Education Rights Staff Attorney, Children & Youth

Description

Who We Are

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley (“Law Foundation”) is dedicated to advancing the rights of historically excluded individuals and families throughout Santa Clara County. Through our legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach, we empower over 15,000 individuals and families each year. Our Children & Youth, Health, Housing, and Pro Bono Programs use legal advocacy as a catalyst for social change, creating innovative solutions to the legal challenges facing low-income communities in our region. With a dedicated team of over 75 employees, we are the largest provider of free legal services in the South Bay region of the Bay Area. Learn more at https://www.lawfoundation.org .

The Opportunity

We are excited to offer an opportunity for an Education Rights Staff Attorney to join our Children & Youth program at the Law Foundation. The Children & Youth program provides free and confidential legal assistance to children and youth in juvenile dependency, family law, probate guardianship, immigration, education matters, and numerous other practice areas; advocacy to improve court and community systems designed to protect and promote child welfare; and workshops to educate youth, parents, caregivers and members of the community about issues impacting child welfare and legal rights.

In this role, you’ll focus on providing legal counsel to parents and caregivers regarding their children's special education rights and representing students in school discipline defense including suspensions and expulsions.

What You’ll Do

As a Staff Attorney you will:

• Provide direct representation to clients in special education cases, including filing for Due Process against school districts.
• Represent clients in school-related meetings, including IEPs and Section 504 meetings;
• Provide representation to students in discipline defense matters before administrative panels and governing boards;
• Participate in collaboration between local child welfare agency, juvenile probation department and other community-based organization to conduct case consultations and tailor appropriate advocacy;
• Represent clients in various legal matters originating from organization’s Medical-Legal Partnership clinic with Valley Medical Center, and staff our weekly legal clinic at VMC.
• Respond to referrals from service providers and partner agencies;
• Assist with the development and presentation of trainings on laws related to educational rights;
• Provide technical assistance to attorneys and service providers;
• Participate in regular meetings with LACY and other Law Foundation staff; and
• Participate in general office upkeep duties, including computer data entry of case information; maintenance of billing records, filing, copying, drafting and filing court documents, and serving notice
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure a seamless and people-centered approach to service delivery.

Who You Are

To be successful in this roll, you will have:

• Commitment to working students with disabilities and their families
• Commitment to serving court-involved youth, both in the juvenile dependency and juvenile justice systems
• Commitment to access to justice and community lawyering
• Strong litigation skills or a desire to build those skills
• Ability to work independently and be self-motivated
• Ability to work effectively in a team with a variety of stakeholders
• Ability to interact compassionately and effectively with individuals in high-stress situations
• Ability to analyze, write and present ideas and legal concepts clearly and concisely
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task and perform well under pressure in a fast-paced environment

Requirements

• Current member in good standing with the California State Bar.
• Experience in school-based advocacy, including expulsion hearings and due process mediations and hearings
• A demonstrated commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and belonging, and an understanding of how race and other intersecting identities shape our work and the systems impacting our clients
• Alignment with the mission and values of the Law Foundation
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 or similar, with openness to learning new tools
• Valid Driver’s License or other transportation to attend meetings, hearings, home visits, and outreach presentations
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position, including use of standard office equipment, with or without reasonable accommodation

You’ll especially stand out if you have:

• Experience in working with diverse populations, including communities of color and people living with disabilities
• Experience working with court-involved youth
• Experience working with individuals from multiethnic communities and/or underserved communities
• Demonstrated commitment to the rights of children and youth
• Connections to and experience working with diverse populations, including communities of color and people living with disabilities
• Spanish proficiency

Don’t meet every qualification listed above? We still encourage you to apply. We know great advocates come from many different paths.

What We Offer

This is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to the LACY Education Team's Supervising Attorney. The annual salary range for this role is $82,000 to $110,000, determined by the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between SEIU Local 521 and Law Foundation. Placement on the wage table will be based upon an applicant’s experience in comparable roles.

We are committed to supporting the well-being, growth, and professional development of our team members. To that end, we offer a comprehensive and competitive benefit package, which includes:

• 19 paid holidays per year
• 3-5 weeks of vacation per year
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Up to 6 months of parental leave
• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums
• Free/discounted mental health therapy and wellness services for employees and their dependents through our Employee Assistance Program
• A 401(k)-retirement plan with employer contributions
• A sabbatical after 5 years of employment
• An additional monthly stipend for those who are bilingual and utilize their language abilities in the course of their job
• An annual budget for professional development
• Employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees
• The flexibility to work a hybrid schedule
• An office building that offers a fully equipped gym, outdoor terrace, convenient on-site parking, bike storage, lounge areas, and 24/7 security

Workplace Expectations

The Law Foundation is a hybrid workplace. Please note that you may be expected to work in our San Jose office a minimum of 2 days/week.

Employees must be California State residents. Due to logistical challenges regarding taxes, insurance, and time zones, we are not able to consider staff in other states at this time.

Working at the Law Foundation

The Law Foundation is a unionized workplace, and members of the bargaining unit are represented by SEIU Local 521. This position is part of the bargaining unit.

We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity, and to creating an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for our staff, volunteers, clients, and partners. We continually work to strengthen our communications, community engagement, systems, and office culture so that differences are acknowledged and valued.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

Application Process

We aim for the application process to be fair, reasonable, and prompt. We will review applications on a rolling basis starting on October 23, 2026 until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please note that our interview process includes interviewing by phone, video, and/or in-person.

Application materials must include:

• A cover letter that addresses the following: How has your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, race equity and diversity among our staff?
• A resume
• Contact information for three professional references. We will always ask for your consent and inform you before contacting any of your references.

If you need a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process, please contact hiring@lawfoundation.org.

If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to join a team that values people, trust, accountability, creativity, joy, and fun, we’d love to hear from you!

Equal Opportunity Employment

The Law Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage people of color, womxn, people living with disabilities, older people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to apply. It is the policy of the Law Foundation to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, reproductive health decision-making, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, prior contact with the criminal legal system, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. The Law Foundation will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter, of all applicable laws and regulations.

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.

ADA Accessible Facility - Equal Opportunity Employer - Drug-Free Workplace