Part-time contact position – pro bono coordinator with Mothers Outreach Network Legal Project

Mothers Outreach Network Legal Project is a project of Mothers Outreach Network, Inc.. MON’s mission is to assist low income mothers and other women in the District of Columbia in overcoming barriers to employment through mobilizing a network of women attorneys to provide them with legal services, mentoring programs, and civic education activities. MON places a special focus on serving hard-to-employ women, including those with arrest and conviction records, and delivers programs through community partners located primarily in Wards 7 and 8.

 

The ideal candidate is an energetic self-starter who would mobilize and train others as mentors, educators, and pro bono attorneys to assist low income women, including ex-offenders. Under the direction of the Mothers Outreach Network Board of Directors, the Coordinator will perform the following duties:

 Teach women their rights under relevant equal employment opportunity laws.

 Conduct legal intake and make referrals on employment law matters at community-based sites.

 Develop educational materials on employment rights to be made available to low income women.

 Recruit, train and coordinate volunteers in conducting employment rights workshops and legal intake.

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

 Demonstrated commitment to low income residents of the District of Columbia.

 Membership in the D.C. Bar in good standing (preferably with a minimum of 2 years experience as an attorney; experience in the areas of racial, economic, and/or immigrant justice preferred; employment law background very helpful).

 Demonstrated supervisory and mentoring skills.

 Demonstrated organizational, administrative and technological skills, including knowledge of basic computer and database programs.

 Ability to plan and coordinate own work and to meet deadlines with minimal supervision.

 Values working cooperatively with others, both within the organization and in the community.

 

MON does not have office space so the Coordinator works from home. This is a term contract position, lasting approximately three months, which pays $25 per hour for 8 to 10 hours per week.

Deadline: October 31, 2011. Please send a cover letter and resume to: melody@mothersoutreachnetwork.org.

Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship

The Vermont Bar Foundation and the Vermont Access to Justice Campaign are pleased to announce the availability of a two-year Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship (VPLF) beginning in August 2012. The VPLF program is designed to allow graduating law students and other new lawyers to help expand the reach of Vermont’s existing legal services providers. Funding for salary and benefits will be provided by the Vermont Access to Justice Campaign. Loan forgiveness (up to $5,000) may be available from the Vermont Bar Foundation.

The specific Fellowship projects will be designed to take advantage of the Fellow’s background and the needs of the low-income community, and will be integrated directly into the services being delivered by one or more of the three major legal services programs in Vermont: Vermont Legal Aid, The Legal Services Law Line of Vermont and/or the South Royalton Legal Clinic at Vermont Law School. The Fellowship will include work on one or more specific projects impacting the lives of low-income Vermonters, as well as the day-to-day delivery of legal services to clients. Areas of representation include foreclosure, rental housing, immigration, children’s rights, public benefits, consumer law, and disability rights, as well as other areas of critical legal need.

Fellows will work with the Vermont Bar Foundation and the Vermont Bar Association to publicize Fellowship activities, contribute to the public awareness of legal services in Vermont, and participate in Vermont Bar Association continuing legal education activities.

Applicants must have excellent written and oral skills. Experience in public interest law, civil rights law, or legal services is a plus. Applicants must be recent law school graduates or graduating law students and must be admitted to the Vermont Bar or willing to sit for the July 2012 Vermont Bar examination. The job will be based in either Burlington or Montpelier. Some in-state travel will be required.

Salary will be $40,800 in the first year and $42,000 in the second year, with excellent fringe benefits.

Send a cover letter detailing the applicant’s previous work with low-income clients and/or other relevant experience, a résumé, three references, and a writing sample by November 4, 2011 to:

Vermont Poverty Law Fellowship
Vermont Bar Association
P.O. Box 100
Montpelier, VT 05601-0100