Job Description

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice seeks a talented Paralegal Casehandler with a deep commitment to serving low-income workers to join the Employment Law Unit. The Employment Law Unit is a citywide unit that provides legal services to low-wage and unemployed workers. Most of the Employment Law Unit’s cases involve violations of wage-and-hour laws, workplace discrimination, family and medical leave, labor trafficking, and claims for unemployment insurance. The Unit works closely with community-based organizations, conducting trainings on workers’ rights, providing legal advice and assistance, and responding to community concerns. The Employment Law Unit also engages in extensive policy and legislative advocacy, leading to changes that improve the lives of millions of low-income New Yorkers.

Paralegal Casehandlers carry their own caseloads, have significant responsibility in client advocacy, and regularly conduct unemployment insurance administrative hearings. The Paralegal Casehandler will be expected to interview clients, review documents, prepare witnesses to testify, prepare for cross-examination, research and prepare closing statements, and draft appeals. The Paralegal Casehandler is also expected to conduct outreach and community training.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage own case load and provide advice and direct assistance to clients in the employment law area
• Interview and assess client requests for services
• Represent clients at unemployment insurance hearings and appeals, which requires interviewing clients, reviewing and analyzing documents, preparing witnesses to testify, preparing for cross-examination, researching and preparing closing statements, and drafting
• Represent clients at administrative hearings to remove barriers to employment, including but not limited to hearings regarding the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
• Advocate with state agencies, including but not limited to the NYS Department of Labor, and the NYS Office of Children and Family Services
• Assist with litigation support tasks
• Conduct policy advocacy on behalf of clients
• Develop community education and training
• Conduct off-site community outreach work and training, including during early and evening hours
• Keep detailed electronic case notes and maintain organized document files
• Participate in client and community outreach efforts

Professional Development and other duties as assigned

• Participate in continuous professional development
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
• 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

Preferred qualifications:

• Excellent written, oral advocacy, and computer skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and manage a large workload
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
• Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to keep organized case files and detailed notes
• Experience assisting people in crisis
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people
• Proficiency in languages other than English

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society’s mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required:  

• Mostly sedentary, significant time using a computer and monitor; communicating and meeting using video
• May or will require travel within NYC, across the five borough region 

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: $66,843 - $102,358

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 TalentAcquisition@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.