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 Consumer Law Unit is seeking an energetic, passionate advocate to join our team in fighting for justice for elders and low-income consumers in Orange County through innovative, collaborative, community-centered lawyering to address inequities and pursue economic justice.
PLC’s Consumer Law Unit provides high quality direct legal representation, in addition to coordinating and supervising pro bono representation, in the following areas: debt collection defense, student loans, identity theft, bankruptcy, predatory lending, and home equity scams. The Unit conducts legal clinics in the U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts and participates with CLASoCal in conducting a Debt Collection Workshop at the Santa Ana Law Library. The Consumer Unit also operates PLC’s Elder Justice project, working with older adults in Orange County to prevent and recover from elder financial abuse.
What you'll do
- Handle a full caseload of cases on behalf of elders and low-income clients dealing with consumer law issues, including debt collection defense, bankruptcy, homeownership scams, elder abuse, and other civil litigation in both state and federal court proceedings.
- Participate in and help coordinate legal clinics and workshops.
- Coordinate referrals to other units to help provide holistic legal services to low-income clients.
- Conduct community education presentations to clients, partner agencies, and service providers.
- Oversee volunteer attorneys and law students through training, technical support and general supervision.
- Represent PLC as an attendee at legal networking and community outreach events.
- 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 preferred.
- 0-3 years experience; knowledge of consumer law and/or civil litigation preferred.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Strong public speaking skills and ability to communicate with a variety of audiences, from community members to pro bono attorneys.
- 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; travel throughout Orange and neighboring counties may be necessary.
- 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 preventing vaccination.
Salary & Benefits
- Compensation dependent on experience; range of $75,000 to $82,000
- Barred in 2024; no experience: $75,000
- Barred in 2023; up to 1 year attorney experience: $77,000
- Barred in 2022: up to 2 years attorney experience: $80,000
- Barred in 2021: up to 3 years attorney experience: $82,000
- 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
- Currently working on a part-time remote schedule (2 days in office, 3 days remote) SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS THE UNIT’S NEEDS CHANGE.
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.
The pay range for this role is:
75,000 - 82,000 USD per year (Main Office)