Director of Foreclosure Defense

About the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP)

Launched in 2020 as the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, CEDP was formed to keep our neighbors housed during the pandemic. Working with clients, we built a “continuum care” approach to eviction prevention that centers the legal and financial needs of housing-insecure families and uses a variety of tools to keep them housed. 

Our team now serves more than 1,200 households per month. CEDP brings together housing lawyers, economists, data analysts, policy-experts, organizers, and technologists to serve our clients, distributing between $7M and $10M of assistance each month. Our model has been cited as a best practice by the White House, HUD, the Urban Institute, and in the media.

In recent months, CEDP has further expanded its integrated services model to include mortgage foreclosure, predatory towing, and debt collection. Similar to CEDP’s work on rental housing, these efforts offer a continuum of care that includes navigation and advisory services, targeted payments, legal support, and the ability to participate in advocacy. To further improve financial access for clients, CEDP will be launching a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the months ahead, allowing the organization to offer affordable financial services to clients alongside its current suite of benefits and services. 

More about the Director of Foreclosure Defense

The Director of Foreclosure Defense will lead CEDP’s work on foreclosures from our in-house law firm, CED Law. Reporting to the head of CED Law, the Director will lead a team of 5-6 legal professionals working to stop foreclosures across the state of Colorado. They will also provide strategy and policy guidance to CEDP’s housing counselors as they work to distribute federal Homeownership Assistance Dollars to homeowners at risk of foreclosure. 

In This Role You Will:

• Build and lead CEDP’s foreclosure legal team within CED Law, helping hundreds of people avoid losing their homes to foreclosure

• Work with the leadership team at CED Law to set the future course of the legal team and expand services for clients

• Develop the tools and systems needed to provide high-quality legal services to clients in the legal foreclosure process

• Review case-related documents developed by attorneys on the foreclosure team and provide relevant feedback and guidance

• Create relevant training and professional development materials for lawyers working on foreclosure cases

• Help determine appropriate cases and strategies to effect long-term change

• Manage a variable caseload, based on the size of the team and client need

• Work with and provide high level training and guidance to HUD Approved Counselors, mediators, and social service providers administering state programs designed to prevent foreclosure and displacement

Requirements:

• JD required, admission to the Colorado bar is strongly preferred, but candidates who are eligible for admission on motion as a qualified out-of-state attorney (C.R.C.P 203.2) or on motion based upon UBE score transfer (C.R.C.P. 203.3) and practice pending admission (C.R.C.P. 205.6) will be considered

• Demonstrated passion for social and racial justice

• 3+ years experience in housing law and litigation (experience with foreclosure litigation experience is strongly preferred)

• Experience managing diverse, medium-sized teams 

• Strong desire to center client and community needs

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills

• Ability to successfully work primarily remotely (home office setup provided by the organization with access to a co-working space in Denver)

• Strong organizational abilities

• Knowledge of MS Office suite, CLIO, Google Suite desired

• Other language skills not required but are a strong plus and eligible for additional stipend

To Apply:

 Interested candidates should apply by clicking the button to apply linked on this page.

Equal Opportunity

The Community Firm is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Benefits & Compensation

• Salary range is $90,000-$97,500K per year, based on experience.

• Benefits include health, vision, dental, unlimited paid vacation, short-term and long-term disability, and 401K.

• As in-person work is sometimes required, all employees are expected to maintain current vaccination status in keeping with CDC recommendations.