Attorney (Student Loan Justice)(DFPI) – Economic Stability Workgroup

at  Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN JOINING AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO INCREASING ACCESS TO JUSTICE WHILE ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF THE GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA? IF YES, LAFLA IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!

The Organization: LAFLA is a nonprofit law firm that protects and advances the rights of the most underserved—leveling the playing field and ensuring that everyone can have access to the justice system. Celebrating 95 years of service to Los Angeles communities, LAFLA is the first and most experienced legal aid organization in Greater Los Angeles. LAFLA has more than 200 employees, including more than 100 attorneys, who provide free services and resources on a broad range of civil legal issues that impact healthy, safety, and self-sufficiency. Every year, LAFLA helps more than 100,000 people find their voice, regain control of their lives, and build a brighter future. Our unique combination of neighborhood offices, self-help centers at courthouses, and domestic violence clinics puts LAFLA on the frontlines in communities at the forefront of change. LAFLA also engages in impact litigation to help enact long-term systemic change—actively collaborating with a network of public and private partners to expand access to justice, identify needs in the communities we serve, and change laws and policies that adversely affect the underserved. For more information, please visit www.lafla.org.
The Workgroup: The Economic Stability Workgroup (ESWG) helps people obtain benefits to fulfill basic needs (food, shelter, medical care, and services to attain self-sufficiency); fights wage theft and denial of unemployment insurance benefits; and advises on wrongful terminations and discriminatory employment practices. ESWG also helps people struggling with student loan debt and other types of debt, helping them to assert defenses and fight predatory debt and illegal collection practices. In addition to direct service, ESWG engages in policy advocacy and impact litigation to address systemic problems.
The Project: For over 30 years, LAFLA has led nationwide efforts to fight the predatory higher education practices and dismantle the unjust student debt system that disproportionately impacts our low-income clients, who are people of color, first generation students, veterans, single working parents, immigrants, and others. LAFLA represents these clients by, among other things, seeking discharges of their federal loans when they have attended fraudulent for-profit schools or when they are disabled, stopping administrative wage garnishment, federal benefit offsets, and income-tax intercepts, and fighting illegal debt collection practices. LAFLA also identifies and seeks to address systemic issues through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and collaboration with other student borrower advocacy organizations.
The Position: LAFLA seeks an attorney for a two-year position to lead LAFLA’s student loan justice work under a grant from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The Student Loan Justice attorney will work with a LAFLA senior attorney who is an expert in higher education law and also works with the National Consumer Law Center to (1) lead a coalition of other legal aid grantees to coordinate legal services and provide training and assistance to non-legal services organizations who have received funding to assist student loan borrowers; (2) provide direct legal services to low-income borrowers; (3) identify systemic issues and engage in in impact policy and litigation on both a state and federal level; (4) consult with non-legal services organizations on their outreach and education materials aimed at borrowers; and (5) provide outreach and education to community-based organizations and borrowers.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Active membership in the California State Bar with zero to four years experience;
• Demonstrated commitment to serving the needs of low-income people;
• Litigation experience, including case evaluation, legal research and writing, discovery, negotiations, and administrative hearing or trial experience preferred;
• Familiarity with federal and state debt collection laws, laws governing consumer financial services, fair credit reporting, and unfair and deceptive acts and practices laws;
• Previous public interest experience preferred; and
• Willingness to work beyond a minimum 7.0 hour workday, including evening and weekend meetings and events, and workweeks in excess of 35 hours when caseload or other obligations so necessitate.

• gather evidence and prepare individual claims for student debt relief;
• engage in administrative advocacy to ensure clients obtain the most favorable federal debt repayment plans and other options available to them under federal law, including to stop or prevent involuntary collection on defaulted loans;
• defend private debt collection lawsuits;
• develop impact cases to challenge the illegal student loan practices of the U.S. Department of Education and private loan creditors and debt buyers;
• develop partnerships with and support the efforts of other DFPI grantees, including by strategizing with other legal services organizations on systemic issues, outreach, and debt relief efforts, and providing technical assistance and training to non-legal services grantees;
• write comment letters, provide hearing testimony and provide legal analysis regarding for-profit school and student loan laws at a state and national level, when requested to do so in compliance with Legal Services Corporation regulations; and
• provide outreach and education to other DFPI grantees, community partners and client community on student loan rights;
• participate in and support LAFLA and other legal services task forces;
• Contribute to the organization’s DEI plan and goals (via surveys, interviews, etc), supporting all DEI initiatives and helping to promote inclusion in a thoughtful way;
• To view LAFLA’s Commitment to DEI, please go to https://lafla.org/who-we-are/diversity-equity-inclusion-justice-at-lafla/