Position Information

The Legal Aid Society, the largest provider of social justice legal services in the nation, has an immediate opening for a Director of the Criminal Appeals Bureau.

The Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB) of The Legal Aid Society is the largest post-conviction public defender in New York City, annually providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 1,000 people with misdemeanor, felony, and homicide convictions.  We represent low-income people in all five boroughs who are challenging their criminal convictions on appeal or in other post-conviction proceedings.  Our practice includes direct appeals of judgment convictions as well as collateral litigation such as 440 motions, Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act resentencing applications, and Sex Offender Registration Act hearings and appeals. 

The Director will lead a team of over 100 people to ensure that the highest level of appellate representation is provided to all of our clients.  The Director is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic vision that advances CAB’s mission, supervising CAB’s management team, and providing leadership that inspires the staff to provide excellent legal services.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead CAB’s management team to ensure excellent and efficient client representation
• Provide strategic vision and leadership to promote and expand high-quality appellate advocacy
• Coach, mentor, and develop all staff to advance their professional growth and provide effective performance feedback and evaluation
• In conjunction with CAB’s and LAS’s training teams, implement litigation strategies to provide innovative and effective advocacy that incorporates the latest legal developments
• Advance and enforce internal policies and procedures
• Help ensure sound fiscal management of CAB and advocate for CAB with its City & State funders
• Build relationships with key court personnel and other stakeholders in the criminal legal system to advocate for the interests of CAB and our clients
• Provide opportunities for development and growth across all staff
• Develop productive relationships with ALAA and 1199 union leadership to foster constructive partnerships and a collaborative and positive work culture
• Promote a culture of inclusivity and belonging in the workplace

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Cover letter
• Resume

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range/ Salary: $120,000 to $150,000

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if, an offer is made.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

HOW TO APPLY?

All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.