Definitions

1. “Core Staff” refers to any person who we intend will work 20 hours or more per week for at least six months.
2. “Temporary staff” refers to anyone who we intend will work for less than six months.

Hiring Policy

1. Board approval: All new hires must be approved by our Board of Directors if they are to be paid by the Law Center, as opposed to by a law school or other funder.
2. Qualities we seek: We will seek staff with the following qualities, and we think very carefully before hiring a Core Staff member that is lacking in any of the following:
   1. Kindness and warmth
   2. Strong commitment to economic, racial, and environmental justice
   3. Strong written and oral communication skills
   4. Good time management and task management
   5. Diligence and attention to detail
   6. Honesty, integrity, and humility
   7. Sense of humor
   8. Tech savvy or quick to learn new technologies
   9. Independent, self-motivated
   10. Self-confident
   11. Works well with others
   12. Flexible and open-minded
   13. Works well in a variety of settings (remotely, office, events, legal cafes, meetings)
   14. Willing to take on a diversity of roles within the organization, per SELCocracy’s dynamic system of assigning roles
   15. Not strongly driven by a desire to get fame and attention
   16. Sees work with SELC as more than a job; sees it as a way to live what they love
   17. Values the “unconventional” nature and outlook of the organization, including our mission, communication styles, governance, and operational structure.
3. Socio-economic diversity: As the Law Center grows, we will aim to create a socio-economically diverse staff.
4. Objecting to hires: We will not hire someone if one staff person believes that hiring the person would harm the organization or take the Law Center backward in its mission.
5. Working with someone temporarily prior to hiring a permanent staff member: Prior to hiring someone to be a core staff member, when possible and reasonable, we will look for ways to work with the person on a temporary basis, in order to gain experience in working with them and to gain a better sense of whether they would be a good team-member.

Deciding when to conduct a formal search: Except when we feel that it is in the organization's best interest to hire from among our volunteers and fellows, we will do a formal search for candidates by posting the job opportunity on our website and a reasonable number of listserves or job posting boards for at least two weeks, but preferably longer. In deciding whether it is in the organization's best interest to do a candidate search, we will weigh considerations that include:

a) how quickly we need to fill the position,

b) how much time staff would have to take away from other work in order to screen applicants and interview candidates,

c) how well we know and how much we have worked with the volunteer or fellow that we are considering hiring,

d) whether the position that we are hiring for requires such specific skills and knowledge that a broad search would be less fruitful, and

e) whether we are prone to becoming a too socio-economically homogeneous organization by virtue of the fact that we have hired people who have enough economic privilege that they can afford to volunteer their time.

PROPOSED REWRITE FROM SIMON:

Hiring Process

Background: The Law Center is committed to building an inclusive environment of individuals seeking to radically transform economies, communities, and society to cultivate a new legal landscape that supports community resilience and grassroots economic empowerment. To do this, we attempt to incorporate our values into the hiring process itself.

Checklist OR Statement:

1. Decide when to conduct a formal search: Except when we feel that it is in SELC’s best interest to hire from among our volunteers and fellows, when SELC has a position to fill, we will do a formal search for candidates by posting the job opportunity on our website and a reasonable number of listserves or job posting boards for at least two weeks, but preferably longer. In deciding whether it is in SELC’s best interest to do a candidate search, we will weigh considerations that include a) how quickly we need to fill the position, b) how much time SELC staff would have to take away from other work in order to screen applicants and interview candidates, c) how well we know and how much we have worked with the volunteer or fellow that we are considering hiring, d) whether the position that we are hiring for requires such specific skills and knowledge that a broad search would be less fruitful, and e) whether we are prone to becoming a too socio-economically homogeneous organization by virtue of the fact that we have hired people who have enough economic privilege that they can afford to volunteer their time with SELC.
2. Qualities we seek: We will seek staff with the following qualities, and we think very carefully before hiring a Core Staff member that is lacking in any of the following:
   1. Kindness and warmth
   2. Strong commitment to economic, racial, and environmental justice
   3. Strong written and oral communication skills
   4. Good time management and task management
   5. Diligence and attention to detail
   6. Honesty, integrity, and humility
   7. Sense of humor
   8. Tech savvy or quick to learn new technologies
   9. Independent, self-motivated
   10. Self-confident
   11. Works well with others
   12. Flexible and open-minded
   13. Works well in a variety of settings (remotely, office, events, legal cafes, meetings)
   14. Willing to take on a diversity of roles within the organization, per SELCocracy’s dynamic system of assigning roles
   15. Not strongly driven by a desire to get fame and attention
   16. Sees work with SELC as more than a job; sees it as a way to live what they love
   17. Values the “unconventional” nature and outlook of the organization, including SELC’s mission, communication styles, governance, and operational structure.
   18. Socio-economic diversity: As SELC grows, we will aim to create a socio-economically diverse staff.
3. Board approval: All new hires must be approved by our Board of Directors if they are to be paid by SELC, as opposed to by a law school or other funder.
4. Objecting to hires: We will not hire someone if one staff person believes that hiring the person would harm the organization or take SELC backward in its mission.

Nuance Statement:

• Working with someone temporarily prior to hiring a permanent staff member: Prior to hiring someone to be a core staff member, when possible and reasonable, we will look for ways to work with the person on a temporary basis, in order to gain experience in working with them and to gain a better sense of whether they would be a good team-member.