assist with the preparation of grant reports as needed.
9. Recruit, train, and supervise volunteer attorneys and law students to handle cases.

Qualifications/Competencies include:

1. Admitted to Massachusetts bar ** with 2 or more years of experience in family law.
2. Some experience in and/or exposure to immigration, housing and disability law preferred.
3. Strong writing, communication, oral advocacy and organizational skills.
4. Experience working with and/or representing a broad range of people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes.
5. Strong writing and oral advocacy skills.
6. Ability to supervise effectively.
7. Strong computer skills.
8. Bilingual preferred.

**An applicant who is admitted to the bar of another state must be eligible to practice as a foreign lawyer under SJC Rule 3.04 and become a member of the Mass. bar within 2 years.

HOURS, SALARY, AND BENEFITS: The position is 35 hours/week. Salary range is $68,000 to $80,000 ($72,000 w/ 2 years’ experience) dependent on experience. Excellent fringe benefit package, including 100% employer paid health insurance for employee and families, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance, vacation, personal, and sick time, 403(b) plan, Flexible Spending Plan, training and professional development opportunities.

To Apply: Applicants should submit 1) a cover letter addressing experience and interests relevant to the position and 2) a resume, by e-mail to John Froio, Deputy Director, at jfroio@denovo.org. No phone calls please. Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be considered on a rolling basis. For more information about De Novo refer to our website: www.denovo.org

De Novo is a Fair Employment Practices/Equal Employment Opportunity/disability accessible employer committed to maintaining a diverse workplace. Qualified candidates from diverse personal, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to apply.