Student Advocate Jobs in Rochester, NY (NOW HIRING)

Supervising Staff Attorney or Supervising Senior Attorney, Consumer Rights

(Hybrid) Albany or ROC – Telesca Center

Do you want an impactful career AND quality time with your family or to pursue your hobbies?

You can have both by joining Empire Justice Center as a Supervising Staff Attorney or Supervising Senior Attorney for Consumer Rights!

About Empire Justice Center
Empire Justice Center is a diverse, highly respected statewide legal services organization that fights for marginalized low-income individuals and families across New York. We succeed through direct legal representation, high-impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and training the next generation of advocates. Our team is passionate, determined, and committed to justice for communities facing poverty, housing insecurity, immigration issues, domestic violence, disability discrimination, and civil rights violations in schools.

What makes this role unique:

You’ll lead our Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP) advising, representing, and advocating for student loan and education debt borrowers, provide advice and legal representation to clients, and supervise the Student Loan Paralegal. You’ll also enjoy:

· True work-life Balance: A flexible and hybrid 35-hour full-time work week (true work-life balance)!

· Loan Repayment Assistance: Eligible employees can pay off student loans using this program.

· A comprehensive health insurance plan for you AND your family!

· Additional benefits include: 13 paid holidays and office closure between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, generous vacation, sick, and personal time, group term life insurance, 403(b) with employer contributions (eligible after 12 months), and a $2,000 bilingual salary enhancement for qualifying employees.

· Travel to and work in the Albany or Rochester Telesca Center office is required as needed to meet client and organizational needs.

o Hybrid. This position is eligible for a hybrid work request under the organizational policy.

· Oversee and manage the student loan and education debt assistance program, ensuring compliance with program policies, procedures, and grant requirements (including grant reporting and meeting deliverables).

· Serve as student loan and education debt subject matter expert, developing an in-depth knowledge of the law.

· Provide advice and counsel to student loan borrowers.

· Help student loan borrowers apply for relief through cancellation, forgiveness, or discharge programs.

· Represent student debt borrowers in court and administrative proceedings at all stages of litigation, including but not limited to excellent research and written advocacy, discovery, witness preparation, representation in hearings and at trial, and settlement negotiations.

· Lead and participate in student loan and education debt coalitions.

· Provide legal education and substantive law training on education debt/student loan-related legal issues to the New York State legal community through CLEs, presentations, and other methods.

· Provide comprehensive technical assistance to other attorneys, advocates, and grantees on complex cases and questions.

· Undertake legislative and policy advocacy aimed at improving access to justice for those with student loans/education debt under the supervision of the Director of Policy and Communications.

· Conduct outreach and engage in publicity to increase awareness of the EDCAP program.

· Identify systemic issues for advocacy and opportunities for pursuing impact litigation.

· Supervise the Student Loan Paralegal, any future student loan/education debt program employees, and other practice group members as needed.

· Participate in the leadership of Empire Justice Center as a member of the management team.

· Demonstrate a high level of comfort and commitment to working with people from marginalized communities.

· Must demonstrate a high level of comfort and commitment to working with people from marginalized communities.

· Working closely with your assigned supervisor and participating in regular supervision meetings, including work plan development and grant deliverable management.

· Please note that all positions will supervise other practice group members if needed.

· Due to limited resources, all staff are expected to perform administrative and other support-related duties to serve our clients and fulfill our mission as a non-profit legal services organization.

· Other duties as assigned by your supervisor and/or to meet the organization’s needs.

Experience and Attributes:

· Juris Doctorate Degree from an accredited US law school or international equivalent.

· Admission to the New York State Bar and in good standing as a member of the NYS bar.

· Minimum of 3 to 8 years of experience as an attorney.

· Supervisory or management experience is required.

· Excellent advocacy, written, and verbal communication skills.

· Ability and willingness to mentor, supervise, and train legal staff in all Empire Justice Offices through video conferencing/communication and travel when necessary.

· Strong leadership skills.

· Litigation experience and/or experience in litigating in administrative hearings.

· Knowledge of student loan work.

· The ability to provide legal advice to clients who do not speak English via an interpreter.

· Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint), with the ability to learn and adapt to other applications quickly, including but not limited to file management applications, calendar applications, and virtual meeting applications.

· Must demonstrate strong analytical skills.

· Ability to shift priorities while working in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing objectives.

· Effective decision-making skills that balance overall organizational and leadership objectives with employee needs.

· Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to cultivate partnerships.

· Experience in working with diverse clientele, including those who have experienced poverty.

· Commitment to improving the lives and circumstances of those who have experienced poverty and discrimination.

· Proficiency utilizing Adobe and other document management systems, with the ability to schedule appointments, manage calendars, documents, and collaborative workflows.

TO APPLY: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. If interested, please visit our “Work With Us” employment page on our website at www.empirejustice.org. Please submit a complete application, including a resume, writing sample, and contact information for three professional references (one supervisor is required). Please refrain from making phone calls or sending hard copies. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Empire Justice Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and strongly desires a diverse and inclusive workforce. Empire Justice Center provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type, specifically - race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, disability status, genetics, neurodiversity, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

If reasonable accommodations are needed, please contact our Human Resources and Compliance Manager at HRSupport@empirejustice.org. Empire Justice Center is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Empire Justice Center ensures that persons with disabilities and/or communication barriers have reasonable accommodations.

Salary

The referenced pay range/scale represents this job's estimated minimum and maximum compensation. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates will be set within the job's compensation range and determined by factors including, but not limited to, education, experience, qualifications, the individual's expertise, market data, and internal equity considerations.

The salary range for a Supervising Staff Attorney with 3-6 years of experience is $91,659-$94,329.

The salary range for a Supervising Senior Attorney with 7-8 years of experience is $104,700-$111,000.