Description:

Position Summary:
This position is within TLC's Legal Services Project, which works to break down barriers to legal access for trans and gender-nonconforming people by operating a Legal Information Helpdesk and Prison Mail Response Program, developing know-your-rights resources, and providing technical assistance and training to attorneys, government officials, and service providers.

The Legal Services Project Staff Attorney will support the work of the Legal Information Helpdesk and Prison Mail Response Program and will work to improve and expand the resources the Legal Services Project makes available to TGNC communities. The Project includes all of the organization's legal information, pro bono legal services, and know-your-rights education work, including the Legal Information Helpdesk, and the volunteer-staffed Prison Mail Response Program. This staff person will be generally responsible for ensuring those separate pieces are coordinated, as a project manager, and will also be directly responsible for several specific elements of the work. This position will focus on issues connected to criminalization of trans people, possibly by organizing clinics on vacatur/expungement in key jurisdictions and/or providing limited legal representation and support to people who have been arrested. As currently structured and when fully staffed, TLC's Legal Services Project also includes a Helpdesk Coordinator, a Prison Mail Coordinator, and a Legal Assistant who also supports the broader legal team.

Responsibilities:

Provide direct supervision support to pro bono attorneys, interns, and volunteers
Support the Legal Information Helpdesk and Prison Mail Response Program, including reviewing and responding to incoming inquiries, recruiting and training volunteers, maintaining an internal database of legal information and resources, and identifying and implementing improvements to each program's operations
Develop legal clinics that support people with criminal convictions in key jurisdictions
Work with public defenders throughout the US to help support competency on criminal cases
Maintain and update internal legal information database tracking most relevant laws and policies for all 50 states across a wide variety of issue areas (e.g., identity document updates, public accommodation nondiscrimination protections, criminal defense, and other issues)
Recruit, onboard, and supervise volunteers and interns to support the Helpdesk which responds to about 1,200 inquiries each year
Seek out innovative ways to improve the delivery of legal information and assistance to TGNC community members
Provide training and ongoing technical assistance to attorneys and/or service providers
Support other work within the Legal Services Project as needed, which may include legal research and analysis and direct advocacy on behalf of currently incarcerated TGNC people
Support TLC's Prison Mail Program, which provides basic legal information and resources to about 900 TGNC people inside prisons and jails across the country each year
Collaborate with TLC's program/organizing staff, and grassroots TGNC groups to coordinate legal education strategies and organize legal clinics in communities across the country
Create and lead “train-the-trainer” programs to support community organizations and law firms interested in hosting legal clinics or otherwise providing direct pro bono legal assistance to TGNC community members
Maintain and grow TLC's database of cooperating attorneys willing to assist TGNC people with a wide range of legal issues across the country
Engage in limited-scope direct advocacy for TGNC people
Recruit, train, and supervise interns and other LSP volunteers
Engage in limited-scope direct advocacy for TGNC people
Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

A Juris Doctor from an accredited law school
Project management experience / experience with program development
Familiarity with legal issues impacting transgender communities and communities of color including name/gender changes, healthcare access, criminal defense, police misconduct, and other legal issues that impact low-income people
Experience with criminal law
Demonstrated commitment to racial and disability justice, and challenging anti-blackness
Ability to explain legal and other complex issues in clear ways for all audiences
Strong writing, editing, and research skills
Collaborative approach to work both within an organization and with other groups
Experience working with people from a variety of different racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, educational, religious, sexual, gender, and generational backgrounds
Experience with Salesforce or similar Customer Relationship Management software

Preferred Qualifications: