The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice has openings for Paralegal Client Advocate in the Reentry Services Unit. The Legal Aid Society houses the largest post-conviction public defense practice 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 Reentry Services Unit strives to support the reentry of our post-conviction clients, with a particular focus on our DVSJA, SORA, Parole Advocacy, and Wrongful Conviction clients.  Clients leaving the custody of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) have a range of needs when reentering the community.  The Reentry team develops and implements reentry plans that can address needs around housing, substance use treatment, mental health treatment, public benefits, securing vital documents and basic needs items, medical treatment, case management, and any additional identified areas of need.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop reentry plans in consultation with clients, their attorney, mitigation specialist, and/paralegal
• Support clients in the implementation of the reentry plan upon release
• Communicate with clients through mail, phone calls, and in-person meetings at the office, at services providers, in the community, or in carceral settings
• Provide letters of reasonable assurance to clients
• Advocate to parole officers on behalf of Reentry Service Unit clients
• Troubleshoot barriers to reentry plan and make additional referrals as needed
• Maintain updated reentry resource guide for all five boroughs of NYC as well as select locations in New York State
• Maintain accurate case records in case management system
• Attend internal Reentry Services Unit meetings
• Other duties as assigned

TRAINING AND 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
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills with ability to manage a large workload and meet deadlines.
• Ability to pay strong attention to detail and think critically
• Ability to respond to crisis and problem solve independently
• Highly motivated with a willingness to work as a team and adapt to the changing needs of the practice and the clients
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Former incarceration and direct experience with the criminal legal system preferred.
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income individuals and people of color a must
• Knowledge of New York service providers and procedure for accessing public benefits preferred
• Proficiency in a language or languages other than English preferred but not required
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and ability to learn other software programs.
• Add commitment language

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Resume
• Cover Letter

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

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

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if, an offer is made.

Click here to read more about the benefits of working at The Legal Aid Society

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/find-aid-you-need/new-york-state-loan-forgiveness-programs

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The leadership of 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, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.

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. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jo**************@le*******.org.

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.