POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT (Start Date August 1, 2021)
GENEVA, NEW YORK
FULL-TIME STAFF PARALEGAL
The Geneva office of Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. ® (LawNY) has an immediate opening for a Staff Paralegal. LawNY is a not-for-profit law firm providing civil legal services to low-income clients in a 14-county area of western New York, including the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions. The Geneva office serves residents of Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates Counties.
The Staff Paralegal will provide support to clients and attorneys, primarily in landlord-tenant matters and cases. The paralegal will work with staff attorneys, providing assistance with landlord/tenant matters, eviction defense, code violations, foreclosure and public benefits cases.
Core Responsibilities include:
- Court scheduling/calendaring.
- Assisting intake staff with client screening and intake, including obtaining documentation and determining eligibility for services.
- Client interviews and investigation.
- Assisting attorneys in the preparation of cases, including conducting legal research, drafting letters, and preparing drafts of legal documents and memorandum, as permitted by law and ethical considerations and under the supervision of an attorney.
- Filing and mailing of pleadings, letters and other documents.
- Advocacy with administrative agencies regarding housing benefits where permissible.
- Data collection, data entry and file maintenance.
- Outreach activities.
- Relationship-building with court staff, community groups and other stakeholders.
The applicant must be detail-oriented and have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. The applicant must also have the caring, patience, and emotional maturity to help low-income people overcome crisis situations.
Due to COVID-19, LawNY staff have been working remotely all or part of the week. LawNY maintains an extensive safe operations plan and seeks to ensure the safety of both our staff and our clients. All staff are still required to fulfill their professional obligations, which will require contact with clients, completion of assigned tasks, and regular communication with attorneys and court staff or administrative agencies, as needed, to perform the functions of their role.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree, Associate’s degree, and/or relevant work experience, is required.
- Applicants must be organized and have excellent interpersonal and writing skills.
- Applicants must have a demonstrated commitment to helping low-income, disadvantaged and vulnerable people overcome institutional barriers to legal access.
Desired Skills:
- Prior experience with low-income and other oppressed communities and clients.
- Lived experience with our client communities highly desired.
- Strong problem-solving abilities, time management, and organizational skills.
- Ability to work under deadline and manage multiple tasks.
- Ability to empathize and sensitively respond to people in crisis situations.
- Experience with the use of trauma informed care practices is highly preferred.
- Excellent use of Google Drive/GSuite, Word, and Excel; database programs a plus.
- Passion for social justice and commitment to the mission of LawNY.
Salary: Salary is dependent on experience and based on a pay scale with annual increments. The salary for a Paralegal who is credited with five years of experience is $35,000. The initial salary will increase annually based upon LawNY’s salary scale. LawNY provides an excellent health insurance, disability and employee benefits package with generous leave provisions.
Procedure: Applicants should submit a letter of interest, resume, three professional references and a brief writing sample to the attention of Matthew Davis, Managing Attorney of the Geneva Office via this link: https://lawny.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=14. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For full consideration please apply by July 1, 2021.
Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. ® (LawNY) is an equal opportunity employer. LawNY encourages applications from diverse candidates. LawNY welcomes applications regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or any other consideration protected by law. This position is considered non-exempt pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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