Supervising Attorney (Housing)

The mission of Bread for the City is to help Washington, D.C. residents living with low income to develop the power to determine the future of their own communities. We provide food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. We seek justice through community organizing and public advocacy. We work to uproot racism, a major cause of poverty. We are committed to treating our clients with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.

Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic works to ensure better access to justice for individuals in our nation’s capital. The Legal Clinic provides front-line civil legal services primarily in housing, family, immigration, and public benefits law. Our housing law practice includes defending tenants against complaints for possession of real estate, affirmative litigation on behalf of tenants and tenant associations, representation at administrative agencies, and advice and counsel in a variety of housing-related matters.

Position Description:

Bread for the City’s housing practice consists of 10 housing attorneys, 1 associate loaned from an area law firm and 2 paralegals. Currently, attorneys are providing assistance remotely to tenants through the Landlord Tenant Legal Assistance Network, a collaborative project with 5 other legal services providers in the District. Prior to the pandemic, our attorneys staffed an office at the Landlord/Tenant Branch of D.C. Superior Court and provided immediate representation to tenants they met for the first time at a critical point in their landlord-tenant case (many of those cases were retained by our clinic for continued representation). Our practice is fast-paced, high-energy and requires the commitment of someone who is able to multitask, as typically attorneys represent 2-3 clients at each appearance. Until March 2020, attorneys in this practice were generally in court 1-2 times per week with the remainder of their time spent completing ongoing casework. Now the court is mostly holding remote hearings, and we are not currently operating out of the courthouse office. In addition to our representation of tenants in D.C. Superior Court, attorneys may take on administrative hearing work representing participants in federal subsidy programs or at the District’s Office of Administrative Hearings.

Bread for the City seeks a dedicated lawyer with 5-7 years of post J.D. experience to assist our three other Supervising Attorneys and Managing Attorney in leading our housing team. In addition to responsibilities around staff development, mentoring and training of staff, loaned associates, pro bono attorneys, and law clerks, supervising attorneys at Bread for the City represent clients and maintain a caseload.

Finally, the Supervising Attorney will help support housing-related advocacy and policy reform efforts in the District through participation in various stakeholder groups, legislative reform efforts and outreach/tenant education events. The Legal Clinic seeks to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

Qualifications:

• Member of the D.C. Bar or eligible to practice under D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 49(c)(9);
• At least 5-7 years of post J.D. legal experience including at least 3 years of litigation experience;
• At least 4 years of housing law expertise/practice, preferably in DC;
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience;
• Prior experience in a legal services or other public interest setting;
• Ability to independently perform legal analysis and train staff attorneys in doing the same;
• Excellent interpersonal and management skills;
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and research skills;
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and written communication;
• Excellent negotiation skills;
• Ability to proceed effectively in court with little time for preparation;
• Good judgment;
• High degree of flexibility;
• Sense of humor, seriously;
• Ability to work with and lead other staff and interact with a wide variety of people, including volunteers, in a professional and collaborative manner;
• Demonstrated commitment to social, economic, and racial justice and/or willingness to learn and carry out Bread for the City’s commitments in these areas;
• Comfortable working both in-person in an open work environment, with no private offices for staff, and remotely from home;
• Familiarity with Google Organization & Productivity tools (Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar) and/or ability to learn new technology systems; and
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) skills preferred but not required;
• Must be fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19.

Compensation:

Bread for the City offers competitive non-profit salaries based on experience and a generous benefits package, which can be reviewed at https://breadforthecity.org/work-with-us/. Supervising Attorney salaries range from $95,000-$100,000, with the potential of a higher salary based on supervisory and practice area experience. Also, the DC Bar Foundation offers a Loan Repayment Assistance Program to qualified Bread for the City attorneys, providing renewable one-year, interest-free, forgivable loans. For more information, see https:/dcbarfoundation.org/lrap/.

To apply:

You must complete an application through Bread for the City’s ADP portal. Go to www.breadforthecity.org/work and click on the "Supervising Attorney (Housing)" position. Then select "apply" at the top right hand corner to register for a login and apply for the position. Please upload a resume and cover letter through this online application process. A cover letter is an important part of our review process and should be thoughtfully tailored and speak to not only your qualifications for the position but also to your commitment to public interest work.

Only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls, please.