Legal Director

Position Description

Legal Aid of Arkansas seeks an experienced and energetic attorney and leader to serve as its Legal Director. Legal Aid provides critical civil legal services for vulnerable residents throughout Arkansas. This position will help strategically grow and direct Legal Aid’s litigation and advocacy programs to effectively address the problems of individuals and communities in poverty. The successful candidate will also provide supervision for substantive group leaders and project managers, while assuring effective onboarding and ongoing mentorship and training of staff providing direct legal services to clients.

The position, in consultation with Legal Aid’s Leadership Team, will:

• Assist with development and deployment of a comprehensive legal needs assessment and a strategic plan informed by that assessment.
• Lead and assist with planning an articulated strategic advocacy vision, consistent with Legal Aid’s strategic plan, and promoting methods for identifying and carrying out high quality impact litigation and policy advocacy.
• Engage in co-counseling, coordinating, and advising on complex litigation, leading litigation teams, and evaluating alternative forums for solving issues in advance of litigation.
• Mentor attorneys at all levels, teaching litigation strategies, and developing the litigation skills of the program’s attorneys, including assisting with the identification and approval of training needs and opportunities.
• Collaborate work with Legal Aid’s pro bono team to involve private law firms in co-counseling/impact case acceptance as requested.
• Contribute to ensuring compliance with legal rules and regulations.
• Be part of the team for assuming responsibility for caseloads of departing attorneys during periods of transition, in coordination with substantive group leaders.
• Support other program duties and functions as assigned.