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 Paralegal II to support all aspects of our practice. Our paralegals are integral to our mission of mitigating the long-term devastating impact of mass incarceration on our communities. Paralegals are vital for ensuring that each case has all the records necessary to proceed, preparing and filing briefs and motions in accordance with the courts’ strict standards, keeping our case management system updated, and communicating with clients and their families through correspondence and telephone inquiries and visiting incarcerated clients in prison. The successful candidate will be organized, detail-oriented, and able to interact effectively with court personnel, as well as work with a team of paralegals, attorneys, and other support staff.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Communicating with and supporting clients and their families through written correspondence, telephonic communications and in-person visits at upstate prisons
• Screening records for completeness and identifying appropriate next steps, such as requesting missing record items, drafting an administrative motion, or elevating for attorney review
• Obtaining essential records by copying and scanning files at the courthouses, ordering court minutes and file papers, and requesting documents from city and state agencies, treatment providers, and other sources
• Drafting and filing motions and other legal documents
• Tracking court decisions
• Updating information on case management systems, databases, and internal shared directories
• Opening and updating physical files and helping prepare them for closing
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  • An associate degree (or additional higher education)
  • 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
• Bachelor’s degree is preferred but not required
• Excellent computer and word processing skills, particularly Microsoft Word and a PDF program
• Excellent organizational skills
• Excellent communication skills
• High degree of professionalism and strong attention to detail
• Highly motivated with a willingness to work as a team and adapt to the changing needs of the practice
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and think critically
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Ability to interact effectively and independently with courts and related criminal justice agencies, as well as Legal Aid attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income individuals and people of color required
• Some knowledge of New York criminal law and criminal procedures preferred but not required
• Notary Public or willing to become a Notary Public
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable 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 jo**************@le*******.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.