Open Positions at Florida Legal Services

Florida Legal Services is seeking a full-time attorney to join our Survivor Advocacy team.  

Location:

• Flexible; Remote

• Office locations in Newberry, FL and Orlando, FL

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Survivor Services Project Attorney provides a wide range of civil legal assistance including legal advice, representation, and advocacy to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Services are provided throughout Florida, both remotely and in person. As part of a holistic approach, legal assistance may encompass a wide scope of civil legal issues arising out of the victimization, including protection orders, family law matters, and legal issues related to immigration, housing, consumer, public benefits, education, and employment.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Legal Advocacy and Assistance to crime victims. Activities include:

  • Responding to calls and referrals to the Florida Legal Services Statewide Domestic Violence Legal Hotline, conducting intake, and screening callers for legal issues that can be served under the Survivor Services Project.

  • Providing high-quality legal assistance and representation to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Including but not limited to: screening potential clients for legal assistance under the Survivor Services project; conducting client interviews, fact analysis and legal research as part of litigation development; providing legal advice and limited assistance to clients; drafting letters, legal motions, briefs, memos, pleadings and other documents; drafting and conducting all aspects of discovery; engaging in effective and regular communication with clients, witnesses, co-counsel, experts, and others as applicable; and engaging in legal advocacy in court, administrative proceedings, and other forums as lead counsel or co-counsel.

  • Providing client assistance with crime victim compensation.

  • Travel as needed to appearances in court or other forums and for project management, client interviews, depositions, fact analysis, meetings with witnesses, and other case-related activities.

• Information & Referral  - The attorney will provide clients with appropriate information and make appropriate referrals for services, both within and outside Florida Legal Services.

• Volunteer Engagement  - The attorney will be responsible for recruiting and supervising volunteers to provide assistance to clients under the Survivor Services Project, including:

  • Developing and maintaining collaborations with pro bono attorneys, paralegals, legal fellows, and law students.

  • Recruiting and acting as the point of contact for volunteer attorneys, law students, and other relevant professionals in the provision of direct legal assistance to clients or legal support to the attorney.

  • Traveling as needed for volunteer recruitment and training.

  • Client Identification.

• The attorney will attend stakeholder meetings and other public education events to identify potential clients to be served under the Survivor Services Project.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Keeps contemporaneous time records on a daily basis.

• Attends FLS internal department and program-wide meetings.

• Attends training programs that enhance capacity to serve crime victims and efficiently perform work activities (e.g., Marital and Family Law training, LegalServer training).

• Acts as a resource for FLS staff in substantive areas covered by the Survivor Services Project.

• Documents all data points required by FLS, funders, and professional responsibilities in the LegalServer case management system.

• Coordinates the provision of legal assistance to clients with other service providers to ensure that Florida Legal Services is not duplicating services provided by other agencies.

• Travel as needed for meetings, trainings, and other FLS-approved activities.

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate Degree with 3 years of legal experience (required)

• Admission to The Florida Bar (required)

• State or Federal court civil litigation or comparable legal experience, including domestic violence or human trafficking issues.

• Excellent research and writing skills.

• Bilingual with fluency in Spanish, both oral and written.

• Consistent, high-quality attention to detail and the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.

• Familiarity with, or commitment to develop, a trauma-informed approach to legal advocacy and an understanding of race and gender equity issues in representing victims.

• Strong written and verbal communication, organizational skills, and time management abilities.

• Initiative to work independently and ability to collaborate as part of a team.

• Valid driver’s license.

• Ability to travel, including overnight travel.

• Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice.

• Commitment to work and learn in a technology-based distributed office environment.

• Experience using LegalServer (or similar computer-based case management system) and Google Workspace software platform is a plus.

• Experience in immigration law and/or criminal law is a plus.

Benefits:

• Salary will be set depending on experience, very competitive with public interest opportunities.

• Opportunities for seniority and leadership are commensurate with experience and more experienced applicants are encouraged to apply.

• FLS offers an excellent benefits package including 17 paid holidays a year, generous paid time off and family leave policies, and fully-paid medical, dental, life, and vision insurance for employees.

How to apply:

• If you are interested in working with us, please submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three professional references. Please include your salary requirements. Submissions should be in PDF format or Google Docs format (sent to us as a link) to work@floridalegal.org.em description