Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) – Advocate – Educational Law

Company Intro

All candidates should make sure to read the following job description and information carefully before applying.

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) is the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County and is an employer of choice.

LASSD strengthens our communities by resolving our clients’ legal problems and empowering access to and effective participation with legal, governmental, and social systems.

LASSD encourages self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. Our staff are proudly committed to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #JusticeBeginsHere

Job Description / Duties

Job Title : Educational Law Advocate

Position Summary

Under the supervision of the Managing Attorney and working in support of the staff attorney, this advocate will help clients access special education services and help perform outreach, including in a clinic setting.

Essential Functions :

• Conducts initial and follow-up interviews of applicants and clients in the office, on the phone and at outreach locations outside of the office.
• Responds to calls from clients in a timely manner; assesses clients’ needs, schedules appointments, handles a large case load.
• Gathers, reviews, and organizes education and medical records for education cases.
• Advocates for clients at school meetings, including at virtual or in-person IEP meetings.
• Assists with community outreach and education.
• Assists clients at school meetings and administrative hearings.
• Does basic and routine factual investigation and legal research.
• Prepares memorandums, letters, and standard legal documents for attorneys’ review.
• Develops and maintains professionalism with local school districts, the County, and other social service organizations.
• Compliance with all program and grant requirements.
• Assists team with administrative tasks as needed.
• Participates in scheduled team meetings, training sessions and other functions as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned by management.

Qualifications :

• B.A. degree, or A.A. degree and paralegal certificate from a recognized paralegal training program, or demonstrated equivalent experience which shows strong writing, verbal, reading analytical, and research skills.
• Ability to gather and complete information from clients in a telephone interview or in person interview.
• Ability to respond to clients in a calm, empathetic and professional manner while courteously directing the conversation to pertinent issues.
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements.
• Must have reliable transportation.
• Strong organizational skills to handle individual caseload.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities :

• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred.
• Experience in client customer service including intake, interviews and research related to legal issues, or experience in the field and understanding of related systems, laws, and regulations.
• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.
• Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds, including being able to communicate clearly and effectively with those who may have cultural or language barriers, and those who suffer from physical or mental disabilities.
• Experience in the field of Education law or a background in education preferred. Applicants without background in education or education law will be expected to identify how they will prepare for the position if hired.

Salary and Benefits :

The Educational Rights Advocate is an hourly position with a pay range of $22.53-$30.77. The starting pay rate is $25.28.

In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision and life benefits.

Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA).

LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program and is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Hybrid Work Environment :

Legal Aid Society of San Diego ( LASSD ) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow.

All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible.

All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories.

Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County.

LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position.

LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.

Diversity and Inclusion :

It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve. LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge.

We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives.

We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.

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