Housing Fellow - San Francisco, CA

Full-Time, Exempt

Hybrid (Two days in-office minimum)

About Us:

“It always seems impossible until it's done.” - Nelson Mandela

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. And to solve this, we just need to discover the steps. At Open Door Legal (ODL), we're pioneering the country's first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us. To achieve this ambitious goal, we've created an award-winning and best-in-class legal aid organization full of passionate, motivated, gritty, thoughtful, and team-oriented people. We believe that injustice is the heart of poverty and we're looking for someone to join us in having a systemic impact on how we, as a society, ensure justice for all.

Overview of Position

Housing has the attention of everyone in the Bay Area. A safe and healthy home is a universal human right, yet it is consistently unrealized or threatened for those in poverty. Open Door Legal provides holistic, trauma-informed housing services, helping people access everything they need to feel safe and secure in their homes. We are hiring a Housing Fellow who will provide critical support to our housing team to help ensure the rights of San Francisco low-income residents to keep safe and healthy homes. In this role, you will own a number of cases based on the Housing Team's needs and provide clients with individualized case support under the supervision of an attorney.

Thriving in this role requires grit, dynamism, teamwork, care, and passion (our organization's five core values). Cultural humility is not just conceptual to you; you embody it and commit to growth. Your trauma-informed service demonstrates how you see clients as whole people who are partners in achieving successful legal outcomes. You will report directly to the Managing Housing Attorney.

Responsibilities

• Embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and work with the team to make sure that the housing needs of all clients in our service area are met.
• Empower Housing law litigants to know their rights, navigate Superior Court and administrative agencies (SF Rent Board and Housing Authority), protect themselves and their loved ones, and resolve their Housing law issues with or without court intervention.
• Support your team with administrative and advocacy responsibilities where a law license is not needed, including providing clients with individualized case support, in order to increase the efficiency and capacity of your team
• Support intakes in-person and virtually across multiple physical Open Door Legal locations in San Francisco.
• Assist with fact-gathering, draft pleadings, propound and respond to discovery, assist attorneys in drafting motions, and conduct legal research.
• Assist with filing, preparing, and readying clients for small claims, Rent Board, and other administrative hearings (such as with the Housing Authority). Occasionally, attend hearings to support our clients (and represent clients at administrative hearings, if applicable).
• Provide services and support to our low-income clients with sensitivity and awareness to cultural, socio-economic, and disability differences. Keep a high rating in the client feedback survey.
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passionate, and dynamic.

Requirements:

• JD from an accredited law school or equivalent work experience.
• Ability to commute to any of ODL's offices at least two days a week to support in-person intakes and meetings and support the team's in-office needs.
• Strong time management skills and the ability to handle quick timelines, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision
• Must genuinely enjoy and be motivated by working with low-income clients and be able to work competently with clients impacted by trauma (emotional, mental, and physical).
• Must actively demonstrate cultural humility and sensitivity to barriers low-income residents face when attempting to interface with government agencies and the courts.
• Have a high level of comfort learning and using technology and cloud-based case management systems. We use Salesforce, Dropbox, and Google Suite.

Bonus Points:

• Membership in good standing with the California State Bar.
• Basic knowledge of California and/or San Francisco housing law.
• Comfortable practicing, translating, and interpreting in Spanish and/or Cantonese (this comes with a slight compensation increase).
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience working in a high-volume legal aid, doing community organizing or outreach.
• Having lived a significant period of your life in San Francisco proper, specifically, a connection to the Bayview/Hunters Point, Excelsior, Sunset, or Western Addition neighborhoods.

Starting compensation is $70,500 - $86,500 annually based on experience.

Benefits:

• Loan Repayment Assistance - for staff pursuing 10-year public interest debt forgiveness, we will pay the minimum payment on all qualifying loans so that you don't need to worry about student loan debt (this is a conditional benefit).
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plan offerings at 100% coverage
• Generous paid time off (four weeks vacation and two weeks sick/care)
• We care deeply about our staff's mental and emotional fitness and financially invest in staff who pursue ways to address this through a stipend.
• Flexible work hours
• Generous paid parental leave
• 401K/Retirement Account
• We believe everyone is always learning. We financially invest in professional development for each staff member and provide many internal and external mentorships, coaching, and learning opportunities (conferences, workshops, etc.).
• We are a fun and hard-working office with best-in-class technology solutions for anyone who's passionate about making a meaningful and measurable difference.

Applications received before September 10th will receive priority consideration.

Ideal starting date: October 2024

Open Door legal is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal records, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at whitney [at] opendoorlegal [dot] org.

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