Lenox hill neighborhood house legal services

Mission: Founded in 1894 as a kindergarten for immigrant children, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House now serves 15,000 individuals in need each year.  Our mission is to help people gain the skills they need to strengthen themselves and their community.

About: Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, widely recognized as one of New York’s premier human services providers, is a 125-year-old settlement house that provides an extensive array of effective and integrated services—social, educational, legal, health, housing, mental health, nutritional and fitness—which significantly improve the lives of thousands of people in need each year, ages 3 to 103, on the East Side of Manhattan. Our constituents include older adults, homeless and formerly homeless adults, children and families, recent immigrants, disabled persons, adult learners and thousands more. Our programs—staffed by social workers, educators, public interest lawyers, case managers, advocates and many, many others—include an Early Childhood Center, RealArts After School Program and Summer Camp, Women’s Mental Health Shelter, permanent supportive housing residence, two Senior Centers, caregivers programs, social adult day program, case management program for frail seniors, Food Services, Legal Advocacy Department, Visual and Performing Arts, Fitness & Aquatics, Adult Education and more.

Partner Since: 2016

Founder (year established): Alumnae Association of Normal College (1894)

Website: www.lenoxhill.org

Sorry, something about your browser or browsing activity made us think you were a robot.

To regain access, please make sure both cookies and JavaScript are enabled in your web browser, then reload the page. Our site needs them to function!

If you need help, contact us at [email protected]

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

www.lenoxhill.org

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House was founded in 1894 by the Alumnae Association of Normal College, now known as Hunter College of the City University of New York.

We are among the oldest settlement houses in the nation and created one of the country's first kindergartens, providing educational and social services to indigent immigrants.

We have long been a leader in addressing issues including affordable housing, working conditions, health care, hunger, education, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and long-term care for older adults.

Position Description: 

LENOX HILL NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE
Director of Legal Advocacy
New York, NY

BACKGROUND
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House (Lenox Hill), widely recognized as one of New York’s premier nonprofit human service organizations, is a 126-year-old settlement house that provides an extensive array of effective and integrated human services which significantly improve the lives of thousands of people in need each year, predominantly on the East Side of Manhattan. Their clients include older adults, homeless and formerly homeless adults, children and families, recent immigrants, disabled persons, adult learners and thousands more. Lenox Hill is among the oldest settlement houses in the nation, and has long been a leader in addressing issues including affordable housing, health care, hunger, education, poverty, homelessness and long-term care for older adults.

The Legal Advocacy Department was created in 2004 to address the lack of general civil legal organizations in the community. The Department currently consists of 17 attorneys and 6 non-attorney advocates and managers. Clients of the Advocacy Department are often clients of other programs of the Neighborhood House; this synergy of legal advocacy and human services in one organization creates a powerful tool to achieve social justice for those in need.

The Legal Advocacy Department now assists more than 3000 low-income individuals and families each year with diverse civil legal issues and provides hundreds of trainings for clients and prospective clients, for other Lenox Hill Neighborhood House staff and for colleagues in other community-based organizations. The legal team does intake in dozens of locations, including at all of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s program sites. The practice areas center on Housing Law and Health Care and Government Benefits.
• Eviction Prevention and Affirmative Housing Litigation and Advocacy – 14 housing attorneys and supervisors and two non-attorney advocates and managers represent individuals and families in Housing Court and in other administrative and judicial venues so that they are able to avoid eviction and remain in their homes. The team also provides advice and representation to tenants who are experiencing harassment by their landlord and represents tenants with affirmative claims.
• Health Care and Benefits – A five-member team of attorneys and advocates help low-income individuals and families, disabled adults and older adults navigate and access critical government benefits and health care (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, health insurance on the NY State of Health Marketplace, SNAP, SSI, etc.). This team also assists clients seeking counsel and assistance with the drafting and execution of one or more Advance Directives (e.g., Powers of Attorney, Wills, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills and Supplemental Needs Trusts). 

For more information about Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and their Legal Advocacy Department, please visit their website at http://www.lenoxhill.org.

POSITION
Reporting to the Executive Director, himself an experienced public interest attorney, the Director of Legal Advocacy will lead and manage the diverse activities of a 20+ person civil legal services program with dozens of significant pro bono partnerships. She/he must be a strong manager and able to effectively mentor and guide a committed group of attorneys and legal advocates. Lenox Hill prides itself on its holistic approach to serving its clients’ myriad needs, which encourages staff to think expansively about service integration as a key part of the solution. The Director of Legal Advocacy will work collaboratively with all of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s social and educational programs, including two senior centers, a care management program for homebound older adults, a supportive housing residence for adults with mental illness, a women’s mental health shelter, an early childhood center and more.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The Director of Legal Advocacy will have leadership responsibility in the following areas:
• Assume primary responsibility for all departmental operations, including helping to set priorities, grant reporting and program oversight.
• Provide instrumental supervision that is essential to the delivery of the highest quality legal services.
• Recruit, mentor and develop attorneys, advocates and law students.
• Sustain and cultivate relationships and ensure compliance with both government and private sources of funding.
• Lead efforts to maintain and expand pro bono and law school partnerships.
• Proactively engage with peers and community partners in continually developing ways to better serve Lenox Hill Neighborhood House clients.
• Build strategic alliances and develop collaborative approaches to service delivery with other organizations.

Requirements: 

QUALIFICATIONS
The Director of Legal Advocacy must be passionate about and have significant demonstrated experience providing free civil legal services to low income individuals and families and their communities. A successful candidate will have:

• Significant achievements in public interest law, social justice and litigation.
• Effective supervisory and management experience.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to foster constructive, collegial working relationships with a diverse group of individuals and organizations.
• Strong and demonstrated commitment to creating and encouraging a workplace committed to the diversity of our clients and our staff.
• The ability to communicate clearly and effectively with the team and the ability to work collaboratively to achieve goals.
• Commitment to our holistic, client-centered settlement house model of service provision.
• A minimum of seven years’ legal experience, preferably including significant experience in one or more of the following substantive areas: housing law, health care or government benefits.
• Admission to the New York State Bar, or the ability to be admitted on motion in New York (reciprocity), is required.

To apply: 

For more information, to refer a candidate or to apply in confidence, please contact:

David Hinsley Cheng, Managing Partner
Jennifer Thorne, Search Consultant
DHC Search
[email protected]
www.DHCSearch.com
(203) 307-0120

Notes: 

Equal Opportunity Employer

What kind of neighborhood is Lenox Hill?

What was the Lenox Hill Society?

Is the Lenox Hill Society real?