INTERNAL POSTING

Family Law Priority Coordinator

Available in Any Legal Action Office

1/23/23

To expand opportunity within the firm and to increase the number of staff members who are familiar with management of the firm, the priority coordinator positions rotate every three years upon approval of the Executive Director. Pursuant to this procedure, Robert Held Vander Wyst will step down as the Family Law Priority Coordinator on 3/31/23.

Legal Action believes that equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and people with life experiences or educational backgrounds that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Working with the Director of Litigation and Advocacy and Assistant Director of Litigation and Advocacy, Project Coordinators and Directors, Managing Attorneys, Director of Legal Services and others, organize and coordinate the firm’s family law work via:
  • quarterly priority committee meetings;
  • regular (currently monthly) case discussion meetings;
  • actively monitoring and responding to communications (generally via email, Teams, or phone calls) from the firm’s advocates who are practicing in family law;
  • actively monitoring external emails and other communications methods regarding family law;
  • suggest and provide internal family law training either directly or through VLP and identify external training activities and encourage participation in the training activities; and
  • actively monitoring the development of case law and other regulatory processes for family law matters.

(This represents the current structure by which the firm’s family law p.c. is organized and by which communications occur. The incoming FLAW Priority Coordinate will have some latitude to structure it differently.)

• Develop, coordinate, and supervise the firm’s structural change advocacy and litigation (formerly known as impact advocacy and litigation) in family law. Coordinate the collaborations between LAW and other law firms that may be necessary for structural change advocacy and litigation. Consult with Managing Attorneys and Project Directors regarding staff resources before undertaking structural change litigation and advocacy.
• Actively contribute to the firm’s hiring processes when the hiring relates to family law.
• Serve as the point person and facilitator of the identification and assessment of client needs and service delivery in family law for the firm. Actively contribute to the firm’s overall priority-setting, needs assessment, and strategic plan development and implementation, and resource allocation processes to ensure that the firm is addressing the family law priority.
• Working with the Director of Racial Justice Legal Work, identify focus areas in family law for race equity alignment work and organize and coordinate the firm’s work on those focus areas.
• Working with the Director of Compliance and Legislative Advocacy, keep abreast of proposed legislation, regulations, and policies related to the priority area and to develop Legal Action’s responses if they become necessary.
• Ensure that firm is using adequate and reliable research to inform our practice in family law.
• Provide support and resources for staff in offices with limited capacity (temporary or longer-term) in family law and with newly-hired family law attorneys.
• Assist with coordinating the staffing for Priority Committee projects in multiple offices which are not covered by a specific Project Director.
• Actively engage with community groups and external partners as they relate to family law.
• Assist with compiling data for funding applications as needed.
• Actively participate in the Managers’ group, subgroups, and work groups and attend all Manager Meetings.
• Coordinate the provision of high-quality representation of clients in family law with the Director of Legal Services and others.
• Consult with and provide input to the Managing Attorney or Project Director for employee performance evaluations and separately if performance problems are identified and on Tier placements.
• Maintain an active family law caseload that is commensurate with the amount of legal experience and with project or office expectations and perform casework in adherence with the firm’s attorney performance standards.

Qualifications (Required unless otherwise indicated:)

• D. and current Wisconsin law license.
• 4 years of practice in at least one of Legal Action’s priority areas of law is required. 2 years of practice in family law is desired.
• Possess a significant commitment to and skills for serving as a resource to and developing attorneys and in coordinating the firm’s work in family law.
• Demonstrated ability to: understand the varied nature of structural change advocacy and litigation; consider the “big picture” regarding structural change advocacy; and assess the suitability of an issue or particular case as a vehicle for structural change advocacy and the level of service required to achieve a goal.
• Ability to navigate legal issues and to facilitate work when differing opinions and approaches to handling cases exist.
• Ability to identify and connect with resources for clients and attorneys.
• Ability to think critically about problems impacting our client community.
• Willingness and ability to work collaboratively with staff attorneys and other managers and to motivate others.
• Demonstrated excellence in working collegially with co-workers and with external partners.
• Ability to occasionally travel to our offices and statewide and nationally is required.
• Demonstrated cultural competence, desire to undertake race equity alignment work, and respect for differences in race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance.

