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About the Role

Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) seeks a litigation paralegal to support the Civil Rights and Law Reform and Federal Immigration Action teams. This role involves assisting attorneys with litigation support and jail-related advocacy, as well as supporting fast-moving habeas actions and petitions for review.

Responsibilities

• Assist attorneys with preparation of legal documents and filings, including proof-reading, cite-checking, and preparing tables for briefs, organizing and redacting exhibits, and effectuating service.
• Maintain accurate digital and paper files according to office protocol.
• Timely and accurately enter information into the case and document management systems.
• Assist in tracking and organizing referrals and matters.
• Investigate factual developments and identify trends regarding BDS’ key issue areas.
• Research and draft advocacy memos to support BDS’s advocacy and litigation priorities.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or experience as a paralegal.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Excellent written skills, including the ability to draft clear and persuasive documents.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a team.
• Ability to take direction and feedback and adjust workload with agility.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and able to adapt to urgent situations.
• High proficiency in Adobe Pro and Microsoft 365 Suite programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.).
• Background in social justice issue areas preferred, including the criminal legal system, detention, and immigrant justice.

Skills

• Adobe Pro
• Microsoft 365 Suite programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.)
• Legal document preparation
• Filing
• Proof-reading
• Cite-checking
• Table preparation for briefs
• Exhibit organization
• Exhibit redaction
• Service of process
• Digital file maintenance
• Paper file maintenance
• Case management systems
• Document management systems
• Referral tracking
• Matter tracking
• Factual investigation
• Trend identification
• Advocacy memo drafting
• Litigation support
• Jail-related advocacy
• Habeas actions
• Petitions for review

Location

• Downtown Brooklyn

Work Type

• Full-time

Experience Level

• Paralegal experience preferred

Education Level

• Bachelor's degree

Salary/Compensations

• $73,000-$78,000

Benefits

• Health insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan
• Generous vacation
• Sick leave
• Holiday leave
• Family leave
• Medical leave

About the Company

• Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) is a public defense office representing low-income New Yorkers in criminal, family, immigration, and civil legal matters.
• Our work with clients is focused on the intersection of the legal systems that disproportionately impact Black and brown people living below the poverty level.
• BDS represents thousands of people each year who have diverse, complex, and multi-faceted legal needs.
• In addition to a zealous legal defense, our interdisciplinary teams of attorneys, social workers, and advocates provide a wide range of legal and advocacy services, including housing, public benefits, education, and employment issues.
• The Civil Rights and Law Reform unit (“Law Reform”) works across BDS’s practice areas to identify, target, and reform barriers that impede access to justice for the people BDS represents.
• Through strategic federal and state litigation on behalf of both classes and individual people, we challenge government actions that systematically harms the people we serve.
• We work closely with our Jail Services team to advocate for systemic changes to protect the constitutional and human rights of the people incarcerated in New York City jails.
• We also partner with BDS’s Immigration Practice to fight unlawful detention and deportation.
• The Federal Immigration Action (“FIA”) team fights unlawful detention and deportation through habeas corpus petitions; challenges excessive delays and wrongful denial of immigration benefits and Freedom of Information Act requests; and brings affirmative immigration-related civil challenges seeking strategic reform that benefits BDS’s noncitizen clients.

Equal Opportunity

• Brooklyn Defender Services is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to celebrating diversity and maintaining an equitable and inclusive work environment.
• We strongly encourage candidates of all identities, expressions, orientations, disabilities, and experiences to apply.
• If you require an accommodation due to a disability or another reason, please contact the Managing Director, HR, Christina Wallace, at c wallace @bds.org.