Kotzebue Staff Attorney

Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) is recruiting for a full-time (35 hours per week) Staff Attorney for its Kotzebue Office to provide civil legal assistance on issues affecting the health, safety, and stability of low income Alaskans, with special emphasis on domestic violence and child custody cases, and representation of Tribes and Tribal Members in Indian Child Welfare Act and other Native law matters such as educational equity, public benefits, sovereignty, and other recurrent legal matters that arise. Duties include intake and casework; working with community partners; and community legal education and outreach. The position also has responsibility for issues related to Medicaid eligibility, probate/estate planning, and for travel to small communities and rural villages.

About Kotzebue:

Kotzebue is a small, close-knit community, located along three miles of the Baldwin Peninsula, which extends into the Kotzebue Sound near the mouths of the Kobuk, Noatak and Selawik Rivers. Kotzebue is 26 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The current population is about 3,100, and about 75 percent of the region’s residents are Iñupiat Eskimos. The other eleven villages that the Kotzebue office serves are even smaller; for example, the village of Deering has about 140 residents. Kotzebue offers an opportunity to experience Inupiat culture and life on the tundra.

Required:

Applicants must be admitted to practice law in Alaska or admitted to practice in another state and be eligible for an Alaska Bar Rule 43 waiver. Information on Bar admission or requirements for a waiver can be found at www.alaskabar.org.  Computer proficiency (Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Internet, e-mail and data entry); the ability to communicate and work effectively in cross-cultural situations; and comfortable with travel by small aircraft and working in small communities with little or no access to standard accommodations.

Highly Desired:

The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to serving low-income individuals; and a background working in cross-cultural situations.