Social Worker

Department

Law: Clinic - Staff

About The Department

The University of Chicago Law School occupies a unique niche among this country's premier law schools. Located on a residential campus in one of America's great cities, UChicago Law offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary professional education that blends the study of law with the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Students, faculty, and staff form a small, tightly knit community devoted to the life of the mind.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director of Clinical and Experiential Learning, the Social Worker works with clients of the Law School's Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic who are facing criminal charges, navigating the immigration system, or involved in other litigation. Mandel Clinic clients often face challenges such as housing instability, job instability or unemployment, substance abuse or mental health problems, and familial or educational issues. The Social Worker advocates for clients, conducts clinical evaluations, writes mitigation reports and similar documents, and connects clients and families to supportive services in their communities. The Social Worker also supervises law and social work students who are working in the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic.

Responsibilities

• Provides social work support to the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, including primarily the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic, the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic, the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Clinic, the Employment Law Clinic, the Immigrants' Rights Clinic, and the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic.
• Attends meetings with clients, experts, and others with the supervising attorney(s) and student teams, conducts interviews with clients, family, and community members, acts as a liaison with social service organizations, gathers clients' social histories, and performs psycho-social assessments of clinic clients as needed.
• Drafts social history reports, mitigation reports, release plans, and treatment plans, completes paperwork for client files and client cases, and testifies in court regarding findings and recommendations as needed.
• Connects clients and clients' family members to needed social services and resources in the community, follows clients through their legal cases to ensure court-mandated requirements are met, and provides therapeutic intervention for clients in crisis.
• Provides post-disposition services to clients who may have ongoing psycho-social or other needs, as determined by the legal team.
• Develops plans for treating, documenting, and proving clients' emotional injuries in civil rights cases involving police abuse and consults on issues related to the impact of environmental contamination on affected communities.
• Builds and maintains relationships with the University of Chicago’s Crown School of Social Service Administration, other University of Chicago entities such as those within the University of Chicago Medical Center, and community service providers.
• Attends and/or facilitates local and regional committee meetings, conferences, and seminars with community service providers or relevant partners.
• Assists clinic attorneys and law and social work students in processing vicarious trauma.
• Supervises law and social work students (at least 4 social work students in their first- or second-year placement) and completes evaluations for social work student supervision requirements.
• Teaches clinic seminar classes and provides general advice to law faculty and law students relating to social work topics.
• Uses broad knowledge and experience to develop and coordinate programs related to emotional, social, and financial care. Programs may involve family-centered services, treatment and education of youth, employment and financial support, or health insurance and provider services.
• Serves as a liaison between schools, families, and community agencies. Maintains relationships with various social worker departments within the University as well as community agencies at the local and state levels.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Education:

• Master's degree in Social Work, from an accredited institution, strongly preferred.
• Active Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) license strongly preferred.

Experience:

• Experience working with vulnerable populations strongly preferred.
• Experience providing services to both juveniles and adults strongly preferred.
• Experience navigating the legal system and courts strongly preferred.
• Experience writing assessments, social histories, or similar work product strongly preferred.
• Experience teaching/supervising students preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work efficiently individually and as a part of a team.
• Ability to request and maintain records.
• Ability to research and write mitigation reports, assessments, and the like.
• Ability to exercise discretion and confidentiality while handling sensitive situations.

Working Conditions

• This position is available for one day of remote work per week contingent on the needs of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic and student supervision needs.
• Ability to travel by car within the regional area and Chicagoland area.
• Ability to work evening and weekend hours with advance notice, as needed.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)
• Professional writing sample (preferred)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

Job Family

Healthcare & Medical Services

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status