staff attorney

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Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers

Child abuse work is not easy. At this agency, the lawyers are like public defenders who represent parents that have had their children removed and placed in foster care. LADL can provide great lifetime friendships and camaraderie, it's laid-back, with some amazing people and personalities. But the work can be emotionally charged, the days long and at times, you see little reward- personally or professionally.

Many of the supervisors have been doing it for years, and it becomes second nature so they don't leave. So good luck trying to get a supervisor job here. There is very little career advancement. There are so many talented lawyers there, but not enough opportunity.

For that reason, a lot of younger lawyers take this job, so they can get courtroom experience and pay bills, and after 2-5 years, they find something better and then they move on. 

Good:
This is a great training ground for the DA's office and the Public Defender. Those offices hire from LADL all the time.
If you're a "public interest" type lawyer, this could be your thing.
You can do a lot of good and help a lot of poor people.
You actually do get vacation time and sick leave there. Take it. 
Good courtroom experience.
Also the heavy caseloads will be grueling but it looks super impressive on your resume. Other firms want to know that you can handle it without falling apart.

Bad:
You're going to work extremely hard without the commensurate pay.
The caseloads are anywhere from 200-350, 4x or 5x the size of public defender cases.
As you get older and more experienced as a lawyer, and you want more out of life and you start thinking about family, it will be really hard to justify why you're working so hard for so little. 
You're going to the same courthouse, dealing with the same lawyers, the same judge, in the same courtroom every single day, so there can be some pettiness and high-school type cliques. This type of tight working environment also makes things uneasy when you take a position on cases that other lawyers don't like. 
Dependency law (or child abuse and neglect) relies mostly on the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC). This is a very niche area of law, and they don't use the Evidence Code or CCP very much. You're essentially not learning anything else that makes you knowledgeable as a lawyer. Huge disadvantage when you try to make yourself look competitive for firm jobs.
On the above note, this limited practice area will make it very hard to find a job.
Unfortunately, other prominent lawyers and lawyer groups in Los Angeles do not care about child abuse. A lot of them don't even know what dependency law is. You're not doing the sexier stuff in Downtown LA or Century City, where you can mingle after work and sneak in long lunches with new people, so you are not getting any exposure to other professionals or networking opportunities through this job. Essentially, you're in the wilderness of the legal establishment.

LADL offers a variety of opportunities for both established professionals and new bar members interested in entering the fast paced and rewarding practice of family defense. Our trial attorneys handle cases spanning the breadth of the family’s dependency court experience, gaining valuable daily courtroom experience and amplifying parent voices by raising awareness about the importance of strengthening and supporting families; not destroying them. 

This non-profit organization is dedicated to maintaining a diverse and supportive work environment.  Professionals are sought who also share those same values.

A typical day involves working with parents who are going through a very stressful time. Essentially the state has taken their children away and they are dealing with that along with the reasons why they possibly were removed. Addiction, domestic violence being chief among them. The hardest part is dealing with parents who won't address their issues as it makes it hard to build a case for return of the children. The most enjoyable part is reuniting families and working with generally decent kind colleagues.

I have been working at LADL for most of my professional career and I have nothing but positive things to say about the company. 

The job itself focusses on trial work and arguing in court. Newer attorneys are able to learn and test their skills arguing complex cases in front of judges and clients.

This job entails a lot of long hours, however you get to see the results from your hard work directly and have a significant and positive impact on families. 

The salary has increased every year and our directors work diligently to improve our caseload balance and salary. 

This is what I did at LADL: Appeared in Children's court on behalf of clients; assisted assigned trial attorneys in client communications, including interviewing clients, preparing 388 petitions, discerning client issues; complete referral requests for LADL social workers and or investigators; conducted witness interviews; drafted subpoenas; prepared motions; assisted assigned trial attorneys in courtroom, including reviewing reports, discussing reports with clients, completed forms at initial detention (paternity, ICWA)

Working to support one of LA's most delicate populations, can be heart wrenching, draining & yet leaves you knowing you have made a difference, not only in the life of a parent, inevitably in the life of their child. Here we see the effects of trauma, mental health, ad infinitum daily. Empowing parents with information so they might make informed decisions, to support their child in the best way possible. Helping families heal, one positive choice at a time. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
They were accommodating with what was going on in my life. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Case load and types of cases were stressful. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
As long as you do your work, it was chill.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Court appearances and preparing for the next days court hearings.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The support I receive from my firm.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Constant deadlines and appeals.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
We are very supportive of one another.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hearings and more hearings. Calls with clients. Calls with other counsel. Working with the court. Filing before deadlines.

At LADL you will have regular client contact and litigate contested matters in court on a daily basis, protecting, and reunifying L.A. County's most vulnerable families. Our caseloads are high, the office and courtroom experience-fast-paced and demanding. The ideal candidate would thrive under challenging conditions requiring self-reliance, a high degree of creativity and no fear of challenging work.

Some co workers are great. Others throw you under the bus the smallest reasons. Director/supervisors form perceptions about you before hearing both sides of the story(depending where you are). Double standards with some being treated harsher than others. Management can rude and condescending at times, and co workers are gossiping about you and each other. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Staff attorney 9 salaries reported	$105,889 per year
Attorney 7 salaries reported	$140,238 per year
Bilingual receptionist 2 salaries reported	$25.32 per hour
Paralegal 1 salary reported	$35.22 per hour
Partner 1 salary reported	$29.31 per hour

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