LEGAL DIRECTOR
JOB DESCRIPTION
Mission Statement: The mission of Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response® (STAR®) is to support survivors of sexual trauma, improve systems response, and create social change to end sexual violence.
Position Summary: The Legal Director manages STAR’s legal services program and provides legal representation to STAR clients throughout our service areas.
The primary duties of this job are to:
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Directly supervise the Staff Attorneys and Legal Services Coordinator
- Manage employee time (review TimeWorks, approve/deny PTO, ensure compliance with time requirements, etc.)
- Facilitate weekly team meetings with legal staff
- Facilitate regular 1-1 check-ins/meetings with legal program staff
- Delegate duties/tasks to members of the legal program staff
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Collaborate with the Legal/Policy Director to develop and expand the legal program
- Develop, monitor, and update internal policies and procedures as it relates to the legal program
- Identify new funding and grant opportunities to support the legal program
- Assist with grant funding reports (i.e., LAV)
- Provide legal representation to STAR® clients
- Collaborate with the Director of Programs, Advocacy Director(s), and Counseling Director to ensure comprehensive service delivery to STAR client across all branches and programs
- Conduct quality assurance of legal notes/files in EmpowerDB
Classification: 40 hours/week (Full-time/Exempt)
Reports to: Director of Programs
Supervises: Staff Attorneys, Legal Services Coordinator, Legal Interns
Home Office: Baton Rouge Branch
Salary and Benefits: Base pay range is $63,000 - $70,000; additional compensation will depend on education, knowledge, and experience. Our benefits include:
● Paid Time Off (PTO) and Extended Leave Bank (ELB): Full-time employees will receive 8 hours of PTO and 2 hours of ELB each pay period, which accumulates to 24 days of PTO and 6 days of ELB annually. These benefits can be used for personal and medical leave.
● Paid Holidays: We offer 15 paid holidays throughout the year, including Mardi Gras.
● Health Care Coverage: Full-time employees are eligible for health care coverage after two full calendar months of employment. Our comprehensive coverage includes medical, dental, and vision insurance provided through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. STAR covers 70% of your monthly premium. Additionally, STAR contributes annually to the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) to help cover medical expenses applied to an employee's Blue Cross Blue Shield deductible.
● Group Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance: STAR pays 100% of the employee-only premium for all full-time employees, providing coverage for Life and AD&D insurance up to $25,000.
● Professional Development Support: We value the growth and development of our employees. Therefore, STAR reimburses costs associated with professional licensure expenses. Additionally, STAR provides 32 hours of work time for professional development training each year.
● Mileage and Travel Reimbursement: Employees receive mileage and travel reimbursement for work-related travel each month at the Louisiana State Mileage Rate. We understand the importance of compensating you for your business-related expenses.
● Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Our EAP provides free short-term therapy and support to employees and their loved ones, ensuring access to mental health resources when needed.
● Retirement Program: Employees have the opportunity to enroll in our 403b retirement program through Mutual of America. This program enables you to save for your future and plan for a comfortable retirement.
Please note that the benefits mentioned above are subject to eligibility criteria, terms, and conditions outlined in the company's benefits policy.
Position Duties
In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of this position, this description categorizes tasks by their function on a daily, weekly, monthly, etc. basis. Tasks may be added or omitted as the organization’s funding or priorities change. Position duties are reviewed and updated as needed with the employee and supervisor at least annually.
