Open Positions at Florida Legal Services

Job Description: 

• Status: Full-time, exempt

• Location: Hybrid Remote serving clients statewide with physical offices in Newberry, FL and Orlando, FL. Ability to meet with clients, conduct community outreach, and attend hearings regularly is required.

• Education Requirements: Juris Doctorate Degree

• License/Certification Requirements: Admission to Florida Bar

Job Summary: 

Florida Legal Services (FLS) is currently seeking a highly skilled and motivated attorney to represent families and children facing barriers to safety-net public benefits, including health coverage, Food Assistance, TANF, and SSDI & SSI benefits for individuals with disabilities.

The Public Benefits attorney provides a wide range of civil legal assistance to families at risk of losing safety-net benefits intended to meet basic needs and provide economic stability, including legal advice and assistance with determining eligibility and applying for services, assistance with navigating the enrollment process and accessing entitled benefits, and representation in the agency appeal process for benefits wrongly denied. Services are provided throughout Florida both remotely and in person.  

Key Responsibilities:

Direct Legal Assistance:

• Provide high-quality legal representation to families with children facing barriers to safety-net public benefits.

• Conduct client interviews, assess legal needs, and develop appropriate legal strategies.

• Handle a caseload of matters, including appeals of benefits eligibility decisions through the appropriate agency review process.

Volunteer Coordination and Community Education:

• Develop and strengthen relationships with partners, community organizations, and impact communities serving families in need of safety-net public benefits .

• Prepare and deliver “know your rights” information to families eligible for safety-net public benefits.

• Conduct legal screening and legal analysis to determine cases best suited for pro bono placement.

• Place cases with pro bono attorneys and build relationships between Florida Legal Services and the pro bono community.

• Develop and maintain pro bono resources, sample filings, and practice guides.

Required Qualifications: 

• Juris Doctorate Degree with 1-3 years legal experience, experience with appeals of administrative agency actions or demonstrated experience with public benefits work preferred.

• Admission to The Florida Bar.

• Excellent oral advocacy, legal research and writing skills.

• Bilingual (English/Spanish), preferred.

• Demonstrated commitment to advocating for clients in a respectful and empowering way.

• Highly organized and innovative thinker.

• Strong oral advocacy, legal research, and writing skills.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with diverse populations.

• Problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Effectively manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.

• Ability to work independently, be adaptable and reliable in adversarial systems.

• Initiative to work independently and ability to collaborate as part of a team.

• Valid driver’s license.

• Ability to travel, including overnight travel.

• Knowledge of low-income issues.

• Experience using LegalServer (or similar computer-based case management system) and Google Suite software platform is a plus.

• Commitment to work and learn in a technology-based distributed office environment.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: Salary will be sent depending on experience, very competitive with public interest opportunities.

FLS offers an excellent benefits package including 17 paid holidays a year, generous paid time off and family leave policies, and fully-paid medical, dental, life, and vision insurance for employees.

Florida Legal Services (FLS) seeks a dynamic attorney with vision, initiative, and a demonstrated commitment to public interest law to fill a full-time attorney position. The FLS Survivor Advocacy Project serves victims of crimes including Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Human Trafficking. Our Project attorneys and paralegals  operate a Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline that serves as a primary source of client intakes. We provide extended services to clients through our Holistic Survivor Services and Human Trafficking projects. Our advocacy is supported by the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Florida Attorney General through Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants, and Funding Florida Legal Aid which provides IOTA grants. The Survivor Advocacy Attorney will primarily provide direct legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence through the hotline. The position will also include the opportunity to provide more extended direct services to survivors and to advocate for systemic change to ensure that eligible survivors can obtain fair and uniform access to services. This will be predominantly a remote position, but requires physical presence in Florida and the ability to travel within the state on occasion.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide statewide legal assistance by telephone to survivors of domestic violence on various civil legal needs;

• Provide training to other DV advocates on a range of civil legal issues affecting survivors of DV;

• Refer clients for appropriate extended services, both within and outside of the organization;

• Identify and conduct advocacy on systemic issues impacting survivors of DV;

• Assist with building and maintaining relationships with outside referral agencies and organizations;

• Any other duties as assigned by the attorney’s supervisor.

Job Qualifications:

• Attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar;

• Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice;

• Previous experience working with DV survivors and trauma-informed advocacy;

• Previous experience in one or more substantive areas including: family law, immigration, injunctions, housing, victim rights enforcement, public benefits or health access;

• An understanding of the dynamics of domestic and intimate partner violence; 

• An understanding of root causes of violence against women and oppressed groups is preferred;

• Fluency in Spanish both oral and written strongly preferred; 

• Valid driver’s license;

• Excellent communication and time management abilities;

• Experience using LegalServer (or a similar computer-based case management system) and Google Workspace a plus;

• Commitment to work and learn in a technology-based distributed office environment.

Salary/benefits:

• Salary will be set depending on experience. Opportunities for seniority and leadership are commensurate with experience and more experienced applicants are encouraged to apply.

• FLS offers an excellent benefits package including 17 paid holidays a year, generous paid time off and family leave policies, and fully-paid medical, dental, life, and vision insurance for employees.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in working with us, please submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three professional references. Please include your salary requirements. Submissions should be in PDF format or Google Docs format (sent to us as a link) to work@floridalegal.org