Staff Attorney, Community & Economic Development Program

Organization Overview: 

Since 1968, Build Up Justice NYC has provided free legal services for low-income residents of Brooklyn, pursuing neighborhood-based mission of justice, empowerment, and community development. For over half a century, we have utilized an array of legal and advocacy strategies—community organizing, affirmative civil rights litigation, and eviction defense to defend the rights of individuals and families. Collaboration with the city, state, and federal officials to enforce housing laws and develop legislative solutions is also an integral part of our strategy.  Build Up Justice NYC has three core programs—Preserving Affordable Housing (PAH) Program, Consumer & Economic Advocacy (CEA) Program, and Community & Economic Development (CED) Program—each of which has unique initiatives and plays a vital community role to ensure basic needs are met and fundamental rights affirmed.

Position Summary

The CED Staff Attorney will join our diverse, collaborative team of transactional CED attorneys. The CED program defends community institutions and small businesses from displacement; provides corporate and transactional representation to nonprofits, cooperatives, small businesses/social entrepreneurs, and nonprofit affordable housing developers; and supports nonprofits and social movement groups working to build a more equitable, sustainable future in New York and beyond.

The Staff Attorney will provide transactional legal services to nonprofit community groups, small businesses, worker cooperatives, mutual aid groups, social movement groups, and more. The staff attorney’s legal work will include:

• Choice of entity, corporate formation, corporate finance, and tax/tax-exempt work for nonprofits, worker cooperatives, and other entities;
• Commercial lease review and negotiation on behalf of nonprofits and small businesses;
• General contract, corporate, tax, and regulatory work for our clients;
• Negotiations with opposing counsel;
• Work on real estate transactions, including affordable housing development transactions;
• Engaging in community work, including participation in advocacy coalitions, community networks, and movement groups; and
• Attending client meetings and participating in community outreach and educational efforts promoting program services, which may sometimes occur evenings and weekends.

Education & Experience

• Admission to the bar of the State of New York or eligible for admission;
• Experience working with low- and moderate-income individuals and entities, especially from diverse and historically marginalized communities;
• Strong preference for one year or more of post-law school experience in transactional law (including, but not limited to, nonprofit law, contracts, commercial real estate/leasing, corporate finance, and affordable housing law) or other relevant experience;
• Strong preference for experience with nonprofit law, commercial leases, and community-based organizations;
• Excellent legal writing and advocacy skills in English, bi-lingual Spanish preferred, Korean, Mandarin, and/or Cantonese, a plus;
• Ability to work collaboratively with a team of lawyers and non-lawyer staff;
• Computer proficiency sufficient for the legal work, to track client information in our database, and to perform other administrative tasks related to the work;
• Commitment to Build Up Justice NYC's mission, to public interest law, and to the use of the law as a tool for racial and economic justice.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary $79,460 - $96,200, dependent on years of experience. Benefits highlights - employer paid health insurance; 27 days annual vacation, employer contribution to 401(k); and paid parental leave. This is a hybrid in-office/remote work position.

To Apply

If you are interested in this position, you must submit your resume and a cover letter telling us why your experiences would make you a good fit for this role. This is a hybrid in-office/remote work position.

Build Up Justice NYC is a diverse team that is committed to recruiting, supporting, retaining, and promoting a talented staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences that share the organization's commitment to racial, economic and social justice. At Build Up Justice NYC diversity encompasses a variety of characteristics, lifestyles, and perspectives, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, disability, socio-economic status, and family status. We firmly believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment is essential to both the quality of our client services and the personal satisfaction of our staff. 

We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply, including women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people from low-income backgrounds, and with lived experiences in the communities we serve.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed.