About Public Law Center

Founded in 1981, The Public Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free legal services to low income residents and other nonprofits in Orange County. Last year, Public Law Center staff and volunteers provided over 65,000 hours of free legal services in handling over 4,500 cases benefiting low-income children, adults and seniors. The estimated value of this work is roughly $60 million in just the past three years. Our services include counseling, individual representation, community education and strategic policy advocacy and impact litigation to challenge societal injustices.

About the role

The Public Law Center (PLC)’s Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit seeks an energetic, passionate advocate to join our team in fighting for justice for low- income tenants and self-represented litigants in Orange County through innovative, collaborative, community-centered lawyering to address inequities and pursue access to affordable housing.

PLC’s Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit provides high quality direct representation, in addition to coordinating and supervising pro bono representation, of tenants in cases involving unlawful detainer, discrimination, harassment, housing voucher disputes, affordable housing advocacy and other issues related to housing.

The Unit also participates in community education, community-based clinics, and local and statewide advocacy.

What you'll do

• Handle a diverse caseload on behalf of low-income tenants, including eviction defense, discrimination, habitability, subsidized housing cases (including, but not limited to, Section 8), and other issues arising in landlord/tenant relationships
• Coordinate referrals to other PLC units to provide comprehensive legal services
• Investigate clients’ cases, including inspection of housing units and obtaining and reviewing documents and records from government agencies
• Represent PLC at networking and community outreach events (when possible)
• Full time position with occasional evening and weekend work required
• This position requires attendance at meetings, both remote and in person, in and outside the Public Law Center’s offices, and requires being located in Southern California. Must have ability to work at the organization’s offices in Santa Ana, CA, and travel to work sites located throughout Orange County, CA. In addition, travel to Los Angeles County and other neighboring counties may be required
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Active membership in the California State Bar/Bar Membership pending or eligibility to practice under State Bar Multijurisdictional Practice Program
• Bilingual English/Spanish or English/Vietnamese strongly preferred
• 0-5 years’ experience; eviction defense and/or housing law experience preferred
• Demonstrated commitment to working with low-income communities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate with a variety of audiences
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, and work independently and as part of a team
• Must have own transportation, valid CA Driver’s license, insurance and good driving record
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the applicant has a valid medical reason for not being fully vaccinated or a sincerely held religious belief

Salary & Benefits 

• Compensation dependent on experience; range of $70,000 to $90,000 (salary scale is calculated according to years of attorney licensure). 
• Competitive benefits provided, and for this position include:
• • Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance (100% of employee premium costs paid by PLC, and 50% of dependent health insurance premium costs paid by PLC)
  • Flexible Spending Account Program to help pay for medical expenses and childcare costs
  • 15 paid holidays per year 
  • Approximately 1 paid week off during office winter closure (between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)
  • 21 paid sick days per year
  • 15 paid vacation days per year
  • 2 paid wellness days per month to promote mental wellness and general wellbeing 
  • Birthday paid time off (2 hours of paid time off during birthday month)
  • 403b retirement plan (after 6 months of employment PLC provides a matching contribution equaling 100% of salary deferral up to a maximum of 3-4%, depending on length of employment)
  • Monthly $55 stipend for Wi-Fi and cell phone use
  • Monthly Bilingual Pay Premium upon successful completion of an oral and/or written test ($50 for oral premium and $50 for written premium) 
  • Optional monthly peer support group facilitated by third party mental health clinic 
  • Opportunities for growth and advancement 

Next Steps

Applicants progressing to the later stages of the interview process will be required to submit a writing sample to demonstrate their communication skills and expertise.

Public Law Center is dedicated to building a diverse team and fostering a fair and welcoming work environment. To view our complete DEI statement, please click here.

Public Law Center is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, please contact Public Law Center.

PLC will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with all legal requirements.

PLC regrets that it is unable to sponsor employment Visas or consider individuals on time-limited Visa status for this position.