Senior Attorney
hace 29 días
Albany
Job Description WhitsonLaw is seeking an experienced Senior Family Law Attorney to assume meaningful ownership of complex client matters, provide leadership to developing attorneys and legal professionals, and help shape the continued growth of our practice. WhitsonLaw is dedicated exclusively to matrimonial and family law. We represent clients during some of the most consequential and deeply personal transitions of their lives, and we believe excellent representation requires more than aggressive advocacy. It requires careful listening, sound judgment, strategic preparation, and the ability to identify and protect what matters most to the client. Our practice emphasizes mediation, collaborative divorce, and other constructive approaches to resolving family disputes. We recognize that how a matrimonial matter is handled can affect clients and their families long after the legal proceeding has ended—particularly when children, continuing family relationships, financial security, or personal safety are involved. We work to achieve informed, practical, and durable resolutions without escalating conflict unnecessarily. This is an opportunity for an accomplished family law attorney to perform meaningful work, exercise real professional judgment, and help shape both client outcomes and the development of the attorneys and legal professionals around them. If you believe strength and humanity belong in the same practice—and that excellent family law representation should protect clients without creating conflict for its own sake—we welcome the opportunity to learn more about you. Compensation: $160,000 at plan Responsibilities: A successful Senior Attorney at WhitsonLaw: • Assumes genuine ownership of complex matters from initial assessment through final resolution and moves them forward without requiring day-to-day direction, • Develops a clear strategy for each matter based on the client’s objectives, governing law, available evidence, financial circumstances, family dynamics, and practical realities, • Identifies opportunities for mediation, collaborative resolution, and negotiated settlement while remaining prepared to pursue litigation when necessary to protect the client, • Conducts focused legal research and sophisticated discovery, evidentiary, and financial analysis to identify the issues that will materially affect strategy and outcome, • Produces polished, persuasive, and reliable pleadings, motions, affidavits, discovery materials, settlement agreements, orders, judgments, memoranda, and client communications with minimal substantive revision required, • Establishes meaningful goals, deadlines, and decision points for every matter and consistently advances the case toward resolution, • Reviews assigned matters regularly, determines the next necessary action, and prevents avoidable delay or stagnation, • Anticipates obstacles, identifies emerging risks, and brings forward practical solutions before problems become urgent, • Prepares thoroughly for negotiations, mediation sessions, collaborative proceedings, conferences, hearings, and trials, • Exercises sound judgment regarding when to press, when to de-escalate, when to compromise, and when litigation or judicial intervention is necessary, • Earns clients’ confidence through candor, preparation, responsiveness, sound judgment, and steady leadership, • Maintains consistent and substantive communication with clients so they understand the status of their matter, the available options, the associated risks and costs, and the decisions required of them, • Delivers difficult advice with honesty and compassion, helping clients make informed decisions rather than simply reinforcing positions that may not serve their long-term interests, • Maintains command of deadlines, workflow, delegated assignments, client expectations, case documentation, and the quality of all work performed on assigned matters, • Provides associates, paralegals, and legal assistants with clear assignments, appropriate context, realistic deadlines, and timely feedback while remaining accountable for the final work product, • Strengthens the capabilities of associates and legal professionals through meaningful mentorship in legal analysis, drafting, case strategy, client counseling, negotiation, courtroom preparation, and professional judgment, • Maintains complete and reliable case records, including substantive status updates, strategic decisions, client communications, deadlines, and final disposition documentation, • Uses firm resources thoughtfully and records all billable and administrative time contemporaneously, accurately, and with sufficient detail to communicate the purpose and value of the work performed, • Monitors the relationship among case strategy, scope of work, client expectations, retainer status, and the cost of representation, addressing concerns proactively, • Maintains the trust of clients, referral sources, colleagues, opposing counsel, and the court through professional integrity, respectful advocacy, sound judgment, and consistently high-quality work, • Contributes positively to the firm’s standards, reputation, collaborative culture, institutional knowledge, and continued development Qualifications: • Juris Doctor degree from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, • Admitted to practice law in New York and currently in good standing with the New York State Bar with no history of professional discipline, • At least ten years of substantive legal experience, including significant experience in New York matrimonial and family law, • Demonstrated ability to manage complex matters with a high degree of independence and professional judgment, • Substantial experience with divorce, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, equitable distribution, and related matrimonial and family-law issues, • Meaningful courtroom experience, including motion practice, contested hearings, and trial preparation, • Demonstrated experience negotiating family-law resolutions and participating in mediation, settlement conferences, or other forms of alternative dispute resolution, • Strong command of legal research, discovery, financial analysis, case strategy, and persuasive legal writing, • Excellent verbal communication, negotiation, time-management, and interpersonal skills, • Demonstrated ability to manage a substantial caseload while maintaining organization, responsiveness, careful documentation, and consistent case progression, • Ability to counsel clients effectively in emotionally charged circumstances while maintaining professional objectivity and appropriate boundaries, • Ability to lead matters through the coordinated work of associates, paralegals, legal assistants, financial professionals, mental-health professionals, parenting specialists, and other participants, • Demonstrated willingness and ability to mentor developing attorneys and legal professionals, • Sound professional judgment, integrity, discretion, accountability, and respect for clients, colleagues, opposing counsel, and the court, • Availability for in-person mediations, collaborative proceedings, client meetings, conferences, hearings, and trials throughout the firm’s service region, including matters from Albany to Plattsburgh, New YorkAdvanced Training The successful candidate must have completed, or be willing to complete, advanced professional training relevant to WhitsonLaw’s approach, including: • Certified Divorce Specialist™ training, • At least 30 hours of foundational mediation training, • At least 15 hours of interdisciplinary collaborative-divorce training Existing mediation credentials, collaborative-law training, interdisciplinary practice experience, or active participation in relevant professional organizations will receive additional consideration. Technology Proficiency Candidates should be comfortable learning and consistently using modern legal and business technology, including: • Microsoft 365, • Adobe Acrobat Pro, • Westlaw, • Google Workspace, • Dropbox, • Cloud-based telephone and communication systems, • Legal case-management, document-management, billing, and financial-analysis platforms Experience with Clio Grow, Clio Manage, Family Law Software, and Ooma is preferred but not required. Work Location and Travel WhitsonLaw is based in Albany, New York. This role requires availability for in-person court appearances, mediations, collaborative proceedings, client meetings, and other professional obligations throughout the firm’s service region, including matters extending from Albany to Plattsburgh. Outside of required in-person obligations, some flexibility in the attorney’s daily work location may be available. About Company WhitsonLaw PLLC is a New York family law firm focused on collaborative divorce and mediation—designed for clients who want resolution with dignity, clarity, and lasting peace. We guide clients through a structured process that clarifies priorities, organizes information, and supports durable agreements that hold up in real life—not just on paper. We pair compassionate counsel with disciplined execution: clear strategy, strong preparation, timely communication, and efficient workflows that respect both the emotional and financial realities of divorce. When additional support is needed, we make warm introductions to a curated network of trusted professionals—financial, parenting, therapeutic, and other experts—so clients are supported from every angle as they move into their next chapter.
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