Staff Attorney - Domestic Violence Advocacy Project

New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) seeks a Staff Attorney to work on our Domestic Violence Advocacy Project (DVAP). The Staff Attorney’s work will involve representation of victims and survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking in protective order and family law cases, as well as through NHLA’s Domestic Violence Clinic programs in Manchester and Nashua. The Staff Attorney will also be responsible for occasional community engagement and education work.

The Staff Attorney will work out of NHLA’s Manchester office, and will be responsible for handling work throughout New Hampshire, most often in the following regions: Seacoast, Manchester, and Nashua. NHLA has a remote work policy and will consider a hybrid of remote and on-site work for this position. All NHLA staff members are provided with the necessary equipment (such as laptop computers) to work from their homes. Candidates should keep in mind that NHLA is a statewide organization and extensive travel throughout New Hampshire is a requirement of the position. Occasional travel out of state, for example to national conferences, is anticipated. Travel reimbursement including mileage is provided.

NHLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a diverse staff that reflects the communities of low-income and older (age 60 plus) people NHLA works alongside, and we value equity and inclusion in our workplace. NHLA actively seeks applications from Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people of diverse national origin, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, people who have lived experience with poverty, and other people belonging to communities that have historically experienced injustice.

Duties:

-    Advise and represent clients in protective order and family law cases;
-    Advise and represent clients in NHLA’s Domestic Violence Clinic program in Manchester and Nashua;
-    Actively learn and consistently implement NHLA’s holistic, client-centered approach to civil legal aid, including trauma-informed lawyering practices;
-    Affirmatively further language access and demonstrate cultural humility in all work;
-    Engage with allied community organizations, including presenting community education programs; 
-    Foster collaborative working relationships with other members of the DVAP team;
-    Participate as an active member of NHLA’s Manchester office, including a mix of remote work and on-site work.

Qualifications and Competencies:

-    Law degree and license to practice in New Hampshire, or eligibility for admission on motion;
-    Experience handling domestic violence protective order and/or family law cases is a plus, but we are willing to train attorneys new to this practice area;
-    Experience working alongside low-income clients and communities is a plus;
-    Fluency in another language in addition to English is a plus, especially Spanish; Brazilian Portuguese; Arabic; Burmese; Kinyarwanda; Swahili; and/or French (additional compensation available for bilingual staff members);
-    Ability to travel extensively within New Hampshire;
-    Current technology skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe.

Position Salary/Benefits:

This is a full-time position. Full-time is defined as 37.5 hours per week. This position is considered exempt for the purpose of federal wage/hour law.

The anticipated salary for the position depends on prior law-related work experience. As an example, the salary would be $68,920 for candidates with 5 years of prior law-related work experience. The position is eligible for the NHLA employee benefits package including medical/dental insurance, retirement plan, and generous paid time off. Additional compensation of $1,500.00 per year is available for NHLA staff members who speak languages, in addition to English, that are widely spoken by NHLA clients.

NHLA’s Application Process and Timeline:

NHLA will appoint an Interview Committee including 2-3 NHLA staff members. NHLA occasionally asks people who are not NHLA staff members to serve on an Interview Committee.

We expect the Interview Committee to conduct first interviews with no more than 6 candidates. Interviews are 45 minutes in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. Candidates selected for first interviews will receive a list of the interview questions at least 24 hours in advance. No other questions will be asked at the interview, but it is possible that not all questions will be asked if we run out of time. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions at the conclusion of the interview. For candidates who speak a language in addition to English, a portion of the interview may be conducted in that language, with interpretation provided for other participants as needed.

The Interview Committee will recommend no more than 2 finalist candidates for the position to the Executive Director for second interviews. Second interviews are 30 minutes or shorter in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. The Executive Director may conduct the second interview alone or with 1 other NHLA staff member, who may be a member of the Interview Committee. Questions are not provided in advance for second interviews. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions.

After the second interview, we will ask a finalist candidate to provide 3 references and a brief writing sample of no more than 10 pages. We will contact the 3 references as quickly as possible, asking all references the same questions. Candidates with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations should they be offered the position are invited to request them, in writing, at this stage of the process.

Based on information gathered in the entire hiring process, we will make an offer to 1 candidate with salary and benefits information. The offer is contingent on completion of a criminal record background check, which is required by multiple NHLA funders. Not all criminal records are disqualifying. 

Once a candidate has accepted the position, we will notify all candidates who had a first interview (or a first and second interview) that they have not been selected. 

For candidates hired for attorney positions, we will work with attorneys who have previously worked at other law firms to gather information necessary for conflicts checking purposes pursuant to the New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct.

Please note that NHLA does not expect to receive thank you notes from candidates selected for first or second interviews and does not place any weight in the hiring process on receiving (or not receiving) thank you notes.