Career Opportunities

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019| EXTERNAL JOB POSTING

COMPETITION NO. 19-109
Position: Staff Lawyer- Permanent Fulltime

Location: Newton

Hours: 35 per week (Monday-Friday)

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about social justice issues to fill the position of staff lawyer at Sources.

About Sources

Sources is a community-based non-profit organization that has been providing help, encouragement, and hope for individuals and families in White Rock, Surrey, Delta, Langley, Parksville and Prince George for 40 years. We serve 40,000 individuals yearly and that is all owing to our dedicated team. We provide services such as food banks, counselling, employment services, and community living programs. At Sources we value respect and collaboration as we are all striving to promote the same mission—social wellness for our community.

Job Description

Sources is launching a new and exciting initiative, a Poverty Law Clinic (PLC) to provide legal advice and representation to marginalized individuals who have appeared or are appearing before an administrative tribunal including the Employments Standards Tribunal, Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal, Social Security Tribunal, Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal, British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, and Residential Tenancy Branch. Where appropriate, the lawyer will review the merits of the case for representation in Supreme Court to individuals seeking a judicial review.

The PLC lawyer will work in close partnership with Sources Poverty Law Advocates to review cases and provide their legal opinion on complex cases appearing before an administrative tribunal.

Reporting to the Legal Advocacy Program Manager, the successful candidate will play a vital role in ensuring the success of the PLC. The staff lawyer, with the help of a program assistant, will deliver legal services, report program outcomes, and perform other tasks necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the PLC.

Responsibilities:

• ·         Provide legal advice and representation (at administrative tribunal or judicial review) to clients as it pertains to their poverty law issues
• ·         Support in-house advocacy team with legal opinion on cases, and work in partnership on complex cases
• ·         Act as a resource to poverty law advocates in the region, and offer support and legal opinion on complex cases
• ·         Work with the legal community to identity systemic barriers, and support test cases that will improve the lives of clients who access poverty law services
• ·         Provide public legal education (PLE) on occasion as required
• ·         Maintain complete and accurate statistics and records for all program activities
• ·         Perform administrative tasks including record keeping, file management and reporting to accredited standards.

Qualifications:

• ·         Member of the BC Bar in good standing with 2+ years of experience in litigation
• ·         Experience appearing before administrative tribunals
• ·         Experience supporting and advocating for marginalized individuals
• ·         Ability to run an organized caseload from beginning to end
• ·         Strong attention to detail and accuracy, able to multi-task, and meet deadlines
• ·         Ability to be flexible as situations arise
• ·         Excellent interpersonal skills, including verbal and written skills, team oriented and exercises good judgment

Start Date: ASAP

Benefits:

• ·         100% employer paid coverage for extended health and dental
• ·         Long term disability, life insurance, critical illness insurance, accidental death & dismemberment coverage
• ·         Employee & Family Assistance plan
• ·         Pension plan
• ·         Generous paid time off, starting at 3 weeks

Closing Date: September 30, 2019

How to apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to Rupi Sahota at rsahota@sourcesbc.ca. Please include where you saw this job posting in your email. Thank you.