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. 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 (ODL), 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, motivated, gritty, thoughtful, 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:

We're hiring a family law attorney to help us resolve family conflicts, protect victims, and ensure that courts make decisions in the best interests of children. Our unique and innovative model of practice involves representing both men and women in all areas of family law, including child custody and visitation, child support and paternity, divorce, guardianship, adoption, and restraining orders. This position will work closely with clients and help counsel them through everything from mediation to full-scope litigation. Open Door Legal does not limit our full representation on custody and visitation cases to only situations where there is domestic violence. We see our work as transformative because it literally changes lives. The family practice team helps to heal families and communities, reduce conflict, and set our clients (and their children) up for future success. Our clients are incredibly brave and resilient and we don't want them to face the courts or an intense or contentious process alone. When a mother of two came to us after her soon-to-be-ex-husband, who had been convicted of threatening to assault and child endangerment, requested more visitation with his daughters she felt frightened. We helped her get full custody and with it peace of mind where she can live her life with her daughters instead of fighting to keep them safe. That is the transformative magic of universal access to legal aid--it gives people their lives back. 

This position reports directly to the Senior Family Law Attorney. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own approximately 20-25 family law cases simultaneously while being assisted by a Senior Family Law Attorney, Family Law Advocate, and volunteers.
• Appear in San Francisco Family Law court representing clients approximately 2-3 times a week on custody/visitation, child support, DVRO affirmative, and divorce cases.
• Work quickly on challenging, intellectually interesting, and interpersonally difficult cases.
• Provide services and support to our low-income clients with humility and awareness of cultural, socio-economic, and disability differences. 
• Manage and mentor seasonal interns, volunteer attorneys, pro bono counsel, and fellows.
• Embrace and embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and make sure that the family case needs of residents in our service area are met. 
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamic.

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 have experience appearing in court.
• Strong time management skills and the ability to organize time, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision
• Excellent writing, editing, research, and proofreading skills, with the ability to be detail-oriented.
• Help keep our knowledge base up to date and actively contribute to creating best practices for the department. 
• 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).
• Must actively demonstrate cultural humility and sensitivity to barriers low-income residents face when attempting to access the justice system.
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

BONUS POINTS:

• Comfortable practicing, translating, and interpreting in Spanish (this comes with a slight compensation increase).
• Experience representing clients in court in California on contested divorce matters.
• Experience appearing in San Francisco Civil Court, Unified Family 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.

Starting compensation is $75,000 - $91,000 per year based on experience.

BENEFITS:

• Loan Repayment Assistance - for staff pursuing 10-year public interest debt forgiveness, we will pay the minimum payment on all qualifying loans so that you don't need to worry about student loan debt (this is a conditional benefit).
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plan offerings at 100% coverage
• Generous paid time off
• Flexible work hours 
• Generous paid parental leave
• 401K/Retirement Account
• We believe everyone is always learning. We financially invest in individual learning plans for each staff member and provide many internal and external mentorships, coaching, and learning opportunities (conferences, workshops, etc.).
• We are a fun and hard-working office with best-in-class technology solutions for anyone who's passionate about making a meaningful and measurable difference.

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE MAY 28, 2021 WILL RECEIVE PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.

Open Door Legal is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal records, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at whitney [at] opendoorlegal [dot] org.

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