The Criminal Appeals Bureau (CAB) of The Legal Aid Society is the largest post-conviction public defender in New York City, annually providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 1,000 people with misdemeanor, felony, and homicide convictions. We represent low-income people in all five boroughs who are challenging their criminal convictions on appeal or in other post-conviction proceedings. Our practice includes direct appeals of judgment convictions as well as collateral litigation such as 440 motions, Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act resentencing applications, and Sex Offender Registration Act hearings and appeals.

CAB has an opening for a Discovery Paralegal II to obtain critical records so we can advocate for our clients to the fullest extent. Responsibilities include obtaining materials from the trial-level defense attorney, missing minutes (transcripts) from court reporters, and the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report from the Department of Probation. The successful candidate should be highly organized, detail-oriented, effective at developing relationships, and willing to work closely with a team of attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff to assist CAB.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and maintain relationships with court reporters and non-Legal Aid defense attorneys through regular and diligent communication to ensure compliance with court orders and other requests for materials necessary to proceed with appeals
• Where court reporters are not providing needed minutes, draft motions to compel and, if necessary, to hold them in contempt of court
• Regularly communicate with and assist CAB staff attorneys to obtain outstanding record items and troubleshoot as necessary
• Assist attorneys, paralegals, and investigators in accessing and analyzing and organizing discovery material
• Coordinate with non-Legal Aid defense attorneys to obtain trial files and discovery material
• Manager the transfer of Legal Aid trial files and discovery material to CAB attorneys where the District Attorney’s Offices have initiated the appeal

• Provide discovery and appellate materials to successor counsel in instances where The Legal Aid Society has been relieved

• Diligently follow up with the Department of Probation in each county to obtain outstanding Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports

• Initiate electronic cases on NYSCEF so court records can be uploaded and update assigned attorney as needed

• Scan court documents and other records obtained in hard copy, organize and label appropriately, and ensure internal databases are updated
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  • An associate degree ; bachelor’s degree (strongly preferred)
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
  • A high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of related work experience, at least 2 of which are as a paralegal
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office programs, particularly Excel and a PDF program required
• Excellent organizational skills with ability to multi-task and manage a large workload
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and oral
• Ability to pay strong attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to interact effectively and independently with criminal justice agencies, the criminal defense bar, and Legal Aid attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff

Preferred qualifications:

• Paralegal certificate from ABA-accredited paralegal program, bachelor’s degree, or bachelor’s degree expected by end of May 2025
• Some knowledge of New York criminal law and criminal procedure a plus but not required

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: $57,174 - $87,568

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.