The General Counsel & Director of Pro Bono Programs of the New York County Lawyers Association will be responsible for providing legal advice to NYCLA to ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations (including compliance with tax, not-for-profit, financial, employment, real estate, anti-discrimination, and health and safety laws and regulations) and will oversee the public policy and issue-oriented work of the Association.  In addition, this position oversees the development and implementation of NYCLA’s Pro Bono Programs and the Fee Dispute & Conciliation Program.

This position reports to the Executive Director of the Association.

Position Responsibilities:

General Counsel

• Provides legal advice to NYCLA and affiliated Foundation to ensure compliance with tax, not-for-profit, pension, insurance, financial reporting, corporate governance, health and safety, employment, anti-discrimination, real estate, environmental, and other applicable laws and regulations.
• Reviews legal documents and contracts to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Identifies public policy issues relevant to the furtherance of NYCLA’s mission and proposes strategies for effective initiatives and responses, including reports, forums, press releases, and collaborative approaches with other organizations.
• Reviews NYCLA publications and press releases to ensure that NYCLA ‘s policy positions are accurately reflected and that legal developments are accurately described before disseminating.
• Assists the Executive Director in the development of Association policies and programs by formulating recommendations to the President and Board.
• Coordinates research and preparation of reports for the President, Board, NYCLA Committees, Task Forces and other bodies for presentation to judicial and other commissions, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
• Works with consultants, officers, staff and the Nominating Committee on Board, officer and volunteer leadership development, including recruitment, orientation and training.
• Assists the Executive Director and President and other officers with developing agenda items for the Executive Committee, Board and governance committees and assists in the preparation of minutes, agenda packets for the Board and its committees, the Justice Center Advisory Board, task forces and working groups; performs follow up to ensure action items are implemented.
• Performs legal and staff support for Board and Executive Committee meetings, governance committees, Task Forces and Working Groups, as directed by the Executive Director and President.
• Performs other functions as required by the Executive Director, President and other officers of NYCLA.

Director of Pro Bono and Fee Dispute Programs

Develop and implement NYCLA’s various pro bono programs, in consultation with the Committee on Pro Bono.

• Develop department budget, along with relevant sub-budgets in relation to specific pro bono/fee dispute programs as appropriate.
• Prepare grant applications, including grants through the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund and the Office of Court Administration.
• Prepare and finalize annual Professional Liability Insurance renewal.
• Maintain NYCLA’s profile on pro bono related resource websites.
• Conduct outreach to other legal providers, bar associations and related organizations.
• Supervise the Pro Bono Administrator and the Fee Disputes Program Administrator in the implementation of their responsibilities.
• Oversee and facilitate attorney recruitment and training across all relevant pro bono programs.
• Manage the screening, referral and assignment of pro bono clients and attorneys; provide volunteer support where appropriate.
• Serve as liaison between NYCLA and partnering organizations, including the Feerick Center for Social Justice, Volunteers of Legal Service, LegalServicesNYC and the Urban Justice Center.
• Coordinate and cultivate relationships with various supervising and mentoring attorneys across all pro bono programs.
• Handle volunteer recognition through various awards and other events.
• Address high-level complain calls and letters relating to both the Pro Bono Program and the Fee Dispute & Conciliation Program.
• Develop and direct publicity for Pro Bono Programs.

Qualifications:

The ideal applicant will have the following qualifications:

• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Strong academic record.
• Member in good standing of the New York Bar.
• At least 5 years of relevant legal experience, including familiarity with legal issues relating to tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations.
• Experience working with non-profit boards, membership organizations and/or bar associations.
• Excellent legal research, writing, and communication skills.
• Strong personal work ethic and ability to adapt.
• Computer literacy, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Collegial personality, ability to work cooperatively with diverse team of professionals.

The successful applicant will work well in a team. S/he will be self-motivated, work well under pressure and be able to handle several projects at one time. S/he will have good judgment and a sense of humor.

Application Instructions and Requested Documents:

• Cover letter addressing your experience related to the position responsibilities and the required and preferred qualifications
• Current resume

Email all documents to jobs@NYCLA.org

About New York County Lawyers Association

The Great Inclusive Bar Association of the City The New York County Lawyers Association was founded in 1908, and at the time of its founding, the only existing bar association in Manhattan precluded some lawyers from membership by virtue of ethnicity, religion, gender and race. Although other factors contributed to the atmosphere that produced the new association, none was as strong as “selective membership.” Not only were large groups of lawyers denied affiliation with a bar association, but independent perspectives on the judicial system were also curtailed by the reluctance of a few large law firms to facilitate change. Throughout its history, NYCLA’s bedrock principles have been the inclusion of all who wish to join and the active pursuit of legal system reform. In 1907, a group of lawyers gathered in Carnegie Hall to address the prospect of forming a bar group where heritage and politics were not obstacles to inclusion. The bar leaders who met were determined to create, in the words of Hon. Joseph H. Choate, who would become president in 1912, “the great democratic bar association of the City [where] any attorney who had met the rigid standards set up by law for admission ...to the bar should, by virtue of that circumstance, be eligible for admission.” Just a few months later, April 21, 1908, 145 “attorneys or counsellors of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in active practice, residing or having offices in New York County” officially incorporated the New York County Lawyers Association. The New York County Lawyers Association has historically been one of the largest and most influential county bar associations in the country. From its 145 founders to the more than 8,000 who now proudly call themselves Members, the Association has stood for, as observed by one of its founders, Benno Lewinson: “the cultivation of the science of jurisprudence; the promotion of reforms in the law; the facilitation of the administration of justice; the elevation of the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession; [and] the cherishing of the spirit of brotherhood among the members of the Association.” NYCLA’s stature in the legal community has attracted prominent men and women to its programs. Annual Meetings, dinners and forum events have been attended by U.S. presidents, chief justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, legal scholars from across the country, corporate leaders and elected officials from all levels of government. From the beginning, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. As early as 1915, NYCLA proposed legislation to “radically revise all the laws pertaining to this [Municipal] Court.” In 1948, the Association sponsored initiatives to reduce calendar congestion at all court levels. In 1962, NYCLA spearheaded the effort to enact a unified civil and criminal court system in New York City. NYCLA has consistently supported just compensation for judges and employees of the courts, as well as the merit selection of judges. In 1997, NYCLA’s proposal to increase fees for Article 18(b) attorneys to improve the quality of defense afforded to indigent defendants won the endorsement of bar associations across the state. A lawsuit filed in 2000 helped obtain increased compensation for these attorneys. The Association has also had a powerful impact on both the law and public policy. NYCLA’s groundbreaking 1952 report on public apathy toward delinquent children brought wide acclaim and won the endorsement of Mayor Robert F. Wagner. In 1943, the Association refused to renew its affiliation with the American Bar Association for its refusal to admit Black lawyers. In 1949, NYCLA sponsored a conference on civil rights in the post-World-War-II era. NYCLA’s Women’s Rights Committee challenged and helped change provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that had a discriminatory impact on women and married couples. NYCLA and its members have never confined their activities to making recommendations and then standing back. When calendar congestion became so menacing in 1976 as to threaten the court system, 350 NYCLA lawyers volunteered to act as Special Masters of the courts to relieve the burden. In 1989, when indigent defendants could not secure representation, NYCLA attorneys volunteered to perform pro bono work, not only assisting the needy but demonstrating their commitment to public service. The Association has also taken the lead in the professional development of attorneys, providing continuing legal education for more than 40 years. Since its inception, NYCLA has been at the forefront of most legal debates in the country. The Association’s founders were and their successors are dedicated to the highest standards for the legal profession and the preservation of justice for all.

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