Paralegal Client Advocate, Special Litigation Unit - New York, NY

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The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Practice is seeking a Paralegal Client Advocate for their Special Litigation Unit.

The Special Litigation Unit engages in civil litigation and policy advocacy to address systemic injustices affecting the Legal Aid Society's criminal defense clients and their families. Examples of past work include federal litigation challenging the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practices, litigation compelling arraignments within 24 hours, and policy advocacy to reform New York's pre-trial criminal discovery and bail statutes.

The Paralegal Client Advocate work will provide litigation support to the Unit's strategic litigation in state and federal court as well as assist in coordinating the Unit's work on a range of criminal justice policy issues. Among other duties, the Paralegal Client Advocate will be responsible for preparing and executing filings of legal documents in federal and state court; maintaining electronic and paper case files; communicating with clients, court personnel, and co-counsel; drafting correspondence and a variety of legal documents, including subpoenas, Freedom of Information Law requests, notices, and declarations; managing logistics for depositions, hearings, trials, and oral arguments, among other events; and assisting attorneys with research, case-related projects, advocacy, cite-checking, scheduling meetings, and general administrative tasks as needed.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Prepare and execute filings of legal documents in federal and state court
• Case preparation and file management on complex civil litigation in state and federal court
• Draft and serve subpoenas, Freedom of Information Law requests, other legal documents, and correspondence
• Conduct legal and policy research on a range of matters affecting Legal Aid's clients
• Manage logistics for and support attorneys during depositions, hearings, trials, oral arguments, and other events
• Assist attorneys with case-related projects and advocacy
• Handle sensitive and confidential personal information to professional standards
• Administrative tasks and other duties as assigned
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  
  
  
  • A bachelor's degree (strongly preferred)
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
  • At minimum a high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of legal work experience
  • 4+ years of combined higher education and legal work experience
  
  
  
  
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Acrobat
• Excellent written, verbal, and organizational skills
• Experience with either civil litigation or criminal justice policy
• Ability to manage time and tasks and to work independently and creatively to accomplish shared goals
• Ability to work collaboratively and develop and maintain relationships with internal and external partners
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Demonstrated interest and experience in racial and social justice or criminal defense

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people strongly desired
• In addition to the above, fluency in Spanish or other languages, and experience with using data-analysis software to conduct data analysis will be considered a plus.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $60,033 - $91,932

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.

Manhattan - Criminal Defense Practice Office