Family Advocacy Unit Staff Attorney

Community Legal Services, Inc. of Philadelphia (CLS) is a non-profit public interest agency providing free civil legal services to low-income Philadelphia residents.

As the largest provider of free civil legal services in the Philadelphia area, CLS is both locally and nationally renowned as a premier legal services provider dedicated to ensuring access to justice for all low-income individuals and communities.

We provide high quality direct legal representation, engage in systemic policy advocacy with the goal of effectuating broad-based change, and conduct community education and outreach.

CLS has ten legal units covering a wide range of civil legal services.

CLS’s Family Advocacy Unit (FAU) seeks a staff attorney.

This exciting and demanding position combines courtroom representation of individual parents with systems and policy advocacy to improve outcomes for vulnerable families in the child welfare system.

This position will entail significant courtroom advocacy with a heavy focus on high-quality client representation.

Lawyers in the FAU zealously represent parents involved with the Philadelphia child welfare system in their effort to maintain or regain custody of their children.

The FAU uses an interdisciplinary team model to provide high quality representation to these parents who are often facing complex issues that include domestic violence, addiction, mental health problems, poverty, housing issues, and utility issues.

FAU lawyers also engage in non-litigation focused advocacy, including policy, administrative and legislative advocacy as well as organizing and teaching community and professional education sessions.  Lawyers may also be asked to provide supervision and support to paralegals, social workers, parent peer partners and interns who are providing advice, brief service, and some representation.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS :

• 2 years litigation experience preferred; will consider clinic or moot court experience for outstanding candidates Excellent oral advocacy skills Excellent legal research and writing skills Experience and ability to work with low-income and vulnerable individuals Excellent work ethic, organization, and communication skills Demonstrated commitment to public interest work Experience and interest in policy and other forms of advocacy High level commitment to racial justice advocacy Strong networking, relationship building and communication skills Exhibit sound professional and legal judgment PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS : Experience with child welfare or family law preferred, but not required  Fluency in another language helpful, but not required To Apply : CLS will accept applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. However, candidates are highly encouraged to submit their application by  Thursday, November 13, 2025 .

You can submit your application on CLS’s website online at  https :

What to Include in your application :

Community Legal Services, Inc. welcomes applicants of all backgrounds to apply and particularly encourages people who have experienced poverty or housing instability, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and people who have had prior contact with the juvenile, criminal, or child welfare systems to apply.    CLS invites all applicants to include in their cover letter a statement about how your unique background and / or experiences would motivate you to work toward CLS’s mission and would contribute to the vitality and perspective of our organization.  Compensation :

The current minimum starting salary is $63,000 for newly admitted attorneys, which increases with relevant years of experience and according to the provisions of the current collective bargaining agreement.  Benefits :