ABOUT US:

“It always seems impossible until it's done.” - Nelson Mandela

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. We believe poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. And to solve this, we just need to discover what the steps are.

At Open Door Legal, we're pioneering the country's first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us.

To achieve this ambitious goal, we've created an award-winning and best-in-class legal aid organization full of passionate, dynamic, gritty, quixotic, and team-oriented people.

We believe that injustice is the heart of poverty and we're looking for someone to join us in having a systemic impact on how we, as a society, ensure justice for all.

OVERVIEW OF POSITION:

Open Door Legal's employment law team is dedicated to serving San Francisco's low-income workers and working families with any and all legal issues connected to employment law. Our services range from administrative assistance with unemployment insurance applications and appeals to full-scale employment litigation in SF Superior Court. We've also begun to offer virtual wage and hour clinics to empower potential clients with the know-how to advocate for themselves. We anticipate that this will expand our wage and hour practice throughout the course of this year.  

Overall, this position is intended to be a challenging and rewarding experience for someone looking to hone their substantive legal skills and leadership and change lives along the way. This position is tasked with the overall leadership, management and direction of Open Door Legal's highly-effective Employment Law team. You should thrive off being versatile, gritty and willing to take calculated risks. Your leadership is demonstrated in the quality of the people you've led AND the work you've produced together. Cultural humility is not just conceptual to you, you embody it and commit to growth. Success in this role requires grit, dynamism, teamwork, care, and passion (our team's five values). You will report directly to our Legal Services Director. RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure that our communities continue to have access to exceptional employment law legal services while our Lead Employment Law Attorney is on parental leave for 6 months, particularly low-wage workers and those who've lost employment. 
• Manage 25+ employment law cases at various stages in the litigation process. Be able to make strategic decisions about each case some of which are in active litigation, administrative hearings, or settlement negotiations. 
• Directly represent clients which may require court appearances and administrative law hearings. Ideally spend 75% of your time on case work.
• Direct and litigate cases at San Francisco Superior Court in the Civil department. We currently have 5 cases in active unlimited civil litigation, 4 small claims cases, and 10 cases in the pre-litigation stage. We expect each of these areas to grow over the next year. 
• Represent clients at various stages of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) process. This includes providing medical records, drafting briefs, preparing direct exams and cross examinations and representing clients at hearing. We currently have 6 cases awaiting hearing at the Social Security Administration. 
•  Direct and attend administrative hearings at the DLSE and the EDD for UI appeals as needed. 
• Manage the company's employment law department which currently includes a paralegal (50% of their time is in employment, the other 50% is shared with the civil litigation team) , a summer legal intern and potentially a volunteer/fellow. 
• Direct the implementation of our quarterly employment law clinics where we train law students and pro bono legal volunteers to assist potential clients with wage and hour issues. 
• Lead knowledge management of all areas of plaintiff side employment law including discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour, and employment benefits. Maintain employment law teams uniform systems, checklists and templates
• The ideal candidate would have outside employment law mentors or would feel comfortable networking so as to create an employment law mentorship relationship. 
• Lead an average of 3 intakes a week and collaborate with the Legal Services Director on if we are taking those cases and at what scope. 
• Provide services and support to our low-income clients with sensitivity and awareness to cultural, socio-economic, and disability barriers to service and skillfully navigate difficult or tense situations. Ensure that the elder law department's client feedback rating continues to be positive.
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Membership in good standing with the California State Bar. Applicants without active California bar membership will not be considered. However, those without a license are encouraged to apply to volunteer with us at opendoorlegal.org/volunteer.
• Must genuinely enjoy and be motivated by working with low-income clients and be able to work competently with clients impacted by trauma (emotional, mental, and physical).
• Minimum of practicing law for at least two years.
• California superior court civil procedure knowledge and experience appearing in a courtroom. Knowledge of employment law, a plus.
• Strong time management skills to effectively supervise and perform legal work in a fast-paced environment and high-volume practice.
• Show enthusiasm for and commitment to self-learning and professional development.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with the ability to be detail-oriented.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to excel in providing constructive feedback to people you supervise and in building relationships with other organizations and agencies as Open Door Legal's ambassador.
• High level of comfort learning and using technology and cloud-based case management systems. We use Salesforce, Dropbox, and the Google Suite.

BONUS POINTS:

• Management experience.
• Knowledge of California employment law and civil suits.
• Experience practicing in San Francisco Superior court.
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience working in a high-volume legal aid or similar environment.
• Having lived a significant period of your life in San Francisco proper.
• Bilingual in Spanish.
• Bilingual in Cantonese.