Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) seeks a dedicated Florida licensed attorney to supervise its Fair Housing Unit in order to enforce the Fair Housing Act throughout Northeast Florida, which includes Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties, through investigation, enforcement, and education. Also responsible for providing legal assistance to eligible clients of the program and managing the performance of Fair Housing-related contracts and grants with a variety of collaboration partners.

What you get when you come to JALA

JALA is the premier litigation legal aid firm in the Southeastern United States. We are mission-driven, and our team makes a difference in our community. As a JALA employee, you can expect immediate hands-on experience interviewing and counseling clients as well as litigating cases in Federal and State court. Staff are expected to take on challenging cases for our at-risk clients while being mentored and supported in taking on such cases. While there is a premium placed on initiative and self-motivation, you can expect to be supervised by lawyers who are recognized as subject matter experts in their field (JALA is the only law firm in Florida with two Florida Bar Consumer Protection Lawyers of the Year on staff, for example.) Our lawyers and paralegals regularly serve on local and statewide committees, and our lawyers have gone on to become hearing officers, magistrates, judges and administrative law judges. In addition to the opportunity to litigate early, our lawyers and staff are trusted as professionals - we have adopted a hybrid work environment (although not all positions are able to work remotely.) Regardless of what others may prefer, we embrace diversity and inclusion as a way to ensure we are the most prepared to offer the best and highest level of representation for our clients, as this is what they deserve from us.

Salary/Benefits

Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits package include, but are not limited to, medical, dental, vision, long-term disability insurance, group life insurance, remote/onsite work hybrid, and generous leave policy (e.g., 13 paid holidays plus 22 personal leave days in first year, one-month sabbatical every four years).

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is an Equal Opportunity Employer

• Perform intake interviews for applicants and assist in screening clients for eligibility for full representation.
• Provide high-quality legal assistance to eligible clients on matters pertaining to their situations.
• Maintain a caseload commensurate with abilities and caseload difficulty.
• Ensure that client files, data and reports are accurate and complete.
• Maintain the highest ethical standards and stay current with updates and changes to the law.
• Granting reporting – monitor progress of fair housing grant(s) to include goals, outcomes, deliverables, and all other contract terms for assigned personnel through regular communication and meetings; draft and provide reports on the progress of grants to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Comply with all applicable regulations, policies, and grant requirements.
• Support, promote and participate in community education, outreach, and developing good public relations with the client community, state and local bars, and other community groups.
• Direct and monitor activities of attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers.
• Perform other duties and projects as required by management.

PREFERRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Florida Bar membership.
• Five years civil practice experience.
• Minimum of one-year federal court experience.
• Minimum of one year experience with a mix of urban and rural regions.
• Bilingual or multi-lingual abilities.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Florida Bar membership.
• Three years practice experience.

The mission of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is to provide high-quality legal assistance to low-income and special needs groups – to empower them to accomplish energetic and affirmative advocacy, all to alleviate the circumstances, incidents, and causes of poverty and discrimination.

Developed during the Great Depression and subsequent recession of 1937, the organization that has become Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. (JALA) was born when a group of Jacksonville Bar attorneys banded together to provide legal services to those in need. Called different names over the years including Duval County Legal Aid Association, it was officially named Jacksonville Area Legal Aid in 1973. The organization achieved 501(c)3 status in 1976. JALA now serves 17 counties of North Florida including Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Nassau, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union.