Job Announcement: Education Advocacy Clinic – Staff Attorney & Clinical Supervisor

East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is a non-profit legal services organization, the community-based clinical program for U.C. Berkeley Law School and one of the Bay Area’s largest and most effective systems disrupters.  With a dual service and teaching mission, EBCLC is a racial justice organization committed to building a culturally diverse workplace, centered on equity. With about 80 staff, 150 law students a year, and a nearly $9 million annual budget, EBCLC is the largest provider of free legal services in Alameda County, providing multimodal, collaborative, and holistic legal services to over 8,000 clients annually and engaging in legislative and policy advocacy at the state and local level.

EBCLC is seeking an exceptional individual to join its Education Advocacy Clinic (EAC). The EAC provides holistic legal representation to youth of color being systematically pushed out of school and into the juvenile legal system in Alameda County, CA. Working in close collaboration with EBCLC’s Youth Defender Clinic and Social Work Program, the EAC provides wrap-around legal and social work support to the young people and families it represents.  The EAC also engages in cutting-edge policy work and clinical legal education with an explicit racial justice mission focused on ending the criminalization of youth of color.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Represent young people ensnared in the juvenile legal system in school discipline and special education proceedings;
• Provide education advocacy for clients in juvenile court;
• Provide advice, counsel, and limited scope representation to youth and families on a range of education-related issues, including but not limited to access to distance learning, school enrollment, truancy, bullying, school staff misconduct, and access to services for English Learners;
• Engage in policy advocacy addressing school push-out and the school-to-prison pipeline in close collaboration with community partners;
• Teach, supervise, and mentor law students enrolled in the EAC, including helping to design curriculum, provide highly interactive legal and skills training, facilitate weekly individual and group supervision meetings, and provide day-to-day monitoring of individual student work;
• Participate in ongoing professional development to improve client services and student supervision;
• Other tasks as assigned by the EAC Director.

Minimum Qualifications:

• J. D. degree required, admission to the California Bar highly preferred;
• Minimum 2 years of legal experience preferred;
• Knowledge of, and ideally experience in, special education and school discipline law;
• Strong interest in law student supervision and clinical teaching;
• Ability to manage a demanding caseload; excellent time management, priority-setting, and organizational skills;
• Excellent written and oral advocacy skills;
• Ability to partner and work effectively with a diverse range of people, including but not limited to clients, law students, service providers, school staff, judges and other government employees, community partners, elected officials, and law school faculty;
• Strong interpersonal skills, flexibility, and demonstrated ability to work well independently and as part of a team.

Salary and Benefits:

Starting salary for this exempt position is $60,000 – $90,000 based on the number of years of prior legal experience, as dictated by the EBCLC salary scale.

Benefits include fully paid health insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for employees and their dependents, life and disability insurance, and generous paid leave (vacation, sick, and holidays); EBCLC also offers flexible spending accounts for qualified health, dependent care, and commute expenditures; and retirement options.

Professional development support includes membership in the relevant local, statewide and/or national associations, attendance at relevant conferences, as determined by EBCLC’s professional development policy and budget.

Workplace Expectations:

Due to COVID19, all EBCLC employees are working remotely. The EAC Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor and all EBCLC employees will continue to work remotely as long as California’s Shelter in Place remains in effect. The expectation is that the EAC Staff Attorney/Clinical Supervisor will work in our office in Berkeley, California when it is safe to do. EBCLC will provide the necessary equipment to fulfill the job responsibilities of working from home.

Application Process:

Please note we will review applications on a rolling basis and will begin initial application reviews as early as August 17, 2020. The position will remain open until filled. Application materials should include a cover letter, resume, short writing sample, and names/contact information for three professional references.

EBCLC is strongly committed to advancing justice through education and advocacy, and the need to transform legal services and legal education. Please take time to review EBCLC’s mission, vision, programs, and website, and ensure that your cover letter reflects how your background, experience, and expertise have prepared you to be successful in performing the responsibilities of the position.

Additionally, EBCLC is committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity and providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. To achieve this goal, EBCLC works actively to improve our office climate, systems and structures, communications and community engagement to create an inclusive and respectful workplace where differences are acknowledged and valued.  In your cover letter, please address how your personal background and experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural responsiveness and diversity amongst our staff.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. EBCLC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior contact with the criminal justice system, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Interested applicants should submit application materials by email to jobs@ebclc.org (include “EAC Attorney” in the subject line).