MANAGING ATTORNEY – LOS ANGELES
NATIONAL HEALTH LAW PROGRAM (NHeLP)

Job Description

            NHeLP seeks a dynamic attorney with substantive expertise in publicly-funded health care access for our nation’s low-income populations to manage the work of our Los Angeles nonprofit law office.   The attorney must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the California health care system, a history of working in national coalitions, strong leadership skills, and ability to develop and implement NHeLP’s legal, policy and advocacy strategies.  The Managing Attorney provides leadership, direction and over-all management of the regional office in Los Angeles and directly supervises and mentors the staff attorneys and administrative staff. The Managing Attorney collaborates with staff in their legal, advocacy, and policy efforts, working under the supervision of the NHeLP Executive Director.  The Managing Attorney will work with counterparts in Washington, DC and Chapel Hill, NC to engage in organizational development and planning, interoffice coordination, community and foundation relations, and special projects.

Job Responsibilities

The managing attorney’s supervisory and directing role in the local office is coupled with the duties of a staff attorney:

Specifically, the managing attorney will perform the following functions:

1.  Carry the overall responsibility for the management and smooth functioning of the local office pursuant to the program’s policies and procedures;

 2.  Recruit and recommend applicants to the Executive Director for employment of additional personnel as required. In this regard, while final authority for hiring and firing rests with the Executive Director, the managing attorney’s recommendation is given deference with respect to employment of local office staff.

3.  Train new local office staff in legislative and administrative representation techniques, coalition building, and working with other stakeholders and advocacy partners. 

4. Schedule personnel -- professional and nonprofessional -- to assure adequate coverage of all office operations.

5.  Perform such other duties of staff attorney/legislative representative as described in staff attorney job description.

6.  Serve as staff attorney to field contacts on requests for assistance in litigation, training, writing, manual development.

7.  Develop annual or bi-annual evaluation process with staff attorneys/support staff and implement additional steps to achieve or maintain high quality work and productivity.

8. Develop/conduct a skills assessment and identify training needs of attorney and support staff.

9. Facilitate communication among support staff, staff attorneys, and management team, particularly on new potential projects.  

10. Maintain a working knowledge of Medicaid and or any other substantive area of health law of major importance to the work of NHeLP among all legal staff in the office.    

11. Oversee all legal work in the office including working with other staff on office priorities and assuring grant requirements are met.

Additional Qualifications:

- J.D. degree and admission to a state bar

- 5 years legal experience including litigation experience

- Experience in management of legal staff

- Knowledge of public health programs, preferably Medicaid

- Commitment to NHeLP’s mission of providing the highest quality legal     representation to the low-income community

-Applicants should possess a high level of independence and initiative, good judgment, excellent speaking and writing skills, the ability to produce the highest caliber legal work, creativity, and an ability to model working with others towards common goals


Commitment:   Full-time, immediate availability

Salary:  Commensurate with experience; generous benefits

Organizational Description:

The National Health Law Program was established in 1969 to serve as a national resource for expertise on eligibility, access and quality concerns in public health programs.  With offices on both coasts, we manage a broad array of national, state and local projects ranging from complex analyses of Medicaid law to consumer education and our award-winning Web site for health care advocates, www.healthlaw.org.  We provide legal expertise to non-profit health organizations as well as frame new legal theories and work with policy makers to design public programs grounded in the experience and needs of health consumers.  NHeLP works on a day-to-day basis with other national advocacy and community-based organizations on strategy, analysis, and joint activities to address the health access problems that imperil the ability of people, particularly low-income and special needs populations, to get the care they need.

NHeLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. NHeLP provides equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by state or federal law.  

To Apply: Send letter describing interest and relevant experience and resume to:

Laurence M. Lavin, Director
National Health Law Program
2639 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90034
FAX: 310/204-0891
Or email: nhelp@healthlaw.org

www.healthlaw.org