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About the Role

The Paralegal Casehandler will serve the borough of Brooklyn, working on their own cases and assisting Housing Staff Attorneys to resolve benefits and advocacy issues. This role is crucial in obtaining rental assistance, providing agency advocacy, representing clients at administrative hearings, and conducting outreach. The Paralegal Casehandler is on the front lines of assisting individuals and families to avoid imminent eviction.

Responsibilities

Conduct intake/client interviews, provide advice and direct assistance, and assess requests for services
Represent clients at administrative hearings at HRA or other appropriate forums
Obtain rent arrears and ongoing rental assistance through FHEPS and other programs
Handle a high volume of individual cases and respond to the needs of community-based organizations
Work with staff attorneys and supervising attorneys to resolve the benefits issues involved with housing practice cases
Prepare motion documents including client affidavits
Conduct advocacy in eviction cases and termination hearings
Develop community education materials for clients and other advocates
Maintain case records
Conduct virtual, courthouse-based, and off-site intake as needed, including during evening hours
Conduct policy advocacy on behalf of clients
Other duties as assigned

Requirements

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, oral advocacy, and computer skills
Excellent organizational skills with ability to multi-task and manage a large workload
Ability to work independently as well as in a team
Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
Commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people and immigrants
Experience assisting people in crisis is desirable, but not required
Proficiency in languages other than English, especially Spanish, Mandarin, French Creole, Russian and/or Bengali is desirable, but not required
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.
For citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.

Skills

Written advocacy
Oral advocacy
Computer skills
Organizational skills
Multi-tasking
Case management
Collaboration
Spanish
Mandarin
French Creole
Russian
Bengali

Location

Brooklyn

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

4+ years of legal work experience
4+ years of combined higher education and legal work experience

Education Level

Bachelor's degree
Paralegal certificate
High school diploma / GED

Salary/Compensations

$66,843 - $102,358

Benefits

Health insurance
Paid vacation
Disability insurance
Life insurance
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
State and Federal loan forgiveness programs
Assistance from New York state for loan repayments (for NY residents)

About the Company

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.
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.

Equal 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.