Paralegal Client Advocate, Immigrant Justice Team

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