Paralegal Casehandler, Immigration Law Unit- Youth Project - New York, NY

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The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice is seeking a Paralegal Casehandler with a strong work ethic and a deep commitment to public interest to join the citywide Immigration Law Unit's Immigrant Youth Representation Project (Youth Project). The Paralegal Casehandler will be part of an inter-disciplinary legal team that includes attorneys, paralegals and social workers, working closely to address the needs of unaccompanied minor children and other minor non-citizens to secure the bestcase outcome. The Paralegal Casehandler will collaborate with project attorneys, paralegals and social workers with case support, litigation assistance, advocacy efforts and assist clients in connecting them with community-based organizations to support their long-term success. The Legal Aid Society participates in the Immigrant Children Advocates' Relief Effort (ICARE) coalition, which provides direct legal representation, comprehensive advice, social, health, and mental health services, and advocacy to vulnerable youth in removal proceedings. The Paralegal Casehandler will actively participate in the Youth Project's work with the ICARE Coalition and partners as well as our Legal Clinic Program that works with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status-eligible youth and vulnerable families. The Paralegal Casehandler will also assist the Supervising Attorney with project-based case data reports. A minimum two-year commitment is required to enable the paralegal casehandler, if there is demonstrated interest, to apply to become partially accredited through the Department of Justice (DOJ) with privileges to practice before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The Immigration Law Unit of The Legal Aid Society is a recognized leader in the delivery of high-quality legal services to immigrants in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties within the New York District of the USCIS. The Unit provides low-income New Yorkers with free comprehensive immigration services ranging from deportation defense to adjustment of status to legal permanent residence and citizenship applications. The Unit specializes in the intersection between immigration and criminal law as well as immigration and family law and works collaboratively with all practice areas to serve the Society's diverse immigrant clients through a comprehensive service model. Unit staff represent immigrants before USCIS, immigration judges in removal proceedings, and the Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as in federal court on habeas corpus petitions, petitions for review, administrative and judicial appeals, and other matters.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide support to staff attorneys and supervising attorneys in the Youth Project
• Assist with litigation tasks, such as drafting affidavits, preparing family court petitions, compiling motions, and assisting with arranging for service of process
• Assist in fact development by meeting with clients, contacting family members in the United States and abroad, and gathering information and documentation from clients and appropriate agencies
• Screen, interview, assess, and provide direct assistance to clients under attorney supervision
• Assist attorneys in preparing applications for immigration relief on behalf of immigrant clients
• Upon becoming a partially accredited representative, handle a reasonable volume of individual immigration applications
• Maintain and update case management database
• Coordinate the Legal Aid Society's participation in the ICARE Coalition
• The position may require off-site travel for discrete tasks, subject to availability

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  
  
  
  • A bachelor's degree (strongly preferred)
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
  • At minimum, a high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of legal work experience
  • 4+ years of combined higher education and legal work experience
  
  
  
  
• Excellent writing, verbal, organizational, and computer skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team
• Ability to work efficiently and under time constraints to meet deadlines for multiple attorneys
• Ability to manage a reasonable volume of cases and solve problems creatively
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations
• Commitment to protecting the rights of low-income clients

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people, immigrants, and children is strongly desired
• Knowledge of immigration law is strongly desired
• Experience preparing immigration applications is strongly desired
• Proficiency in Spanish or French is strongly desired
• Experience assisting people in crisis is desired

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: $62,400- $95,555

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.

Manhattan - Civil Practice Lower Manhattan Neighborhood Office