Position Summary:

Join our team! The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (TVC) seeks to hire a full-time Discharge Upgrade Staff Attorney to assist veterans who were unjustly discharged from the military. TVC’s Discharge Upgrade Program has a focused mission to assist former servicemembers who received an Other-Than-Honorable Discharge as a result of service-incurred mental health conditions and military sexual trauma.

TVC is a leading independent, nonprofit organization providing pro bono legal representation in federal venues and complementary professional services to veterans and their loved ones or survivors since 1992. For 33 years, TVC’s pro bono attorneys and staff have helped more than 84,000 individuals, taken on nearly 9,000 cases for deserving clients, and trained more than 7,000 pro bono attorneys and associated professionals for our National Volunteer Corps.

Duties include reviewing military records for merit, preparing legal memoranda, providing direct representation, mentoring pro bono attorneys, conducting outreach and assisting with virtual and in-person legal clinics for veterans and assisting the Program Manager with other duties as assigned. This position is based in Washington, DC in a hybrid work capacity with occasional travel. We offer excellent compensation and benefits, commensurate with the scope of the position and a candidate’s expertise and experience. The Veterans Consortium is located at 2101 L Street, NW, Suite 225, Washington, DC 20037.

 

Essential Job Functions:

• Review military and medical records to determine legal merit
• Write legal memoranda and provide appropriate documents for pro bono volunteer attorneys
• Maintain familiarity with discharge upgrade issues including current Department of Defense memoranda and directives
• Monitor and track cases under investigative review and current military review board docket
• Maintain an organized filing system for cases
• Provide direct representation to clients in discharge upgrade cases or assist with writing rebuttal briefs to medical advisory opinions
• Interact with clients from a wide variety of backgrounds
• Advise, assist, train and mentor pro bono volunteer attorneys
• Attend trainings and seminars
• Maintain membership in selected professional associations
• Represent TVC at authorized professional association meetings and outreach events
• Work closely with the Discharge Upgrade Program Manager and other team members on all matters

Job Specifications:

Education and Qualifications

• JD required licensed to practice in any jurisdiction
• Veterans law experience a plus
• Veteran status/military experience is an advantage (but not required)

 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Exceedingly well organized, professional, and flexible
• Draft cogent arguments based on thorough analysis of cases
• Compare evidence with statutory/regulatory criteria
• Keen attention to detail
• Effective writing and verbal communication skills
• Knowledge of Administrative and/or Veterans law
• Computer literacy, including proficiency using production software programs, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe and PowerPoint
• Proficiency in- or aptitude for- case management tools (such as Prevail) and secure file transfer tools (such as Citrix ShareFile).
• Demonstrated skills and record of high performance and sustained productivity to achieve desired results
• Innovation and flexibility
• Proven ability to deal with challenging clientele
• Approach situations with a sense of humor and creativity.

 

Job requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to remain in a stationary position for extended periods of time and frequently communicate. The employee must be able to exchange information with others. This position requires occasional movement inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc. This position frequently operates with computers and other office machinery such as a copy machine, fax, shredder and computer printer. This position requires the incumbent to be able to occasionally reach for, lift and move office equipment, documentation, and supplies. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

 

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The employee will normally work in a temperature-controlled office environment, with frequent exposure to electronic office equipment. The employee can expect to work remotely at times, utilizing a TVC provided laptop. During visits to areas of operations, the employee may be exposed to extreme cold or hot weather conditions. The employee must be able to travel up to 10% of the time using public and/or personal transportation.

Employment At-Will Disclaimer

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Employment in this position is at-will and subject to termination by the employer or the employee at any time and for any reason, with or without notice. The statements in this job description do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

 

Salary Range

• Salary range between $80,000-90,000 based upon experience. This position is exempt.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision insurance with generous employer contribution
• TVC-paid Life, Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Generous paid vacation (PTO) and all federal holidays off
• Annual cost of living salary adjustment and separate annual merit increase consideration
• “Summer Fridays” with half-day Fridays and four-day holiday weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day
• Retirement 403b Savings Plan including TVC match up to 3% at 6 months
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Annual Bar fees paid
• Hybrid work environment allows for working from home but establishes regular
• in-person office opportunities
• Free access to excellent on-site fitness center; rooftop penthouse and deck
• Great location and office environment- blocks away from all metro lines (Farragut West, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle (Red, Blue, Orange, Yellow, Silver Lines), numerous restaurants, day care facilities and parking garages

 

Interested candidates please send your cover letter, resume and an 8-10 page legal writing sample to: careers@vetsprobono.org

 

The Veterans Consortium is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of The Veterans Consortium that no employee or applicant for employment or services will be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, family responsibilities or family status, veteran’s status, or any other basis prohibited by law, including the DC Human Rights Act and Language Access Act.