Staff Attorney- SSI Unit
Community Legal Services
Full-time
On-site
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Administration
Community Legal Services, Inc. of Philadelphia (CLS) is a non-profit public interest agency providing free civil legal services to low-income Philadelphia residents. As the largest provider of free civil legal services in the Philadelphia area, CLS is both locally and nationally renowned as a premier legal services provider dedicated to ensuring access to justice for all low-income people and communities. CLS has eight legal units and several projects covering a wide range of civil legal services.
CLS is seeking a full-time staff attorney for its SSI Unit. The SSI Unit helps children and adults prove eligibility for SSI, a Social Security income program for people with disabilities. SSI is a vitally important piece of the American safety net. It helps families stay together, promotes housing stability, and reduces incarceration. As the most significant income support program in the United States, SSI is attracting renewed attention from advocates, policymakers, and researchers due to the success of guaranteed income pilots. Even so, SSI remains very hard to access and its rules are very complex.
CLS’s SSI Unit plays a leading role, in Philadelphia and nationally, in making SSI more accessible. SSI attorneys and paralegals work in partnership to provide full legal representation at all stages of the SSI application process, including during informal disability reviews, at formal administrative hearings, and in federal court. Advocates also represent current SSI recipients whose disabilities are under review by SSA. CLS prioritizes cases for people with serious behavioral health conditions, including trauma; immigrants and people who are limited English proficient; and children. Advocates practice holistically, ensuring that clients are connected to medical care, school supports, and other resources. The SSI Unit also provides trainings and outreach to community groups on SSI eligibility rules, and advocates for policy reforms that make the SSI program work better for everyone.
JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
To Apply: CLS will accept applications on a rolling basis until the position has been filled. However, candidates are highly encouraged to submit their application by Friday. May 2, 2025, for consideration for first round interviews. You can submit your application on CLS’s website online at: https://clsphila.org/careers/ OR "Apply Now". You can also reach out to Crystal Stackhouse (Hiring Coordinator) [email protected].
What to Include in your application: Please include a cover letter, resume, three professional references from current or former supervisors (identifying your relationship), and one brief writing sample (10 pages or less).
CLS values a diverse work environment and strongly encourages women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, people with disabilities, people who have experienced poverty or homelessness and people who have had prior contact with the juvenile, criminal, or child welfare systems to apply. CLS invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice.
Compensation: This is a full-time position covered by the collective bargaining agreement between CLS and the Philadelphia Legal Services Union N.O.L.S.W./Local 2320/UAW. CLS offers a competitive salary based on experience. The current minimum starting salary is $63,000 for newly admitted attorneys, which increases with relevant years of experience and according to the provisions of the current collective bargaining agreement.
Benefits: CLS offers a very generous and competitive benefits package including 100% employer paid medical (including gender affirming care), life, and short/long-term disability benefits, a 403(b)-retirement plan with employer contribution, and generous leave package, including 13 paid holidays and five personal holidays each year.
Community Legal Services, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. CLS, Inc. does not discriminate in the selection of employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, genetics, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, CLS complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall and transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
CLS is seeking a full-time staff attorney for its SSI Unit. The SSI Unit helps children and adults prove eligibility for SSI, a Social Security income program for people with disabilities. SSI is a vitally important piece of the American safety net. It helps families stay together, promotes housing stability, and reduces incarceration. As the most significant income support program in the United States, SSI is attracting renewed attention from advocates, policymakers, and researchers due to the success of guaranteed income pilots. Even so, SSI remains very hard to access and its rules are very complex.
CLS’s SSI Unit plays a leading role, in Philadelphia and nationally, in making SSI more accessible. SSI attorneys and paralegals work in partnership to provide full legal representation at all stages of the SSI application process, including during informal disability reviews, at formal administrative hearings, and in federal court. Advocates also represent current SSI recipients whose disabilities are under review by SSA. CLS prioritizes cases for people with serious behavioral health conditions, including trauma; immigrants and people who are limited English proficient; and children. Advocates practice holistically, ensuring that clients are connected to medical care, school supports, and other resources. The SSI Unit also provides trainings and outreach to community groups on SSI eligibility rules, and advocates for policy reforms that make the SSI program work better for everyone.
JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Providing high-volume, high-quality client representation in SSI disability cases;
- Representing CLS in local, state, and federal disability policy coalitions;
- Participating in federal legislative and administrative advocacy pertaining to income supports for disability communities;
- Engaging in impact litigation, including class action litigation, as necessary; and
- Conducting outreach and education to clients and community members to demystify SSA income programs and make them more accessible.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Admission to the Pennsylvania Bar or ability to waive in;
- Experience providing high quality, compassionate direct client representation;
- Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with diverse colleagues and communities;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Excellent negotiation and analytical skills;
- Excellent legal research and writing skills;
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume work environment;
- Ability to meet deadlines and perform multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail; and
- Strong commitment to disability and racial justice
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Substantive knowledge of and experience with Social Security and/or public benefits law;
- Experience working with the disability community;
- Litigation and/or policy experience.
- Supervision experience; and
- Fluency in a world language
To Apply: CLS will accept applications on a rolling basis until the position has been filled. However, candidates are highly encouraged to submit their application by Friday. May 2, 2025, for consideration for first round interviews. You can submit your application on CLS’s website online at: https://clsphila.org/careers/ OR "Apply Now". You can also reach out to Crystal Stackhouse (Hiring Coordinator) [email protected].
What to Include in your application: Please include a cover letter, resume, three professional references from current or former supervisors (identifying your relationship), and one brief writing sample (10 pages or less).
CLS values a diverse work environment and strongly encourages women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, people with disabilities, people who have experienced poverty or homelessness and people who have had prior contact with the juvenile, criminal, or child welfare systems to apply. CLS invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and/or experiences might contribute to the diversity, cultural vitality, and perspective of our staff and legal services practice.
Compensation: This is a full-time position covered by the collective bargaining agreement between CLS and the Philadelphia Legal Services Union N.O.L.S.W./Local 2320/UAW. CLS offers a competitive salary based on experience. The current minimum starting salary is $63,000 for newly admitted attorneys, which increases with relevant years of experience and according to the provisions of the current collective bargaining agreement.
Benefits: CLS offers a very generous and competitive benefits package including 100% employer paid medical (including gender affirming care), life, and short/long-term disability benefits, a 403(b)-retirement plan with employer contribution, and generous leave package, including 13 paid holidays and five personal holidays each year.
Community Legal Services, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. CLS, Inc. does not discriminate in the selection of employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, genetics, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, CLS complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall and transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.