What are the responsibilities and job description for the Intake Paralegal - Tenant Rights Coalition position at Legal Services NYC?
Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.
LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer.
INTAKE PARALEGAL, TENANT RIGHTS COALITION –
BROOKLYN LEGAL SERVICES
Brooklyn Legal Services seeks an Intake Paralegal for its Tenant Rights Coalition. This is a staff position for 35 hours/week, based in our Brownsville, Brooklyn office.
About us
Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS), part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), is a civil legal services organization with a mission to fight poverty and seek racial, social, and economic justice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers. Our office provides a wide range of civil legal services and balance individual case representation, impact litigation and policy advocacy, as well as outreach, education, and trainings, in various subject areas. We have a wall-to wall union that includes attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and support staff. As a community-centered, social justice organization, BLS is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where staff and clients feel welcome. Through our various affinity groups and committees, we actively work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about and seek to understand unconscious biases and systemic oppression and work to realize our organizational goals and mission.
The Tenant Rights Coalition (TRC) is a team of legal workers performing anti-displacement work in partnership with tenant leaders and community organizers throughout Brooklyn to combat the impacts of gentrification and greed. Our unit is based in a community office in Brownsville; however, our day-to-day work includes but is not limited to, supporting tenant association meetings at buildings in south, central, and east Brooklyn neighborhoods, defending against and/or asserting claims in Housing Court, Supreme Court, Appellate Court, Federal Court, and/or at various administrative agencies, conducting workshops and trainings, staffing multiple monthly clinics, and supporting local and statewide coalition work.
The Intake Paralegal will work closely with the TRC team, particularly fellow intake paralegals, to gather sensitive information from tenants in-person and/or by phone, coordinate follow-up services, provide legal guidance with the assistance of attorneys, and support case-handlers on client-related matters.
Responsibilities include:
- Conduct interviews in-person and/or by phone to gather sensitive information and input into online case management system;
- Learn various case management systems and eligibility requirements for multiple intake streams and grants;
- Work independently and collaboratively with teammates and other stakeholders;
- Attend regular team meetings and trainings to stay up-to-date on relevant information;
- Support various intake streams, clinics, and workshops;
- Communicate regularly with teammates, community partners, and at times, the courts and/or administrative agencies;
- Draft emails and/or informational letters;
- Manage competing demands of high-volume calls, scripts, and multiple shared documents and charts shared among intake paralegal team;
- Occasional evening and weekend intake may be required.
Qualifications:
- Demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color;
- Experience working with people who are experiencing highly stressful conditions;
- Excellent interviewing, writing, and communication skills;
- Experience working with low-income people;
- Excellent organizational skills including ability to prioritize multiple tasks within a set amount of time;
- Fluency or strong proficiency in a second language is strongly preferred;
- Skilled in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, internet research;
- Eagerness to learn and adapt to evolving technologies and systems;
- Good sense of humor and ability to work well on a team.
How to Apply:
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples –can be advocacy letters, emails, and/or any form of writing that demonstrates abilities to clearly state instructions and/or give information – to bkhiring@lsnyc.org. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please.
BLS offers an excellent benefits package and a highly competitive public interest salary. We offer excellent benefits, including health, dental, and vision plans; contributions to a 403(b) plan; and generous leave time. Salary is commensurate with experience.
Brooklyn Legal Services is an equal opportunity employer: people of color; women; people with disabilities; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people; and people over the age of 40 are welcome and encouraged to apply. We are committed to race, gender, and economic justice in our work and within our workplace. Staff members who are not managers are members of the LSSA/NOLSW UAW Local 2320.
Additional information about the practice may be found on our website, www.legalservicsnyc.org.
All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.
Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.
