Attorney, Housing & Consumer Justice (Hybrid)

About the Legal Aid Justice Center:
 

The Legal Aid Justice Center is a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that partners with low-income clients and communities of color in Virginia to fight for racial, social, and economic justice. We understand that the harms our clients endure are inextricably linked to overarching systems of injustice. Together we are dismantling those systems through a combination of community organizing, litigation, policy advocacy, public relations, and individual legal services.  

Founded in 1967, LAJC has offices in Charlottesville, Richmond, Petersburg, and Falls Church and provides services under six key program areas: Civil Rights & Racial Justice (focuses on the criminal legal system), Housing & Consumer Justice, Youth Justice, Health Justice & Public Benefits, Immigrant Justice, and Worker Justice. As examples of LAJC’s recent work, our lawsuit and organizing against the state forced reform of Virginia’s unemployment insurance system, including advocacy that resulted in the distribution of over $1 billion in illegally withheld payments to over 160,000 Virginians. During the pandemic, we demanded and secured a statewide eviction moratorium and emergency pandemic protections that helped hundreds of families avoid eviction. We reduced incarceration across the state, including reducing the population of a local immigration detention center down to historically low levels through a coordinated effort of organizing paired with impact and individual litigation.  Our staff are on the front lines of some of the most important anti-poverty fights happening today.  

With a staff of over 90, the past few years have been a time of exciting growth and opportunity for the organization. In addition to the growth of programmatic efforts including increased organizing capacity, LAJC has expanded its operations and administrative capacity, created new opportunities for professional growth and leadership among staff, engaged in ongoing race equity work, and explored changes to organizational structure to deepen its efforts to create long-term, sustainable, community-driven change. 
    
   

About the Position:

You will be an attorney in LAJC's Housing and Consumer Justice Program (HCJP) focused on individual housing and consumer advocacy, as well as for managing systems change campaigns that seek to achieve justice for tenants by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty. You may also co-teach the Economic Justice and Consumer Clinic at the University of Virginia Law, depending on level of experience, interest, and staffing needs. 

HCJP Attorneys pursue the above goals through a combination of individual representation, community outreach and education, impact litigation, and state and local policy advocacy. This position could also incorporate cross-programmatic legal matters as needed.

Job Duties:

• Provide individual representation in various housing and consumer matters, as needed, in state and federal courts.  Will develop strategies for this litigation in conjunction with the Senior Supervising Attorney.  Level of supervision will depend on level of experience of the candidate.
• Identify patterns and practices that are barriers to Northern Virginia residents’ ability to stay in or obtain housing or access credit and avoid fraudulent and deceptive consumer practices. You will combat these barriers through a combination of impact litigation, policy advocacy (explained further below), and/or organizing campaigns in consultation with HCJP organizers.  
• Statewide and Local Policy Advocacy: Will be responsible for, or serve as a helper on, housing and consumer rights-related legislative campaigns before the General Assembly and on the local level. This will include reviewing proposed state and local housing and consumer protection-related policies and advocate for or against such policies to meet client communities’ needs, often in conjunction with other legal aid organizations and/or community partners.
• Conduct education and outreach regarding housing and consumer rights. This may include doing Know Your Rights trainings for tenants and consumers, individual outreach to consumers and/or tenants dealing with unfair or unlawful housing and consumer practices, and/or attending community events to provide housing or consumer rights materials. 
• Participate in strategic planning, and following LAJC’s interdisciplinary model, work collaboratively with organizers and policy and communications directors to integrate legal, organizing, policy, and communications strategies.
• Attend community meetings as needed or requested by community groups and in conjunction with Northern Virginia housing organizers.  
•  Provide support to administrative team related to housing and consumer matters as needed.
• Meet the Benchmarks for Attorneys.
• Meet the Impact Advocacy Standards.
• Maintain time entries up to date and capture all work done in LAJC’s case management system.
• Racial Equity Promote racial equity across all dimensions, including within LAJC, by doing the following: 
  • Helping to recruit, retain, and support both staff and leadership that reflect the racial composition of our community;
  • Cultivating respect for the work and expanding resources for non-attorney staff that are disproportionately people of color
  • Creating spaces for staff to discuss issues of racial, gender, and all other issues of marginalization; and
  • Pushing for institutional and cultural changes by management, the board, and staff to further promote racial equity. 