Salary: This is a Tier 1 Attorney Manager position. The steps on the Tier 1 Attorney Manager positions are 7.5% above the Tier 2 Staff Attorney salary ladder steps. For example, step 5 of the Tier 1 Attorney Manager salary scale is $78,758 and step 10 of the Tier 1 Attorney Manager salary scale is $96,092. The entire salary ladder is attached to this position description.

Spanish and Hmong Language Salary Premium:

Legal Action has an annual salary premium of either $2,400 or $4,800 (dependent on duties) for employees who are proficient in Spanish or Hmong.

Term:

The Priority Coordinator serves for 3 years. The Priority Coordinator moves off the Attorney Manager Tier 1 scale after the term ends and reverts to the salary ladder that was assigned before becoming Priority Coordinator. When determining step placement on any ladder, we will consider all relevant experience. Therefore, when moving amongst ladders of the same type of position, i.e., Attorney 2 and Attorney Manager 1), employees will continue on the same step placement of the new ladder. For example, Example: A Staff Attorney Tier 2 has 10 years of relevant experience and is therefore on step 10 of the Staff Attorney Tier 2 ladder. When they become Priority Coordinator, they move to the Attorney Manager Tier 1 ladder and are on Step 10. Three years later, when their Priority Coordinator term ends, they will move from Attorney Manager Tier 1, Step 13 to Staff Attorney Tier 2, Step 13.

Governance and Supervision:

The position is governed by Legal Action’s Personnel Policies, and these are subject to unilateral change by the firm’s Board of Directors. All positions at Legal Action are “at will;” there is no guaranteed period of employment and employment is “at will,” subject to termination at any time.

Scope of Authority:

The Priority Coordinator makes recommendations to the Executive Director and other managers (such as the Director of Legal Services, Managing Attorneys, Project Coordinators, and the Chief Financial Officer and Controller) about Legal Action policies and procedures, service delivery, staffing and other budgetary needs, and needs of our clients and potential clients. In addition, the Priority Coordinator contributes information about employee's performance. The Priority Coordinator uses their independent judgment in exercising this authority and performing their duties.

Physical Demands:

Enter information into a computer accurately. Answer numerous emails, phone calls, and other electronic and electronic communications throughout the day. Retrieve documents from printers and copiers and similar office equipment and file or distribute to others as needed.

Work Environment:

This role is mostly sedentary, with most of the duties performed on a computer, phone, table, or reception desk. Desk and workspaces will accommodate a wheelchair or other assistive devices. This position may require occasional short-distance or long-distance travel.

How to Apply:

Deedee Peterson, Executive Director, is hiring manager for this position.

To apply for this position, submit the following materials:

• Cover letter that describes interest in the position and qualifications
• Resume
• Writing sample (This is required because the hiring manager and the interview panel does not always have access to or knowledge of our staff attorneys’ writing.)

Application link: https://secure2.entertimeonline.com/ta/7988.careers?ShowJob=503511555

(The guide for current employees to use Orbit to apply for this position is included in the posting email.)

ATTORNEY MANAGER TIER 1 SALARY LADDER

Step 0 N.A. (because of minimum experience requirements)

Step 1 N.A.

Step 2 N.A.

Step 3 $71,824

Step 4 $75,291

Step 5 $78,758

Step 6 $82,225

Step 7 $85,691

Step 8 $89,158

Step 9 $92,625

Step 10 $96,092

Step 11 $98,981

Step 12 $101,870

Step 13 $104,181

Step 14 $106,493

Step 15 $108,804

Step 16 $110,537

Step 17 $112,271

Step 18 $114,004

Step 19 $115,738

Step 20 $117,471

Step 21 $118,626

Step 22 $119,782

Step 23 $120,938

Step 24 $122,093

Step 25 $123,249

Step 26 $124,404

Step 27 $125,560

Step 28 $126,716

Step 29 $127,871

Step 30 $129,027

Step 31 $132,898

Step 32 $136,885

Step 33 $140,991

Step 34 $145,221

Step 35 $149,578

Step 36 $154,065

Step 37 $158,687

Step 38 $163,447

Step 39 $168,351

Step 40 $173,401

Step 41

and beyond: Step 40 plus a flat $2,000 stipend that does not compound and is given as one flat lump sum on anniversary pay check.