Overview

ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.

Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Rights, Audrey Irmas Gender Justice Project, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law. 

Public Counsel has a full-time staff of over 150. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, and people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities.

 

ABOUT CONSUMER RIGHTS & ECONOMIC JUSTICE (CREJ)

Public Counsel’s Consumer Rights & Economic Justice (“CREJ”) Project is one of the oldest projects within Public Counsel. Our mission is to advance economic justice, with a specific focus on addressing structural racial inequalities that have long hampered individuals and communities of color. We provide legal counsel for, and advocacy on behalf of low-income individuals and their families, addressing inequalities in bargaining power, opposing those who take advantage of the vulnerable, and holding wrongdoers accountable. 

We are a diverse team of dedicated and nationally-recognized attorneys and support staff who strive to lift up our clients and each other with excellence, dedication, tenacity, compassion and kindness.

 

JOB SUMMARY

The Staff Attorney will assist low-income consumers across a range of debt collection matters. This full-time Staff Attorney position will primarily involve defending low-income clients in debt collection cases, providing direct legal services, and engaging in litigation including through to trail and appeal. The Staff Attorney will participate in weekly clinics and will assist with the team’s debt collection-related policy and impact litigation efforts, in addition to performing related administrative and grant reporting tasks. The Staff Attorney will be responsible for carrying out this work in collaboration with the Supervising Staff Attorney and other members of the CREJ team. Extensive training will be provided.

Reporting to the Supervising Staff Attorney, the Staff Attorney will:

  • Carry a caseload of debt collection direct services cases; 
  • Participate in the full breadth of debt collection defense litigation activities, including drafting and filing answers, carrying out discovery, filing and responding to motions, and appearing at hearings including representing debtors at trial and on appeal as needed;
  • Attend debt collection clinics assisting debtors defend themselves against debt collectors, including two in-person clinics in Los Angeles County;
  • Under the guidance of the Supervising Staff Attorney, participate in systemic advocacy efforts, which may include policy advocacy and/or impact litigation;
  • Assist with preparation of quarterly grant reports;
  • Assist in developing and deploying new technologies, including AI, to assist team and litigants;
  • Participate in external meetings with legal services and community-based organizations as needed, in order to be responsive to community needs;
  • Attend trainings & conferences;
  • Other duties as assigned.