Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid: Litigation Director
Position Description: ABOUT: Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (Legal Aid) is seeking a full-time Litigation Director for its Minneapolis office. Legal Aid’s litigation practice includes representing clients in state and federal district courts, state and federal appellate courts, administrative agency hearings, and class action litigation. Legal Aid has two Litigation Directors who work as a team in supporting litigation activities organization-wide.
THE PROGRAM: Legal Aid is a 7-office, 75 attorney, nonprofit law firm, providing free legal representation and services to people with low incomes, people with disabilities, and elderly Minnesotans. Legal Aid provides these services in the following areas of law: consumer protection, disability rights, family safety/stability, government benefits, healthcare access, housing safety/stability, immigration, senior law, tax, wage theft, and youth law. To learn more about our work, visit our website or our Facebook page.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Apply the principles of Legal Aid’s Racial Justice Values Statement in all interactions
• Originate, develop, and implement litigation strategies to advance Legal Aid’s mission and Racial Justice Values and to vindicate the civil and human rights of Legal Aid’s clients
• Actively lead and co-counsel in affirmative cases in federal and state courts, appellate litigation in all venues, and all other non-routine, complex litigation matters as needed and requested
• Teach the full range of litigation skills to Legal Aid colleagues
• Mentor attorneys and advocates in developing litigation skills
• Develop individual and organization-wide litigation trainings
• Help identify systemic inequities and legal problems susceptible to litigation and/or policy advocacy
• Develop strategies to recover attorneys’ fees in litigation and to take cases with the potential for fee recovery to support Legal Aid’s justice-seeking work
• Participate on Legal Aid’s senior management team
• Lead special projects as needed and requested
QUALIFICATIONS: Successfully fulfilling the above responsibilities will require the following skills and experience:
• Must be licensed to practice law in Minnesota or eligible for admission by reciprocity
• Minimum of 7 years of litigation experience required
• Demonstrated interest in and commitment to racial justice and the needs of our client communities, using litigation to address systemic inequities in these communities
• Strong litigation skills with a depth and breadth of litigation experience, including first-chair trial and appellate experience
• Demonstrated teaching and mentoring experience
• Demonstrated ability to work across multiple substantive areas of law
• Ability to identify systemic legal issues and creative solutions to multi-faceted legal problems
• Willingness to travel and work among Legal Aid’s offices in Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Willmar
• Proficiency using technology in litigation
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office required
• Diverse economic, social, and cultural experiences preferred
• Language proficiency, particularly in Amharic, Hmong, Oromo, Somali, or Spanish preferred
SALARY: Depending on experience, plus benefits, including family health and dental insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance, and generous paid time off benefits
STARTING DATE: As soon as possible after the position is filled
APPLICATIONS: Submit resume, a cover letter explaining interest in the position, and salary requirements online at https://mylegalaid.org/employment by October 8th, 2021, or until position is filled.
If you require a reasonable accommodation for completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in our employee selection process, please contact Jolene Chestnut at jchestnut@mylegalaid.org.
Please direct all other inquiries to hiring@mylegalaid.org.
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.
Deadline: 10/8/2021
Eligibility: Attorneys
Location: Minneapolis, MN