The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking one Intake Paralegal Casehandler to join our Citywide Intake Unit. The Access to Benefits Helpline (A2B) serves as an intake line for all inquiries regarding consumer law, employment, unemployment insurance benefits, education, homelessness issues, government benefits, including food stamps, cash public assistance, and disability, Medicaid, Medicare and other health and safety net benefits. The Intake Paralegal Casehandler will conduct general intake, provide advice, and brief services, as well as maintain a caseload.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct telephone intake and client interviews, provide advice, direct assistance, and assess requests for services for various matters, including government benefits, employment, health law, education, etc.
• Identify, assess, and escalate time sensitive and emergency legal issues to supervisory staff
• Provide oral and written advocacy to or on behalf of clients
• Conduct factual and legal research
• Maintain case records
• Assist with complying with grant requirements
• Respond to inquiries from civil practice units, government agencies, and the public
• Advocate on behalf of clients with government agencies
• Provide support to the Disability Advocacy Project, Government Benefits, and other units as needed
• Utilize Excel to generate daily, weekly, and monthly reports, as needed
• Carry out other tasks of general assistance to the work of the Intake unit
• 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
• Paralegal certificate from ABA-accredited paralegal program or Bachelor’s degree in relevant field
• Fluency in Spanish or other languages is preferred
• Excellent writing, verbal, and computer skills
• Prior experience utilizing Excel in school or professional settings required
• Excellent organizational skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team
• Ability to manage a reasonable volume of work and solve problems creatively
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
• Commitment to protecting the rights of low-income clients

Preferred qualifications:

• Basic Excel skills and prior use of Excel in a work or educational setting are preferred
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy and protecting the rights of low-income people and immigrants is strongly desired
• Knowledge of disability and/or government benefits or employment law is strongly desired
• Experience assisting people in crisis is desirable

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.