Legal Advocate

Application deadline: January 15, 2021

Employer: Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs

Location: Appleton, WI

Primary responsibilities

The primary responsibility of this position is to provide legal advocacy and supportive services to any survivor of domestic abuse, sexual violence, child abuse or human trafficking. The Legal Advocate (LA) provides clients with information about their legal/victims’ rights. The LA helps to explain legal processes and court systems which include accompanying victims/survivors to all court hearings. The LA discusses possible outcomes and provides information and resources to help victims/survivors make informed decisions.

DIRECT SERVICES

 

  • Provide victims/survivors of domestic violence understanding and information about the family, civil and criminal court systems.
  • Provide victims/survivors of domestic abuse assistance in filing for and obtaining temporary restraining orders and injunctions.
  • Ensure clients receive trauma-informed services including individual advocacy, crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support and information and referrals through outreach including follow up calls and in-person advocacy.
  • Work with community stakeholders to best advocate for the needs of the client/victim.
  • Provide Court preparation and accompaniment and transportation for civil, family, criminal and probation revocation hearings as necessary.
  • Provide assistance in filing for crime victims’ compensation, victim impact statements for sentencing and guidance on statements for Temporary Restraining Orders.
  • Advocate and intervene for/with clients in accessing services.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT:

  • Offer support to the Sr. Manager, Legal and Systems Advocacy.
  • Work as a member of the Legal and Systems Advocacy Team to further develop the program and goals and objectives of the team.
  • Develop new materials to inform the community and staff of legal issues that impact victims/survivors of domestic violence and their children.

 
NETWORK AND COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS:

  • Must build and maintain positive working relationships with all system players important to the eradication of domestic abuse in our community (i.e., law enforcement, Department of Corrections, District Attorney’s offices, other non-profit organizations).
  • Collaborate with the Domestic Violence Intervention Program to educate the civil and criminal justice system on issues that affect victims of domestic violence and their children.
  • Collaborate with Calumet County Outreach Coordinator to effectively provide advocacy to our rural victims/survivors.
  • Advocate for certain actions or responses with prosecutors, police, attorneys, probation officers as requested by the survivors.
  • Collaborate with community partners to build and organize the organization’s legal resources.

OTHER

  • Attend all agency staff meetings, Calumet County CCR/SART meetings, Outagamie County Domestic Violence Intervention Team (DVIT) meetings and participate in on-call rotation.
  • Other duties as assigned.
  • The employee may perform some work-related travel.
  • Work predominantly indoors but may need to go between different buildings.
  • A criminal background check will be done prior to an offer of employment.

Qualifications

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

  • Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies, Pre-law, Women and Gender Studies, Social Work, Counseling, or other related degree preferred.
  • Associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies will be considered.
  • Experience with diverse populations; showing multi-cultural competentencies.
  • Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity work as an active and ongoing process in an effort to better our community and future generations.
  • Possess well-developed interpersonal skills, negotiation, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
  • Plus, at least 3-5 years of case management work experience in a Legal/Human/Social Services setting.
  • A strong understanding of our criminal, family and civil court systems are required.
  • This role can require fast-paced decisions under high stress and strict confidentiality; preference will be given to individuals with such experience.
  • High level of empathy/compassion for all victims/survivors is required; experience working with domestic violence victims preferred.
  • Bilingual abilities are a plus.

 

Agency responsibilities

Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Harbor House Domestic Abuse
Programs will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with
disabilities and encourages both prospective employees and incumbents to discuss
potential accommodations with the employer. Survivors of domestic violence
encouraged to apply.

Application instructions

To apply: Send resume and cover letter by 01/15/2021 to hr@harborhousewi.org

Application deadline: January 15, 2021

Sorry, we are no longer accepting applications for this position.

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