Reader/Intake Paralegal

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. Further, LSNYC prides itself on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) efforts and aims to create a work environment where everyone can bring their full selves to the work.
Queens Legal Services (QLS) seeks a reader/intake paralegal to support the delivery of visual interpretive services for a staff attorney in the Immigration Advocacy Project who is blind. When not providing support to the staff attorney, the reader/intake paralegal will perform intake paralegal-related duties.
About Us:
Founded in 1967, QLS seeks equal access to justice for all low-income residents of Queens through a range of legal advocacy, education, and community partnerships. We provide free legal counseling, representation and referrals in civil matters involving the essentials of life including housing, public and disability benefits, domestic violence prevention, consumer and homeowner protections, access to education and employment rights to eligible low-income individuals and families. We work with our clients and partners to identify and address root causes for systemic inequalities in Queens and throughout New York City. We are part of a network of local programs that make up Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), the largest free civil legal services provider in the United States.
The Immigration Advocacy Project provides direct legal services to Queens residents in a variety of affirmative and defensive immigration matters including naturalization, family-based petitions, domestic violence-based applications (VAWA Self-Petitions, Battered Spouse Waivers and U Visas), trafficking (T Visas) applications, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases, asylum, and removal defense. We engage in outreach and education efforts, some of which may occur on nights and weekends, to ensure access to services for underserved immigrant communities in Queens.
Duties & Responsibilities:
The reader/intake paralegal will be responsible for reading court and government agency documents, client documents and other papers to the staff attorney. The reader/intake paralegal will assist the attorney as needed in client meetings at the office and off-site at court, administrative hearing offices, and outreach locations.
The reader/intake paralegal will also be responsible for helping with other administrative tasks as needed to support the staff attorney, including but not limited to: maintaining paper and electronic files; completing handwritten and fillable electronic immigration forms at the attorney’s direction; and organizing and formatting documents for court hearings and filings.
Intake paralegal duties will include conducting intake, gathering client information, and maintaining information in the QLS case management system.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Ability to read both typed and handwritten documents aloud clearly and accurately, at a normal pace and also at a fast pace, as needed, with good pronunciation;
• Comfort with asking questions for clarification or direction when reading documents or performing tasks; comfort with receiving and providing feedback.
• Ability to describe pictures and visual information in words, describe and navigate complex government forms, and efficiently sort through large volumes of paper to locate relevant documents;
• Excellent attention to detail;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Ability to thrive and work flexibly in a team environment;
• Ability to support the staff attorney in unpredictable environments, such as immigration court, family court and off-site outreach locations;
• Proficiency in mobile and computer technology and ability to learn new web-based programs as needed;
• Bilingual ability to read, write and speak in Spanish and English;
• Prior experience reading complex documents (preferred);
• Prior experience working in a law firm or other office setting (preferred); and
• Prior experience working with colleagues across abilities (preferred).

How to Apply
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples below. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls please.
Salary is commensurate with experience (determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement). Benefits include health and dental insurance, an employer contribution to a pre-tax 403(b) retirement plan, and generous leave time.
QLS is an equal opportunity employer. It is an organization committed to race, gender, and economic justice in our work and within our workplace. QLS staff are members of the LSSA/NOLSW UAW Local 2320. 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.
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.

Salary Range (Based on years’ experience):

• 1-10 years: $55,460 - $68,514
• 11-20 years: $69,614 - $79,019
• 21+ years: $82,013 - $89,476

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

Please refer the Job description for details