Staff Attorney

STAR is seeking a compassionate and skilled Staff Attorney to provide legal assistance and representation to survivors of sexual assault. The Staff Attorney works directly with survivors to address legal needs resulting from sexual violence while helping clients understand their rights, options, and available resources.

Key Responsibilities

The Staff Attorney provides survivors with comprehensive legal consultations, representation, advocacy, and referrals across a range of civil legal issues arising from sexual assault. Practice areas may include privacy and safety, employment, education, housing, financial compensation and public benefits, criminal justice system advocacy, and other legal needs related to sexual violence.

The Staff Attorney works directly with survivors throughout the legal process, including conducting safety planning, attending court proceedings, communicating with clients, preparing legal documents, and providing representation and assistance. The position requires travel throughout STAR's service area as needed to meet the legal needs of survivors.

Accurate and timely case documentation is an important component of the role. The Staff Attorney maintains client notes and legal documents in STAR's centralized database and ensures appropriate non-engagement and disengagement correspondence is completed.

The Staff Attorney also supports STAR's grant-funded programming by completing assigned grant deliverables and assisting with reports required by funders. Community engagement responsibilities include connecting survivors with additional resources and services and participating in meetings with community partners as needed.

As a member of STAR's Legal Team, the Staff Attorney participates in weekly team meetings, regular supervision and individual check-ins with the Managing Attorney, and monthly organizational staff meetings. The attorney is also responsible for maintaining all applicable continuing legal education and professional requirements.

Qualifications

Candidates must be licensed and in good standing to practice law in the State of Louisiana.

Successful candidates should possess strong legal research, writing, advocacy, communication, case-management, and organizational skills and demonstrate the ability to manage multiple cases, priorities, and deadlines effectively. Candidates must exercise sound professional judgment, maintain confidentiality, and provide services in a manner that respects survivor autonomy and individual needs.

Because this position works directly with survivors of sexual trauma, candidates should demonstrate the ability to provide compassionate, survivor-centered and trauma-informed legal services. The successful candidate should also be able to collaborate effectively with attorneys, advocates, law enforcement and criminal justice professionals, community partners, and other professionals serving survivors.

Experience working with survivors of sexual violence, crime victims, or other vulnerable populations and experience with civil legal issues affecting survivors are preferred.

STAR requires all employees to consent to and successfully complete a full background investigation, which includes a criminal history check and fingerprinting.