Staff Attorney, Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program

About NYLAG:

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services are virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 300 impacted the lives of nearly 90,000 people last year.

Mission:

New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) uses the power of the law to help New Yorkers experiencing poverty or in crisis combat economic, racial, and social injustice. We address emerging and urgent needs with comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving clients, whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality.

Values that guide us:

• We reduce the effects of poverty by providing high quality, effective civil legal services.
• We strive to serve individuals and communities through a race equity lens to counteract systemic racism.
• We work to create a welcoming and inclusive work environment that reflects the communities we serve.
• We achieve systemic change through class actions, impact litigation and by advocating for just laws and policies.
• We partner with our clients to help them transform their lives and strengthen their communities.
• We address our clients’ multiple legal needs by collaborating across our practice areas.
• We are at the forefront of identifying and understanding New Yorkers’ most pressing legal needs, rapidly adapting to meet these needs with innovative programs and partnerships.
• We assess need broadly, recognizing that need is not a function of income alone.
• We collaborate with community organizations and engage pro bono attorneys and volunteers to serve a greater number of people with unmet civil legal needs.
• We teach and train the next generation of legal service professionals.

About the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program (EFLRP):

EFLRP advocates for access to health and long-term care services for New Yorkers living in poverty, who, because of aging and/or disability, need Medicaid services to enable them to remain in their homes and avoid institutionalization. EFLRP was launched by Selfhelp Community Services, Inc., in 2002, with a focus on helping Holocaust survivors. In 2013, EFLRP joined NYLAG and serves all low-income seniors and people with disabilities in New York City, subject to resource limitations. EFLRP is a statewide leader in policy advocacy, professional training, and direct representation of consumers navigating the complex Medicaid eligibility and Medicaid community-based long term care systems.

EFLRP is unique among legal services providers because of its use of a combination of tools to safeguard the right to health care and long-term care:

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  Direct representation of clients in denials and reductions of Medicaid, Medicare Savings Program, Medicaid home care services, and Medicare Part D prescription drug program,
• Training of legal, social services, and health care professionals about the arcane rules of and rapid changes in health care programs for low income seniors and people with disabilities
• Educating the public through the website www.NYHealthAccess.org
• Engaging in policy advocacy on a state and local level with the goal of improving the regulations, policies and procedures that create obstacles to accessing vital services.

Job Description:

This is a position for a Staff Attorney to work in the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program unit at NYLAG, reporting to the Supervising Attorney and working with other unit attorneys and paralegals. The attorney will provide legal services predominantly in EFLRP’s priority areas of access to health care services through Medicaid and Medicare for older persons and persons with disabilities, with an emphasis on Medicaid home care services and eligibility. The attorney may also be assigned cases involving Social Security, SSI, and planning for incapacity through powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other advance directives. The attorney will primarily provide direct legal services involving representation of consumers in disputes with various types of Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plans - contesting denials or reductions of home care or other services, and requesting new or increased services. The attorney will also provide Medicaid and Medicare eligibility counseling, representation in accessing home care services through “Immediate Need” and other pathways, advocacy involving problems with applications for and retention of Medicaid and enrollment in MLTC plans. The attorney may also be assigned cases involving Social Security, SSI, and planning for incapacity through powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other advance directives. The attorney will also provide “technical assistance” to professionals who request EFLRP’s expertise in the same subject areas in which EFLRP provides direct representation.

The attorney will also assist in EFLRP’s other activities beside direct legal services, including:

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  conducting professional and consumer-oriented legal education programs, with an emphasis on targeting the Latinx community with Spanish language programs;

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  maintaining and updating the website at http://nyhealthaccess.org that empowers New York’s social workers, health care workers, elder care lawyers, and other professionals to advocate for health access and other issues faced by the low-income elderly they serve;

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  engaging in policy advocacy with the State and New York City Medicaid agencies to improve policies and procedures that impact Medicaid recipients who are aged or disabled. This work requires participation in advocacy coalitions and through the NYC or NYS Bar Associations.

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  conducting outreach to organizations that serve the Latinx community In New York City.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The attorney will be responsible for all aspects of direct client legal services, including conducting intake and assessment, providing counseling, conducting factual investigation and legal research. The primary responsibility will be representing clients at all stages of administrative process including initial requests for authorizations, MLTC plan appeals, fair hearings, external appeals, and Medicaid and Medicare eligibility counseling, advocacy and appeals. The attorney may also be assigned cases regarding Social Security, SSI, and planning for incapacity through powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other advance directives.

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  Travel to clients at their homes, hospital, or nursing home in all boroughs of New York City is required as necessary to investigate and represent clients who are unable to travel to the NYLAG office because of disability.

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  The attorney will participate in staff meetings, training seminars and community activities as required, and maintain required paper and electronic case records, reports and statistics in a timely and complete manner.

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  The attorney will conduct outreach to and provide legal education trainings for community-based organizations that serve Latinx seniors and people with disabilities, with the goal of increasing referrals to EFLRP and increasing the expertise of staff of these organizations. The attorney will develop consumer education materials in Spanish and conduct educational programs for consumers in Spanish.

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  The attorney will participate in coalitions, as assigned, to work on policy advocacy on issues arising in the attorney’s practice areas.

Qualifications:

Education/Admittance required: J.D. and admission to practice law in the State of New York and maintain active license.

Experience required: Must have at least two years of experience in the practice areas described above, with priority given to experience representing clients in securing Medicaid home care services through the “immediate need” and MLTC programs, including experience with Fair Hearings and External Appeals of MLTC decisions involving denial, reduction or termination of these services. Knowledge and experience also required on Medicaid and Medicare Savings Program eligibility, applications, and benefits; enrolling in and securing Medicaid approval of pooled supplemental needs trusts, and knowledge of Medicare enrollment and service issues.

Fluency in Spanish is required, in order to serve members of the Latinx community In New York City that seek services from EFLRP.

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Employment type:

• Full-time

• Temporary

Professional Level:
Entry Level
Professional
Managerial

Salary:

$73,046- $77,294 (salary commensurate with experience)

Benefits: Excellent benefits, including Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.

This position is hybrid, with an expectation to be in the New York office a minimum of 2 days per week.