Required Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to social, economic, and racial justice
• Membership in the Virginia State Bar, or eligibility and willingness to become a member of the VSB promptly – either by passing the bar exam in July 2023, or meeting requirements to “waive” into bar membership without taking the bar exam. (Note: this position may be eligible for the newly enacted Virginia Supreme Court rule allowing for any attorney working exclusively for a legal aid organization to practice without examination as long as they are in good standing in another state). 
• Professional or lived experience advocating in low-income communities. 
• Commitment to movement lawyering (building the power and leadership of directly impacted people and taking direction from them).
• Outstanding oral advocacy, research, writing, and leadership skills.
• Ability to work effectively within a team. 
• Ability to communicate effectively across lines of identity.
• Willingness to occasionally travel statewide. 
• Willingness to seek out and learn from feedback. 
• Ability to speak and write Spanish.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise in Virginia and/or federal consumer law. 
• Experience with high-volume caseload or impact litigation/impact advocacy.  
• Experience with community lawyering approaches.  
• At least 2 years of relevant experience working on housing or consumer issues or housing and consumer-adjacent issues.
• Experience working with and/or representing consumers and/or tenant communities.

Location: This role will be based in our Falls Church. Occasional travel between offices will be required. Although a regular presence in the office is required, LAJC offers a remote work policy to support employees in co-creating schedules and arrangements that allow us all to do our best work.

A Note to Potential Candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.

Application Review Date: We'll start reviewing applications after June 26, 2025. While our review process can take some time, this doesn't mean you're not being considered—please be patient as we carefully evaluate each candidate. We'll continue to accept and review applications until the position is filled. 

Salary: The salary scale for this position is $69,565.18 - $90,434.74 based on the LAJC salary scale. To allow for salary growth within the position over time, the anticipated hiring range for this position is between $69,565.18 - $79,999.96. Positions based in Falls Church receive an upward 12% cost-of-living adjustment, which translates to the following range: $77,913.00 - $101,286.91, and the anticipated hiring range is $77,913.00 - $89,599.96.
 

Benefits: Our mission is compelling, and our team members are passionate about their work, and so we recognize the need to provide generous benefits and encourage rest and a healthy work environment. For example, we provide: 
 

• Generous paid time off every year, including 3 to 6 weeks of vacation, 12 days of health leave, 6 weeks parental leave, and 14 holidays (not including bonus holidays/rest days allocated as needed) 
• 100% employer paid health, dental, and vision insurance, plus excellent family insurance with annual max of $2,400 premium contribution to LAJC-sponsored health plan 
• 403(b) retirement plan with 4% employer contribution (no required match) 
• Strong commitment to professional development 
• Relocation package 

Application Instructions: Complete the online application. This position requires a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references. Please address the cover letter to the hiring manager, Catherine Cone, but submit all materials through the online application system. We will not contact references without advance consent from candidates.

Vaccination Requirement: The Legal Aid Justice Center requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved medical or religious exemption as a qualification of employment. Proof of vaccination or accommodation request must be provided within one day of employment.

The Legal Aid Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, experiences, and communities to apply. The Legal Aid Justice Center is committed to strengthening the voices of our low-income clients, working in collaboration with community partners, and rooting out the inequities that keep people in poverty. We strive to take on the issues that have broad impact on our client communities and to be responsive to client input. Recognizing the particular impact of racism on our clients and staff, we devote special attention to dismantling racial injustice. All applicants must be dedicated to working in and sustaining an environment that enables staff and clients to feel empowered, valued, respected, and safe. In reviewing applications, we look for evidence that applicants have experience and/or thoughtfulness in working with traditionally marginalized populations.