Federal Pro Se Program - Staff Attorney

AGENCY DESCRIPTION: 

The Asian Law Alliance is a non-profit community law office that has provided legal services, community education and advocacy services since 1977 to the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Santa Clara County. Priority areas are immigration, housing, domestic violence, public benefits and civil rights.

JOB SUMMARY:

ALA’s Federal Pro Se Program, in partnership with the United States District Court’s Northern District of California, provides limited scope legal assistance to self-represented litigants with pending cases in the Court’s San Jose Division. The attorney will staff and manage the operations of the Program’s legal clinic by conducting intake, scheduling appointments, and meeting with individual clients to provide limited scope legal assistance.  The attorney will also recruit volunteers and help place select cases with pro bono counsel when requested by the Court.  The legal clinic was housed in an office at the courthouse before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Services are currently provided remotely.  The attorney should be prepared for the possibility of returning to some in-person services as public health conditions permit.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Applicants must be a licensed member of the California State Bar.
• Applicants must have three to five years ‘experience, and must be knowledgeable about the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court’s local civil rules, and the various procedural stages of federal court litigation, from the inception of a case through trial including, the filing of pleadings, early-stage motion practice, case management, discovery, settlement, late-stage motion practice, and trial with three to five years’ experience.
• Applicants must be comfortable working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and abilities within low-income communities and be able to adjust the legal services provided depending on the needs of the individual.
• Applicants must actively recruit and maintain a panel of pro bono attorneys.
• Applicants must be comfortable working independently with minimal supervision.