The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks a passionate housing attorney with a commitment to social justice to fill a new position as housing attorney.
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, run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders throughout the country on how to move to a holistic model of representation.
Civil Action Practice
Our Civil Action Practice (CAP) provides comprehensive civil legal services to the people we represent and their families by integrating civil representation with our criminal, immigration, and family defense practices. Our goal is to minimize the severe and often unforeseen fallout from criminal, family and immigration court proceedings and facilitate the seamless reintegration of the people we represent into their communities.
Our Civil Action Practice attorneys and legal advocates represent people in every forum in New York City – administrative, state, and federal – providing comprehensive representation to assist the people we represent in overcoming civil legal barriers to housing, eviction, employment, and public benefits, as well as addressing instances of police misconduct, criminal record errors, and civil forfeiture.
The Civil Action Practice, in its 24th year, provides comprehensive civil defense and legal services to the people we represent and their families by fully integrating civil representation, services and advocacy with our criminal, family defense and immigration practices, by providing the right to counsel in housing court and by providing community facing services and education.
Civil Holistic Defense Team
Our goal is to minimize the severe and often unforeseen fallout from criminal, family and immigration court proceedings and facilitate the seamless reintegration of the people we represent into the community. Our Civil Action Practice attorneys, advocates and social workers represent and advocate for impacted people in every forum in New York City – administrative, state, and federal – to address these problems. Our civil staff provide comprehensive representation to assist in overcoming civil legal barriers to housing, eviction, employment, and public benefits, as well as addressing instances of police misconduct, criminal record errors, and civil forfeiture.
Housing Justice and the Right to Counsel Team
Recognizing the challenges to accessing affordable, quality and safe housing in New York City, The Bronx Defenders has a team exclusively dedicated to providing tenants at risk of losing their homes with defense attorneys for their Housing Court cases. Our Housing Team was developed in response to the 2017 New York City Right-to-Counsel Law, which provides tenants facing eviction in Housing Court and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) administrative proceedings with access to free legal representation. We are one of seven institutional providers effectuating the Right to Counsel in Housing and have dedicated attorneys and advocates on a housing team serving and representing tenants in the community and in Housing Court.
Community Intake Team
The Bronx Defenders has Community Intake advocates across all practices which allows members of the Bronx community to walk into our office or call our community hotlines and proactively seek legal assistance with criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal issues. This new role would provide early intervention; assistance in navigating evictions, repairs and housing problems that impact housing access, quality and stability; direct representation in Housing Part actions, illegal lockouts, eviction proceedings, and other legal proceedings and actions; and high-quality advice and referrals for hundreds of community members each year. Intervention at this early stage helps people address housing issues before they spiral into crises and to avoid housing displacement.
We are specifically seeking applications from candidates with Spanish language skills and/or those from racially/ethnically marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by systemic injustice whose lived experiences contribute to more culturally conscious client representation.
To be eligible, applicants must have:
License to practice law in New York or be eligible to become licensed to practice in New York
Candidates must demonstrate:
This is an in-person position subject to the organization’s hybrid work policies.
Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 2-5 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $84,304-$91,800. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy. More specific information about salary and benefits will be provided when and if an offer is extended.
Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.
This position is exempt. By law, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.
To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and a cover letter in one document. If you would prefer to send in a video or audio statement in lieu of a cover letter, you may upload your resume as a document and separately upload a video or audio statement instead of a cover letter. Your cover letter or video/audio statement should share why you want to do this work at our office, some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position, and any additional information you would like for us to consider. Your cover letter may be up to one page if written or up to 3 minutes if an audio/video statement. This information allows us to understand your distinct perspective, experience and potential beyond the work history summarized on your resume. If selected for the position, your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience listed; we therefore encourage you to ensure your resume is up to date. Please remember that you may submit a written cover letter or an audio/video statement, but not both, and applications without either will not be considered.
Applications will be accepted through December 31, 2025 and be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please contact Runa Rajagopal, Managing Director of the Civil Action Practice, via email at RunaR@bronxdefenders.org with any questions regarding the position.
The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.
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