Educational Law Advocate

Position Summary
Under the supervision of the Managing Attorney and working in support of the staff attorney, this advocate will help clients access special education services and help perform outreach, including in a clinic setting.

About The Organization
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients' legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere

Essential Functions

• Conducts initial and follow-up interviews of applicants and clients in the office, on the phone and at outreach locations outside of the office.
• Responds to calls from clients in a timely manner; assesses clients' needs, schedules appointments, handles a large case load.
• Gathers, reviews, and organizes education and medical records for special education cases.
• Assists with community outreach and education.
• Assists clients at school meetings and administrative hearings.
• Does basic and routine factual investigation and legal research.
• Prepares memorandums, letters, and standard legal documents for attorneys' review.
• Develops and maintains good working relationships with local school districts, the County, and other social service organizations.
• Compliance with all program and grant requirements.
• Assists team with administrative tasks as needed.
• Participates in scheduled team meetings, training sessions and other functions as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned by management.

Requirements
Qualifications:

• B.A. degree, or A.A. degree and paralegal certificate from a recognized paralegal training program, or demonstrated equivalent experience which shows strong writing, verbal, reading analytical, and research skills.
• Ability to gather and complete information from clients in a telephone interview or in person interview.
• Ability to respond to clients in a calm, empathetic and professional manner while courteously directing the conversation to pertinent issues.
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements.
• Must have reliable transportation.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills to handle individual caseload.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred.
• Experience in client customer service including intake, interviews and research related to legal issues, or experience in the field and understanding of related education systems, laws, and regulations.
• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.
• Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds, including being able to communicate clearly and effectively with those who may have cultural or language barriers, and those who suffer from physical or mental disabilities.
• Experience in the field of Education law or a background in education preferred. Applicants without background in education or education law will be expected to identify how they will prepare for the position if hired.

Pay And Benefits
The Educational Rights Advocate is an hourly position with a pay range of $22.53-$30.77. The starting pay rate is $25.28. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision, and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program and is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive health decision making, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Hybrid Work Environment
Legal Aid Society of San Diego ("LASSD") has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD's normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.