Position Summary

Are you passionate about improving workers’ living and working conditions? Do you want to use your skills to empower people? Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. (SMRLS) is seeking to fill a Staff Attorney position in its Agricultural Worker Project (AWP) unit. The position will be hybrid – based out of SMRLS’ Central Office in Saint Paul, Minnesota with some remote work.

 

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services

SMRLS is a non-profit law firm which receives federal, state, local, public and private funding to provide free legal help to low income and elderly people in 33 counties of southern Minnesota and the areas served by its farmworker unit. SMRLS is a client-centered organization which is committed to its mission of providing a full range of high quality legal services, in a respectful manner which enable clients to enforce their legal rights; to maintain freedom from hunger, homelessness, sickness and abuse; and to empower persons and ensure equal opportunity, thus, helping persons to help themselves and to become economically self-reliant, to the extent their individual abilities and circumstances permit.

 

The Agricultural Worker Project

SMRLS’ Agricultural Worker Project (AWP) provides free and confidential civil legal aid to eligible agricultural workers in all counties of Minnesota and North Dakota. The AWP team focuses on improving clients’ working and living conditions through legal representation, outreach, and education. The AWP advises and represents clients with cases involving wage theft, workplace health and safety violations, inadequate employer-provided housing, labor trafficking, employment discrimination or retaliation, H-2A contract violations, and other legal matters that specifically impact agricultural workers. The AWP provides legal rights education to agricultural workers in Minnesota and North Dakota through extensive outreach programming.

 

The AWP is looking for a motivated, creative, and flexible staff attorney to join its team of dedicated attorneys and paralegals to address and resolve the myriad legal issues that negatively impact the working and living conditions of agricultural workers.  The AWP currently has staff in SMRLS’ offices in Moorhead, Minnesota and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The candidate selected for this position will be based in SMRLS’ Saint Paul office and will be supervised by the AWP Lead Attorney. In addition to maintaining a caseload, the staff attorney is expected to travel throughout Minnesota with other staff members to conduct outreach to agricultural workers, provide legal rights presentations, and meet with clients.

 

Responsibilities:

• Resolve legal matters on behalf of agricultural worker clients through advice, negotiation, administrative advocacy, and state and federal litigation
• Conduct outreach with other AWP staff to agricultural workers throughout Minnesota from approximately May through October annually. One evening of outreach per week is typical for attorney participation.
• Provide legal rights presentations to agricultural workers and to the organizations that support them
• Participate in case acceptance and other regular meetings with the AWP staff
• Attend trainings and maintain current knowledge of laws impacting agricultural workers
• Supervise law students/temporary staff on occasion
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor

 

 

 

 

Qualifications: 

• Admission to the Minnesota bar, plans to sit for the Minnesota bar exam, or eligibility for admission on motion without examination

·         Strongly Preferred – Proficient in oral and written Spanish

• Demonstrated commitment to serving the needs of low-income communities

·         Ability to work with individuals from diverse economic, cultural, educational, and social backgrounds

• Willingness to work irregular hours, including some evening outreach and limited overnight travel, in order to meet the needs of the AWP’s client community
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Willingness to work as part of a team
• Ability to take initiative and independently handle a case load
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, and other Microsoft 365 systems
• Possession of a current driver’s license; access to a vehicle is preferred but not required

 

Compensation: Starting salary of $74,083+ DOE, pursuant to SMRLS’ salary scale, plus good fringe benefits.

 

Deadline to Apply: Position is open until filled.

 

To apply, please visit www.smrls.org or submit a cover letter, resume, and three professional references to:

                                John Joachim, Human Resources

Southern MN Regional Legal Services

55 East Fifth Street, Suite 800

Saint Paul, MN 55101-1473

john.joachim@smrls.org