About Cabrini Green Legal Aid
Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) was established in 1973 to serve the legal needs arising from the lack of opportunity, criminalization of poverty, and racial inequity experienced within Chicago's Cabrini Green public housing community. Since then, CGLA has grown beyond a single neighborhood to become a citywide, countywide, and statewide leader in proactively filling the void of legal representation, wraparound services, legal information and resources, and advocacy exclusively for low-income individuals negatively impacted by the criminal legal system. Any engagement with the criminal legal system can greatly disrupt an individual, family, and community's quality of life.
CGLA is distinguished among legal aid service providers locally, throughout Illinois, and nationally as having expertise in legal matters related to the direct and collateral consequences of the criminal legal system. Since 2014, we have been the sole legal aid services provider serving Cook County with the distinction of focusing exclusively on individuals and families who have been adversely impacted by the criminal legal system in all legal program areas: criminal records, emerging adults, criminal defense, housing law, and family law. We provide direct legal services, advocate for policy reforms, and provide legal information and resources to other legal aid organizations, pro bono attorneys, and the general public. We also support our clients holistically with wraparound social services from our social workers. Our policy and advocacy work is not performed as a separate entity; rather it is informed by our legal services and the lived experiences of our Leadership Council, an Advisory Group made up of former CGLA clients and community members directly impacted by the criminal legal system.
CGLA’s Mission, Purpose and Vision
- Mission: We provide holistic legal services that include social support services and advocacy for individuals and communities negatively impacted by the criminal legal system.
- Purpose: CGLA exists to remove barriers to equity in the criminal legal system.
- Vision: A more just and equitable criminal legal system.
Position Overview
The Criminal Defense Senior Attorney will provide direct and brief legal representation of clients in criminal and juvenile defense matters. This position is also responsible for overseeing the representation of clients in parole and Aftercare revocation hearings before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Responsibilities of this position will also include providing expungement and sealing services to criminal defense clients and clients of CGLA’s community partners. Finally, this position will assist in training and supervising fellows, interns, and volunteers.
Essential Duties
- Provide legal representation to low-income individuals facing adult criminal charges, including parole violations, as assigned, maintaining a manageable caseload proportionate to other responsibilities.
- Work with the Client Support Services Program to ensure clients with social services needs are served in meaningful ways that support the individual or strengthen the legal case.
- Attend and actively participate in weekly client intake meetings, representing the criminal defense team in the civil matters intake meeting as assigned.
- Maintain up-to-date client information in CGLA’s case management system to ensure accurate data collection and statistical tracking including timely reporting of outcomes, recording case notes for each client, maintaining calendars, and completing case closing notes and documentation.
- Follow procedures established for case handling, follow-up services and internal referrals to address client needs during and after representation.
- Provide education and training to staff and participants of partner agencies and attend relevant meetings in the community at large to further CGLA’s mission of providing access to justice for CGLA’s client population.
- Cultivate and manage relationships with workforce development agencies and other organizations that have formal partnerships with CGLA to provide holistic legal services to clients.
- Schedule and conduct periodic visits at partner organizations to conduct staff training and on-site legal services when applicable.
- Collaborate with CGLA’s attorneys in other program areas to identify criminal defense clients who have civil or criminal records needs and advocate for these clients in non- criminal defense legal matters, assisting with housing law, family law, and criminal records cases as co-counsel with supervisory approval when caseload capacity allows.
- Collaborate with CGLA’s policy team as expertise is needed and help inform CGLA’s policy team and advocacy agenda with programmatic insights and experiences.
- Identify when clients and former clients could be invited to the Leadership Council.
- Attend Supervisory Team meetings as well as trainings and development for CGLA supervisory staff.
- Design and deliver educational materials relating to criminal defense matters and conduct classes for clients, volunteers, attorneys, courts, partner organizations and other personnel as assigned.
- Train and supervise staff attorneys, volunteer attorneys, and law student interns in defense matters, including Illinois Prisoner Review Board (IPRB) appointments, as assigned.
- Take ownership over supporting processes, documentation, and tracking for all IPRB appointments, implementing updates and improvements as needed. Provide advice, support, training, and supervision at community and countywide summits and at community outreach and educational events as assigned.
- Keep abreast of changes in criminal defense law and the impacts other areas of law have on clients’ cases, including concurrent civil rights cases, immigration cases, etc. Collaborate with stakeholders and service providers in related legal matters to obtain advice and training to further legal knowledge and advocacy skills.
- Work with the CGLA leadership team to ensure all program goals are met each fiscal year. • Performs other duties as assigned.
Personnel Management
- Assist in onboarding and training new staff, interns and volunteers and reviewing their work product.
- Conduct performance appraisals and quarterly check-ins with direct reports and assigned fellows.
- Ensure timely, consistent, and detailed performance feedback is provided to each direct report. Ensure direct reports are performing at a satisfactory level.
- Provide resources and support to address staff’s needs, identify and secure professional development opportunities for staff, provide coaching and supervision, and manage and resolve conflict.
- Provide training and supervising in-house staff, fellows, interns, and volunteers to assure quality legal representation. Education • Juris Doctor from ABA-accredited law school.
- Licensed to practice law in Illinois by date of employment.
Experience
- Minimum of 3 years of practice experience in criminal law.
Required Skills
- Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
- Be self-driven, highly energetic and innovative.
- The ability to work collaboratively with staff, interns and volunteers.
- Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines and produce quality results.
- Superior interpersonal skills; comfortable working with a diverse population.
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both in writing and orally.
- Exemplary organizational skills and keen attention to detail.
- Prior criminal litigation & jury trial experience Supervisory Responsibility Supervise attorneys, interns, and other employees as assigned.
Required Hours
Monday through Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm, 40 hours per week. NOTE: Non-traditional hours – occasional weekends and evenings – may be required.
Physical Requirements
- Understand the speech of another person.
- Must be able to handle high levels of mental stress.
- The employee is frequently required to use hands and fingers to type, handle, or feel and reach. The employee is regularly required to stand and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
Travel Requirements
Travel to all Cook County courthouses, and occasionally to Statesville Correctional Center (if in-person parole hearings are ever reinstated) is required.
Working Conditions
CGLA has implemented a telecommuter and flexible work policy that allows employees to perform work remotely at the employee’s home or at an approved offsite location. Employees must have adequate internet access to work from home. If working in the office, you must be able to work in an open office setting with moderate noise levels and follow all COVID-19 safety protocols. Employee must have reliable internet access to work remotely.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $54,484.18 per year
Schedule:
Ability to Commute:
- Chicago, IL 60603 (Required)
Ability to Relocate:
- Chicago, IL 60603: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Chicago, IL 60603