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

For many stepping into our office, seeking legal services is a vulnerable and significant first step to leading a healthier and more whole life. We are hiring a Client Support Specialist to ensure that our clients and guests feel safe, heard, and empowered from the moment they come in to access our services through the legal intake process. You will be one of the first people to represent our mission of universal access to legal services and our values of passion, grit, teamwork, caring, and dynamic to anyone who walks through our doors. 

At our offices, we frequently help individuals who have or are currently experiencing trauma, who present in a state of heightened emotional distress, and who may have mental health conditions. You model empathy and cultural humility and are adept at building trust and safety with people from all walks of life. You will be a focused partner with guests and staff to unpack all that impacts our guests and makes it especially challenging for them to engage in the legal intake process. Successful guest support looks like working with the Frontline team to identify guests with specific support needs, providing resources and referrals, and following up on the care with specific guests.  You are a self-starting individual capable of managing multiple tasks and responsibilities, as well as comfortable with proactively and independently solving problems with a professional and positive attitude.

This role reports directly to our Frontline Attorney who has a background in clinical psychology. Though you will be providing hands-on support to clients and guests, this role is not a clinical position and does not qualify for social work or any other mental health professional supervision or licensing hours. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the main point of contact for guests who self-disclose (through our initial screening form) or who are identified by the team as needing specialized support through the frontline process. This support should include resources, referrals, and follow-ups to ensure holistic service connections.
• Act as a strategic partner with our Frontline team in ensuring excellent frontline guest services, including providing crucial training to staff on de-escalation and working with individuals with mental health symptoms and conditions.
• Provide social service referrals, public benefits assistance, and re-entry connections when potential clients and current clients have holistic needs. 
• Establish and manage relationships with providers of services around mental health, homelessness, job training, re-entry, for the elderly, and all other potential holistic needs; ensure our referral database is accurate.
• Provide critical guest support by operating the front desk to ensure continuity of services in the event of absences.
• Act as point of contact for our volunteer client advocates as they provide focused support for specially placed clients and cases.
• Embrace and embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and ensure that everyone in our service area with a viable legal problem gets appropriate help. 
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

REQUIREMENTS

• Degree in social work; social welfare; marriage, family, and child counseling; counseling psychology; or social psychology, or comparable relevant work experience.
• Direct experience working with individuals with low frustration tolerance, poor interpersonal skills, who may be easily agitated, and/or have a history of mental illness.
• Highly adaptable, with excellent time management skills in order to prioritize client accessibility and needs. 
• Demonstrates the forward-thinking attitude, knowledge, and skills to coach clients and staff in a culturally humble, trauma-informed, and accessible way. 
• Ability and willingness to travel locally within San Francisco to our three offices (Bayview, Western Addition, and Excelsior), throughout the community, to clients' living spaces, and with clients to court and other appointments (as needed).
• Must be self-directed, able to work independently, and able to solve difficult problems and handle multiple tasks and prioritize your workload at a high-volume level.
• Willing to learn legal basic concepts around housing, family, employment, personal injury, foreclosure, consumer, immigration, estate planning, and elder abuse law.
• Comfortability using advanced technology and being able to type lengthy documents and reports efficiently.

BONUS POINTS

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) - potential compensation increase 
• Bilingual (English/Cantonese) - potential compensation increase
• Graduate degree in generalist social work.
• Experience working in a legal environment preferably a legal non-profit or government agency. 
• Experience working with seniors, especially those over age 80. 
• Having lived a significant period of your life in San Francisco proper.
• Experience using Salesforce.
• Must be willing to make at least a two-year commitment to the organization

PERKS

• 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). 
• We offer competitive benefits:
  • Medical/Dental/Vision
  • Generous paid time off per year
  • Flexible work hours
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • 401k
• We believe everyone is always learning and we 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 (including Salesforce) for anyone who's passionate about making a meaningful and measurable difference.

The annual salary for this role starts at $60,000.

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY JULY 9, 2021 WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY.

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.

Black Lives Matter