Migrant Staff Attorney - Farmworker Legal Services - Kalamazoo Office

POSITION: FARMWORKER LEGAL SERVICES (FLS), a statewide division of Legal Services of South Central Michigan (LSSCM), is seeking outstanding applicants for a Staff Attorney position in our Kalamazoo office.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: LSSCM is a non-profit law firm providing free legal services to very low income and senior persons in 13 counties in south central Michigan. FLS is the division of LSSCM that provides legal advice, referrals, direct representation and systemic advocacy to Michigan’s migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, as further described at www.FarmworkerLaw.org.

FLS currently has a staff of six attorneys, one legal assistant, and numerous seasonal interns and outreach staff. Our bilingual advocates provide a full range of civil legal services to Michigan’s eligible population of 90,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents. Michigan’s migrant workers harvest a diversity of 45 crops, including asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, cherries and apples. The majority of workers include Spanish-speaking family groups from the southern U.S. and Mexico. Case priorities address their critical legal needs in employment, civil rights, housing, public benefits, and immigration law. Because FLS is recognized as “the law office of first resort” for farmworkers in Michigan, services we provide include basic legal advice, community education and referrals, and direct representation of individuals and groups in the full spectrum of local, state, and federal forums.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Staff Attorney will provide effective legal services to enforce farmworkers’ rights. Advocacy tasks will include field investigation and camp outreach, legal research and writing, negotiation, community task force participation, training, document preparation, policy analysis, and direct representation in administrative hearings, as well as state and federal litigation and appeals.

QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must be licensed to practice law in Michigan, qualified to be admitted by waiver, or able to take the next available bar exam. Applicants must possess excellent communication, analytical and problem-solving skills as well as a demonstrated commitment to protecting the rights of workers, immigrants or other persons in poverty. Fluency in Spanish is very strongly preferred.

BENEFITS:: This is a unionized position; the union salary range is $40,000 to $60,000 based on years of relevant public interest law experience, with an excellent health, disability and fringe benefit package. Kalamazoo is a college town in southwestern Michigan, located 35 miles east of Lake Michigan, and two hours from Chicago and Detroit.

LSSCM is an equal opportunity employer. Minority and disabled persons and women are encouraged to apply. Send a cover letter confirming your qualifications, including a description of your level of Spanish fluency, your current resume, and a list of three professional references to:

Managing Attorney
Farmworker Legal Services
3030 S. 9th St., Suite 1A
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Email: fls@lsscm.org

Date Posted: 2010/03/31