Paralegal Client Advocate, Incarcerated Client Services Unit - New York, NY

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The Criminal Defense Practice of the Legal Aid Society's Incarcerated Client Services Unit is seeking three Paralegal Client Advocates for the Incarcerated Persons Hotline ("hotline"), a high-volume phone service available to those in city jails and state prisons, as well as their advocates and loved ones. The Paralegal Client Advocate will perform intakes via the hotline and in-person at Department of Correction facilities and will ensure incarcerated people have access to needed resources, services, and information. The Paralegal Client Advocate will work closely with the hotline managing attorney and a new and growing team of paralegals as well as the Legal Aid Society's Prisoners' Rights Project.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Answer incoming calls from people in city jails and state prisons, including psychiatric units, as well as their advocates and loved ones
• Perform hotline and in-person intakes for incarcerated people and their families, including problem solving and connecting people to services as needed
• Interview and assess requests for services from incarcerated persons from hotline calls and other referrals
• Interview people in custody at Department of Correction facilities
• Provide direct support and advocacy for people in custody with the Department of Correction and other agencies and organizations and assist with institutional issues and access to services
• Collaborate across units within the Legal Aid Society to ensure the needs of all people in custody are met
• Serve as a critical point of contact for people incarcerated in the city jails and state prisons
• Support outside organizations to provide resources to people in custody and connect them with services within the city jails
• Develop proficiency in Department of Correction administrative rules and policies related to access to services for people in custody, including but not limited to grievance procedures, exhaustion of administrative remedies, housing placements, disability accommodations
• Track and report data and trends gathered through intake
• Prepare written reports summarizing information compiled, which may include some legal and factual research
• Review and respond to client and agency correspondence in connection with cases.
• Assist clients in obtaining legal documents and navigating all systems of institutional care to ensure client's needs are met
• Liaise between attorneys and their clients
• Assist lawyers in forwarding information to clients' facility to calculate jail time credits, take steps to correct errors, and secure any missing jail time credits
• Perform data entry
• Conduct legal research
• Perform paralegal responsibilities as necessary
• Notary public services
• 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
  
  
  
  
• Commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people
• Excellent writing, verbal, organizational, and computer skills
• Familiarity with legal research
• Ability to work in a team setting as well as independently
• Ability to multitask

Preferred qualifications:

• Familiarity with New York's criminal legal system, criminal law, and criminal procedures
• Experience working with incarcerated persons or in correctional facilities
• Experience working with people affected by trauma
• Proficiency in languages other than English
• People from impacted communities are encouraged to apply
• Formally incarcerated people are encouraged to apply

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