The Role
The Paralegal will support attorneys in the Consumer Protection Unit by conducting client intakes, maintaining caseloads, performing legal research, preparing documents, and providing workshops and training for volunteers.
Summary Generated by Built In
About NYLAG:
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. NYLAG’s staff of over 400 impacted the lives of 129,000 people last year.
Job Description:
NYLAG has an immediate opening for a Paralegal in the Consumer Protection Unit (CPU). CPU represents clients in a full range of consumers’ rights matters by helping individuals with low-income fight fraud, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection practices. In addition, NYLAG advocates for clients who face possibly devastating income loss due to civil court judgments; defaulted student loans from predatory for-profit schools; sub-prime loan conditions; and lending scams targeting historically poor, limited English proficient, and/or immigrant communities. Advocates work not only to resolve the immediate problem, but also to ensure long-term security for victims and their families.
The Paralegal will provide litigation and administrative support for attorneys representing clients, maintain a client caseload of their own, and perform legal intakes with clients and potential clients referred from a wide range of sources including general intake callers, funder referrals, on site clinics, and more. Primary responsibilities of the Paralegal are data entry, maintaining the client database, generating grant reports for funders, and providing funders, other organizations, colleagues, and other requesters seeking with information, stats, or goals of any of our programs. The Paralegal will work on consumer advocacy tasks including drafting testimony in support of various consumer legislation and initiatives for city and other relevant agencies. The Paralegal is an integral part of the CPP team, supporting attorneys in their client-facing work including by retrieving files from Court, doing legal research, training volunteers and new staff, investigating new areas of law, maintain the central organizing files of CPU, keeping track of consumer trends, reports, media, and resources, maintaining and alerting staff to important dates and unit requirements, assisting foreclosure prevention staff as necessary, as well as other tasks in response to community and programmatic need. The Paralegal will also conduct workshops and presentations.
Duties and Responsibilities:
NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.
Employment type:
☒ Full-time
Professional Level:
☒ Professional
Salary Range:
NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $66,700 and $69,992 .
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf. Applicants without a cover letter will not be considered.
Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. NYLAG’s staff of over 400 impacted the lives of 129,000 people last year.
Job Description:
NYLAG has an immediate opening for a Paralegal in the Consumer Protection Unit (CPU). CPU represents clients in a full range of consumers’ rights matters by helping individuals with low-income fight fraud, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection practices. In addition, NYLAG advocates for clients who face possibly devastating income loss due to civil court judgments; defaulted student loans from predatory for-profit schools; sub-prime loan conditions; and lending scams targeting historically poor, limited English proficient, and/or immigrant communities. Advocates work not only to resolve the immediate problem, but also to ensure long-term security for victims and their families.
The Paralegal will provide litigation and administrative support for attorneys representing clients, maintain a client caseload of their own, and perform legal intakes with clients and potential clients referred from a wide range of sources including general intake callers, funder referrals, on site clinics, and more. Primary responsibilities of the Paralegal are data entry, maintaining the client database, generating grant reports for funders, and providing funders, other organizations, colleagues, and other requesters seeking with information, stats, or goals of any of our programs. The Paralegal will work on consumer advocacy tasks including drafting testimony in support of various consumer legislation and initiatives for city and other relevant agencies. The Paralegal is an integral part of the CPP team, supporting attorneys in their client-facing work including by retrieving files from Court, doing legal research, training volunteers and new staff, investigating new areas of law, maintain the central organizing files of CPU, keeping track of consumer trends, reports, media, and resources, maintaining and alerting staff to important dates and unit requirements, assisting foreclosure prevention staff as necessary, as well as other tasks in response to community and programmatic need. The Paralegal will also conduct workshops and presentations.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Conduct thorough client legal intakes;
- Investigate facts through interviews and document collection;
- Maintain a caseload, and advocate with various plaintiffs, organizations and government agencies on behalf of clients;
- Prepare legal documents under attorney supervision;
- Perform legal research;
- Draft and distribute various outreach materials, project manuals, and other resources;
- Data entry;
- Train new staff and volunteers regarding intakes, administrative matters, data compliance and substantive issues, as well as manage and assign tasks to volunteers as needed;
- Assist with grant compliance and reporting;
- Develop and provide workshops for community organizations, community members, and internal and external partners;
- Help assess unit and project needs and analyze existing systems to determine best practices for Unit processes, practices and client/project management; and
- Other duties as needed.
- Priority given to those who have worked for New York City legal or social services organizations or have experience with consumer law.
- College degree required.
- Excellent communication, research, and writing skills.
- Excellent oral and analytic abilities.
- Value collaboration, be a team player.
- Strong work ethic and commitment to and passion for serving vulnerable New Yorkers.
- Organized, with strong attention to detail.
- Curious and committed to ongoing learning and professional development.
- Ability to handle a diverse caseload.
- A desire to learn the relevant advocacy strategies and law.
- Demonstrated ability to advocate zealously on behalf of clients.
- Experience attending court in an assistant or advocacy capacity preferred.
- Experience with public speaking, presenting, and conducting workshops.
- Strong time management skills.
NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.
Employment type:
☒ Full-time
Professional Level:
☒ Professional
Salary Range:
NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $66,700 and $69,992 .
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.
Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf. Applicants without a cover letter will not be considered.
Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.
Skills Required
- College degree required
- Experience with public speaking, presenting, and conducting workshops
- Excellent communication, research, and writing skills
- Strong time management skills
- Experience with consumer law or legal/social services
- Ability to handle a diverse caseload
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The Company
What We Do
NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis.
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