The Bronx Defenders (BxD), an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx, seeks a Policy Director for our Civil Action Practice.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

The Civil Action Practice

A sweeping array of civil punishments are triggered the moment someone faces arrest, deportation, or family separation. The people we represent risk losing their jobs, homes, income, property, and basic civil rights struggles that can be more devastating and long-lasting than the charges themselves. Last year, we helped over 4,000 people defend against these direct civil consequences to maintain their jobs, homes, income, property, and rights.

Policy

Our policy experts collaborate closely with our practices and community engagement team so that our reform efforts are a comprehensive reflection of what Bronx residents need. Our policy advocacy work includes developing solutions to injustices, coalition building, legislative drafting and consulting, lobbying, advocating to the media, testifying before legislative bodies, and serving on bar committees and task forces.

The Civil Action Practice (CAP) Policy Director will work with the Managing Director of Policy, the CAP Managing Director and the CAP Leadership Team, to develop and advance CAPs policy agenda in our core practice areas including housing, benefits, employment, property, government misconduct and reentry; amplify our clients voices in policy debates; and provide advice and expertise to coalition partners, stakeholders, and policymakers. The CAP Policy Director will develop policy expertise in specific areas and be expected to represent The Bronx Defenders in policy campaigns and working groups that impact our clients. The CAP Policy Director will work with the Managing Director of Policy to coordinate policy reform efforts across the office and serve as CAPs liaison to The Bronx Defenders’ Policy Team. The CAP Policy Director will report to the Managing Director of Policy.

Responsibilities

The Civil Action Practice Policy Director will report to the Managing Director of Policy and be part of the Policy Practices leadership team. The Policy Director will build and lead the policy work in the Civil Action Practice (CAP) as directed by the Managing Director of the Civil Action practice as well as in collaboration with practice leadership, and staff to develop and execute the practices policy agenda; amplify our clients voices in policy discourse; and provide advice and expertise to coalition partners, stakeholders, and policymakers. The Policy Director will also serve as the principal advisor to the Civil Action Practice on policy questions. The Director will also supervise staff attorneys and advocates directly. As part of the Policy Practices leadership team, the Policy Director will help formulate and execute BxDs holistic policy agenda, foster cross-practice collaboration, and build internal capacity for policy change campaigns.

Supervision

• Serve as the primary supervisor of staff attorneys and advocates who provide services for clients and in the community in our core areas as well as any policy staff within the Civil Action Practice
• Meet with stakeholders on a regular basis to identify their policy work objectives and provide support and feedback
• Review and provide substantive feedback on written and oral advocacy work
• Complete annual employee evaluations
• Regularly evaluate and adjust workflow of staff members as necessary to ensure equitable and sustainable distribution of work
• Provide equitable supervision to all employees in navigating experiences of oppression in their work

Advise the Civil Action Practice

• Develop and maintain expertise in relevant policy areas for CAP in core areas of housing, benefits, employment, property seizure, government misconduct and reentry.
• Advise practice leadership on policy questions that arise …