Paralegal Client Advocate, Immigrant Justice Team - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society has an opening for a Paralegal Client Advocate with Immigrant Justice Team, which currently consists of one director and ten staff attorneys (one to three staff attorneys per borough).

The Immigrant Justice Team advises clients of the Criminal Defense Practice on the immigration consequences of criminal arrests and works to mitigate those consequences. Our clients are doubly stigmatized by the intersection of the immigration and criminal-legal systems. We work to help each client understand their situation and make an informed decision among the options available to them. For many of our clients, their conversation with us will be the first immigration consult they ever have, and we see this as a unique opportunity to help them understand their immigration status and identify possible relief. We also take on a limited number of immigration cases for direct representation.

The Paralegal Client Advocate will report to the Director of the Immigrant Justice Team. Working with the Director and the team, the Paralegal Client Advocate will provide coverage to the whole of Legal Aid's criminal defense practice. This position will be based at the 49 Thomas Street location but will involve some travel to all five Criminal Defense Practice borough offices (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island).

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Tracking and Reporting of Data and Trends:
  
  
  
  • Work with the Director to design and implement an improved case tracking system
  • Compile regular reports on immigration case referrals and advisal's to ensure that Legal Aid is meeting its obligations to its non-citizen clients
  • Work with arraignment paralegals and supervising attorneys in each borough to troubleshoot data entry and related issues
  
  
  
  
• Direct Assistance to Clients Impacted by the Criminal-Legal System:
  
  
  
  • Help clients in completing forms and releases, and in obtaining immigration, criminal, and civil legal system documents
  • File freedom of information requests with federal immigration agencies and state/local agencies
  • Work with clients, attorneys, and employees of problem-solving courts to overcome barriers to participation based on immigration status
  • Support Criminal Defense Practice attorneys with effective intake for noncitizen clients
  • In collaboration with Immigrant Justice Team staff attorneys, help to screen and interview clients for immigration relief and to ascertain immigration history and facilitate referrals for immigration representation by other parts of Legal Aid and our external partners
  • Support staff attorneys in representation of noncitizen clients including drafting application forms and obtaining and copying needed documents
  • Draft advocacy letters on behalf of clients
  • Help connect clients to resources and provide other direct assistance to clients as needed
  
  
  
  
• Practice Organization and Communications:
  
  
  
  • Assist with creating and editing practice advisories, curating online resources and keeping them up-to-date, and similar tasks
  • Provide case-management assistance on direct representation cases
  • Help draft practice advisories and other resources
  • Liaise with other parts of Legal Aid including the Criminal Appeals Bureau, the Immigration Law Unit, and Incarcerated Client Services team
  
  
  
  
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  
  
  
  • A bachelor's degree (strongly preferred) OR
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program OR
  • At minimum a high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of legal work experience OR
  • 4+ years of combined higher education and legal work experience
  
  
  
  
• Commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people
• Excellent writing, verbal, organizational, and computer skills
• Ability to work in a team setting as well as independently
• Ability to multitask

Preferred qualifications:

• Some knowledge of New York criminal law and criminal procedures
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable
• Interest in working to become a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Accredited Representative, which will allow the Paralegal Client Advocate to represent clients in immigration court and before USCIS under the supervision of an attorney

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.

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.