Overview
About NYLAG:
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services are virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG’s staff of 300 impacted the lives of nearly 90,000 people last year.
Mission:
New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) uses the power of the law to help New Yorkers experiencing poverty or in crisis combat economic, racial, and social injustice. We address emerging and urgent needs with comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving clients, whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality.
Job Description:
NYLAG has an immediate opening for a part-time paralegal for its Legal Clinic for Pro Se Litigants in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). This Clinic provides free, individual legal assistance to non-prisoner, pro se litigants in the SDNY. This innovative clinic is among the first in the nation to provide pro se assistance in federal court.
The paralegal will be an integral part of a Clinic team consisting of one supervising attorney, two staff attorneys, and two paralegals, with offices in the SDNY at 40 Foley Square in Manhattan. The paralegal will interview clients, provide referrals, research the status of cases, schedule appointments, and provide key support to the attorneys providing direct legal assistance to pro se clients. The paralegal will frequently be the first contract that pro se litigants have with the Clinic. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the full range federal court litigation in which one of the parties is not represented by counsel.
Direct legal assistance work will include: counseling on filing cases in federal court, including regarding jurisdictional issues; substantive and procedural legal advice on questions that may arise at any stage of litigation; review with pro se litigants of court orders, opposition pleadings, discovery processes, and court rules and procedures; pro se assistance on motion practice, discovery, and litigation strategy; assistance with deposition preparation, and with preparation for pretrial conferences, hearings, settlement conferences, mediations, and other court appearances; referrals to other agencies and organizations, including for pro bono assistance, to other legal services organizations, and to mental health agencies. Substantive legal areas of litigation will include civil rights, employment discrimination, social security appeals, and mortgage foreclosure, and other matters.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
● Staff the SDNY Pro Se Clinic.
● Work closely with the Clinic supervising attorney and staff attorneys.
● Perform intake interviews and provide referrals;
● Assist the attorneys in providing direct legal assistance to Clinic clients at the Clinic courthouse office.
● Schedule and manage appointments.
● Work with courthouse staff who serve pro se litigants.
● Assist with quality data recording and reporting.
● Any other duties and responsibilities related to Clinic operations.
Qualifications:
This position is an ideal opportunity for a recent college graduate interested in a career in law, public policy, or social work. Applicants must be prepared to interact with a diverse client population in a sensitive and professional manner. Applicants should demonstrate a strong commitment to public service and have excellent writing and analytic abilities. The successful candidate will work closely with NYLAG’s attorneys, and will receive both on-the-job and more formal training. Preference will be given to those applicants fluent in a language other than English.
NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.
Employment type:
☐ Full-time
☒ Part-time
☐ Temporary
Professional Level:
☒ Entry Level
☐ Professional
☐ Managerial
Salary Range: NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is $48,000 – $48,916.
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: To be considered for this position, please save resume and cover letter on one pdf. Applicants must reference the job title (Pro Se Clinic Paralegal) in the subject line of the email or the application will not be properly processed. No phone calls please. Principals only. Please note that only those candidates selected for interviews will be notified.
This position is hybrid, with an expectation to be in the New York office a minimum of 2 days per week.