Daily
● Clock-in and clock-out using the organization’s online timekeeping system
● Respond (within 48 business hours) to internal emails and requests from supervisor, staff and co-workers
● Respond (within 48 business hours) to external emails, calls, and requests--from clients and community partners
● Review Timeworks to ensure legal team have accurately clocked in and out, add in 30-minute lunches, and respond to PTO requests
● Review, revise, and provide feedback to all documents drafted by the legal team
● Strategize and provide support to legal team
● Attend court, return client calls, and draft legal documents as needed
Weekly
● Participate in external meetings/outreach
● Attend meetings with community partners as requested
● Attend internal meetings as requested
● Review branch and team meeting notes
● Conduct quality assurance of legal client files in EmpowerDB
● Respond to requests from partner agencies and provide technical assistance as needed
● Attend weekly MGMT team meeting
Semi-Monthly
● Prepare the agenda and materials and facilitate the legal team meeting; follow-up with staff on action items and project progress
● Facilitate legal team meetings
● Submit timesheet to supervisor for approval
● Sign off on legal team members’ timesheets
● Review and approve legal team timesheets
Monthly
● Facilitate 1-1s meetings with legal team members
● Participate in 1-1 with supervisor
● Submit Time & Effort form to supervisor
● Review and approve Time & Effort forms for legal team
● Review and approve monthly mileage and reimbursement forms for legal team
● Submit monthly mileage and reimbursement forms to the Finance Director
● Review quality assurance for legal team notes in EmpowerDB
Semi-Annually
● Prepare materials for LAV progress report
Annually
● Submit licensure renewal and all related reports for legal team fees
● Maintain compliance requirements for continuing legal education
● Conduct performance reviews with legal team
● Participate in performance review with supervisor
As Needed
● Lead recruitment, hiring process, on-boarding and training for legal team positions
● Participate in hiring team of legal team members
● Ensure on-boarding, training, and evaluation of new employees in accordance with Management procedures
● Manage EmpowerDB database when needed and/or in collaboration with VP
● Attend agency events as requested
Ongoing
● Advocate on behalf of survivors within local, regional, statewide, and national systems
● Work with leadership to ensure staff are involved in and informed of developments and upcoming changes
● Attend Task Force meetings as needed
● Stay up-to-date on Federal and State laws that affect survivors and/or STAR
Qualifications for this Position
The following are the minimum requirements for this position.
● You are licensed and in good standing to practice law in the State of Louisiana.
● You have a law degree from a school accredited by the American Bar Association.
● You have 3-5 years of experience providing legal representation, crisis intervention and survivor advocacy.
● You have at least 1 year of experience working in a supervisory position
● You have knowledge of the operations of human services organizations, including managing staff that may be prone to burnout and compassion fatigue, providing consistent and quality services to the community, and communicating compassionately about the issue and the clients served by the organization.
● You have an understanding of the various systems of care for survivors of sexual violence and the barriers to survivors receiving services in Louisiana.
● You have strong organizational skills, public speaking, writing, and presentation skills.
● You have demonstrated experience managing, leading, supervising and motivating teams.
● You can manage multiple deadlines, priorities and the emerging needs of a thriving nonprofit organization.
● You can travel and work flexible hours as needed.
● You know how to work independently with limited supervision required.
Requirements for all Positions at STAR
STAR expects the following qualities for the members of our team.
● You are committed to carrying out STAR’s mission, vision and philosophy.
● You adhere to STAR’s core values, policies and procedures.
● You value differences, recognizing that different perspectives and cultural diversity make the world a better place to be.
● You uphold the highest ethical standards and respect for confidentiality.
● You communicate effectively, problem solve, and work well with people from diverse backgrounds.
● You know how to secure and deploy resources both effectively and efficiently.
● You build strong relationships, and you deliver effective client and survivor-centric solutions.
● You have strong writing skills and maintain quality documentation free of grammatical and spelling errors.
● You display professionalism with clients and co-workers.
● You take care of yourself by knowing your personal limitations, communicating your needs to others, and asking for help when needed.
● You can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and have excellent organizational skills.
● You can identify and respond to shifting priorities.
● You are committed to learning and growing both professionally and personally.
● You consent to and successfully complete a full background investigation, which includes a criminal history check and fingerprinting.
● You have completed, or will complete in the first year of employment, a mandatory 40 hours of sexual violence training; plus 20 hours of continuing education/training annually.
● You have a valid driver’s license and a working, insured vehicle required at the time of appointment.
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Signature Date
Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, weight, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. All employment decisions shall be consistent with the principles of equal opportunity employment. Accommodations to enable all individuals to participate in the application process may be provided upon advance reque
