Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 by community leaders engaged in the social justice movement. Our mission is to provide transformative legal services that enable diverse communities in East Palo Alto and beyond to achieve a secure and thriving future. We serve low-income and working-class populations, predominantly communities of color, in the areas of immigration, housing, employment, and reentry law. We maximize our impact by coupling direct services with community education, technical assistance, and policy advocacy.
Our Values
We value Service, Equity, Humility, and Inclusion and practice:
- Working towards our mission in concert with colleagues, our clients, and community. We recognize that people come to us as whole Service is inherent in treating others the way you want to be treated and recognizing we all have the power to create change.
- Acknowledging, addressing, and reducing harm that results from inequities in society and within our own organization. Working for equity involves decreasing systematic mistreatment and barriers created by systems of social It also involves working towards increasing shared access to power, privilege, and resources in the community and within the workplace
- Understanding that learning is a life-long process, and we can learn from non-traditional sources, like clients and each other. Humility is listening with active curiosity and thinking about your own reactions and judgments. Humility is appreciating other identities, expressions, behaviors and ways of being and doing that are different from your own.
- Creating an environment where everyone, including those who have been historically excluded, is valued, able to participate fully, and have a voice.
CLSEPA is excited to announce a three-year Staff or Senior Attorney Fellowship with our Economic Advancement Program (EAP), with the possibility of conversion to a permanent position dependent on funding. EAP’s long-term goal is to increase self-sufficiency and an improved quality of life for the community at large. EAP focuses on overcoming barriers to self-sufficiency due to past contact with the criminal justice system; workplace challenges like wage theft, discrimination, and retaliation; and consumer-related fraud. We seek a fellow who is interested in providing direct legal services to clients in our community with a focus on reentry-related services, including working with formerly incarcerated people who served time in prison.\
As a Staff or Senior Attorney Fellow, you will:
- Provide legal advice and representation to clients on workers’ rights, reentry, and consumer
- Represent clients with convictions with record clearance petitions and
- Provide Know Your Rights information and legal advice to help clients map pathways to seeking employment and overcoming criminal record related barriers to reentry.
- Perform grant management tasks (tracking time and activities, monitoring progress and reporting outcomes) in support of reentry grants.
- Train, mentor, and supervise paralegals, support staff, pro bono attorneys, law students, and volunteers working on EAP related matters.
- Participate in policy advocacy efforts, community outreach events, and legal workshops/clinics.
- Maintain and establish relationships with community
- Represent CLSEPA at conferences, coalitions, meetings, training, and community
- Assist with fundraising and grant writing as
As a Staff or Senior Attorney Fellow, you have:
- California Bar membership, pending Bar passage results or Provisionally Licensed Attorney status;
- Proficiency in verbal Spanish;
- Experience in the field of employment, reentry, or consumer law;
- Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income populations and communities of color;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Ability to relate to and communicate with a broad range of clients and colleagues; and
- Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with others, both within the organization and in the
As a Senior Attorney Fellow, you also have:
- A minimum of three years of post-law school legal experience;
- Some grant management experience (preferred).
Compensation
This is a full-time exempt position with the following starting annualized salary ranges (dependent on experience):
- Staff Attorney Fellow: $75,000-$83,000
- Senior Attorney Fellow: $88,000-$110,000
The range(s) provided is/are CLSEPA’s reasonable estimates of the base compensation for this/these roles. The actual salary amount may be higher or lower, based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities
Benefits and Perks
In addition to a competitive compensation package, we offer competitive benefits, including health insurance, generous PTO and a 403(b).
To promote and support financial wellness, CLSEPA pays state bar dues, malpractice insurance, Health Care FSA, Dependent Care FSA and commuter benefits. This position qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Physical Requirements
Prolonged periods of concentration while sitting at a desk and working on a computer and may require lifting boxes.
Location
CLSEPA is a hybrid workplace. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most CLSEPA employees work remotely with some in-office presence due to their personal preference, work-related needs, or client needs. Employees are expected to reside in the Bay Area/Northern California and at a distance allowing them to commute to their physical CLSEPA base location or other service delivery locations as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. This position requires commuting when necessary to hold in-person meetings with clients (when clients are not able to meet via telephone or video call or there is another client-centered reason to meet in person), such as court or administrative agency hearings. It will also require commuting for periodic team or all staff gatherings (frequency approximately once or twice per month).
COVID-19 Policy
Proof of completed COVID-19 vaccination, including eligible booster(s), will be required for all employees (except for reasonable accommodations due to medical and/or religious beliefs).
CLSEPA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer that provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees/applicants in all of our employment practices without regard to race, religion, color, sex or gender (including gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, pregnancy-and childbirth- related medical conditions), sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, uniform-service member/veteran status, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, taking/requesting statutorily protected leave, or any other basis protected by law.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, CLSEPA will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Application Process
The success of our mission is dependent on building and maintaining an organization that includes people from different backgrounds and experiences who can challenge each other’s assumptions with new perspectives. To that end, we look for a diverse pool of applicants including those from historically marginalized groups — women, people with disabilities, people of color, formerly incarcerated people, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender nonconforming, first- and second-generation immigrants, veterans, and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible by submitting a resume, cover letter, writing sample and 3 professional references using this link -> Staff or Senior Attorney Fellow, EAP Application Link . We will begin reviewing completed applications starting February 6, 2023.
Why a cover letter? We want to learn more about why CLSEPA – CLSEPA’s clientele is extremely diverse, and the majority of our clients are low-income persons of color. It is critical that our staff work effectively in all cross-cultural situations, with clients, with our coworkers, and with the community, and that we create an inclusive and respectful workplace in which differences are acknowledged and valued.
Cover Letter Prompt
Feel free to think broadly about your response to the following question (applying various aspects of your life and personal experiences):
How do you think your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, have prepared you to contribute to our commitment to cultural humility and diversity amongst our staff?