Job description

Disability Law Colorado (DLC) is a statewide, nonprofit legal organization dedicated to advancing the rights of Coloradans with disabilities. DLC works to achieve fairness and justice for people with disabilities through advocacy, litigation, policy leadership, education, and outreach. As Colorado’s designated Protection and Advocacy System (P&A), we use our federal authority to serve clients with disabilities—everywhere from nursing homes to prisons, schools to voting booths. DLC operates eight federally mandated P&A programs for people with disabilities and hosts three programs focused on older Coloradans.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Intake and Self-Advocacy Attorney Team Leader (Team Leader) coordinates and supervises DLC’s intake and self-advocacy work. The Team Leader aligns DLC’s casework with its priorities, oversees the intake process, provides supervision of the advocacy specialists, develops self-advocacy materials, provides direct self-advocacy support to individuals with disabilities, and analyzes intake data to improve DLC’s impact and reporting.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Intake and Self-Advocacy Attorney Team Leader reports directly to the Director of Legal Services. The Team Leader supervises advocacy specialists and the senior advocacy specialist. Currently, there are three direct reports. The Team Leader is expected to work collaboratively across the organization, especially with other attorney team leaders.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The following duties are an overview of the primary duties and responsibilities of the Intake and Self-Advocacy Attorney Team Leader and should not be considered an all-inclusive list:

• Directs, supervises, evaluates, and provides support for non-attorneys in conducting intakes and self-advocacy assistance, including ensuring accurate and timely data tracking, training and coaching the team, and ensuring compliance with rules of professional conduct and laws related to the unauthorized practice of law.
• Maintains expertise in all areas of DLC’s legal work, including relevant statutes, DLC’s priorities, and community resources.
• Maintains, updates, and creates referral and self-advocacy resources (e.g., toolkits, referral lists, multimedia resources, guides, and website content) for a variety of topics and client populations, in coordination with other team leaders and the Director of Legal Services.
• Reviews intakes and determines next steps based on analysis of service requests and agency priorities in coordination with other team leaders and the Director of Legal Services.
• Continually analyzes and improves the intake process to ensure DLC is efficiently and effectively serving our stakeholders.
• Provides self-advocacy assistance directly to individuals with disabilities.
• Monitors entry of information in the disability advocacy database and tracks recurring themes in service requests.
• Ensures entry of documentation for intakes in client files on cloud-based storage system.
• Assists with investigations, monitoring, and client work, including litigation, as assigned.
• Attends Board meetings, as requested by the Director of Legal Services and/or Executive Director.
• Consistently promotes a professional image of DLC.
• Communicates clearly and frequently with the Director of Legal Services, Executive Director, leadership team, other team leaders, staff, and the Board about activities, duties, and developments.
• Coordinates grants, including grant reporting, as assigned.
• Assists with producing data and reports for grant requirements and other needs.
• Works collaboratively in a team environment with a spirit of cooperation.
• Exhibits work performance consistent with the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct and the National Disability Rights Network’s Standards.
• Exercises discretion, independent judgment, and ethical approaches in job performance.
• Performs other duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The individual must also possess these qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
• Ability to obtain suitability credentials from the Social Security Administration, as required by our grant, within the first six months of employment. You do not need to complete this process before applying for this position.
• Current member in good standing of the Colorado Bar.
• At least three years of experience in the practice of law.
• At least two years of management experience of in a legal environment.
• Ability to work independently in a hybrid or remote environment, as well as under general supervision and on a team.
• Ability to provide effective supervision in a hybrid or remote environment.
• Experience entering timely and correct data into a database, analyzing data, identifying gaps, creating reports, and sharing the results with leadership.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to interview clients, identify potential issues, and screen clients for the fit with DLC’s services.
• Ability to conduct and synthesize research and provide accurate, relevant, and current information to clients.
• Demonstration of appropriate and professional behavior in working with members of the public who may often be in crisis or frustrated with service availability.
• A commitment to understanding and updating knowledge about disability legal issues, including how to work with people with disabilities of all kinds.
• Diligence and attention to detail in maintaining accurate records and following records retention guidelines.
• Ability to provide coaching about self-advocacy strategies that are effective and respectful of clients’ needs.
• Adaptability to supervise people with different roles, work styles, communication and coaching needs, professional backgrounds, and levels of experience.
• Commitment to providing services and advocacy that are focused on continuous improvement, the values of the Protection and Advocacy System, integrity, disability justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Expertise using Microsoft Office products and other technology, such as Zoom, printers, scanners, file-sharing platforms, databases, timekeeping software, and other applications required to perform the essential functions of the job.
• Demonstrated expertise producing accurate toolkits, informational materials, and/or multimedia materials in plain language.
• Comfort with offering trainings to a variety of audiences within DLC’s mission.
• Ability and flexibility to travel throughout the state and work nonstandard hours, as needed for monitoring, investigations, training, advocacy, and litigation.
• Ability to triage multiple responsibilities, adapt to client needs (e.g., communication, language, cultural, disability access), foster collaborative problem-solving, strengthen relationships, and address external and internal concerns and needs.
• Ability to work successfully in a fast-paced environment where clients communicate by email, online, phone, and mail.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following qualifications are highly desired to advance DLC’s work, but they are not required:

• Bilingual or multilingual.
• Experience in civil rights law, especially disability law.
• Experience practicing law in a nonprofit environment.
• At least one year of experience providing training or education to a range of audiences.
• Familiarity with relevant systems, including jails, prisons, state hospitals, nursing homes, regional centers, Community Centered Boards, special education, Medicaid, guardianship, group homes, and/or host homes.
• Experience developing materials that are linguistically, culturally, and disability accessible and relevant.
• Experience working on federal grants.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Applicants for this position must live in Colorado or be willing to relocate to Colorado before they begin the position.

DLC is promoting a mostly remote work environment, with the understanding that employees will travel and meet in person as needed for conducting their job functions and collaborating with other staff members, the Board, clients, and partners. (DLC currently has office space in Denver, which is available for employees’ use.) DLC provides equipment to employees to work successfully in a remote environment, including, but not limited to, laptops and phones.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Disability Law Colorado offers competitive salaries; generous leave; and an excellent benefits package, which includes a 403(b)-retirement savings plan and medical, dental, vision, life, and short term and long-term disability insurance. DLC employees also enjoy a 36-hour workweek as full-time employment, as well as flexible hours.

APPLICATION PROCESS

We are committed to having our staff and work reflect our communities. The call of disability rights work is: “Nothing about us without us.’’ We welcome all applicants committed to this work. We highly encourage candidates with disabilities and others with lived experience and diverse backgrounds to apply.

DLC will consider applications as they are received. The position will remain open until filled. Candidates should submit a cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume to Esther Brieno with the subject line: Intake and Self-Advocacy Attorney Team Leader Application. Candidates wishing to mail or fax their materials, instead, may send them to:

Esther Brieno, Operations Manager

Disability Law Colorado

455 Sherman Street, Suite 130

Denver, CO 80203

FAX: (303) 722-0720

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $73,000.00 - $83,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Denver, CO 80203

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