The Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice has several openings for the Paralegal Casehandler positions in the Housing Help Program (HHP) in both the Bronx and Brooklyn Courthouse Offices. The HHP provides clients with legal and social services, with the dual objectives of preventing the immediate threat of homelessness, and stabilizing families over time to reduce the risk of homelessness in partnership with social services agencies. The HHP is structured as an early-intervention model targeting tenants from specific neighborhoods, and screening and conducting intake when they are first sued in Housing Court, or need an affirmative case brought to preserve their housing and prevent homelessness. The Paralegal Casehandler positions are based in the Housing Court and are an integral member of the legal team that assists tenants in Housing Court and at administrative hearings. The Paralegal will also have the opportunity to attend negotiation sessions and court proceedings and act as a liaison to court personnel.
In this position you will: provide direct assistance and advice to clients in the benefits area; interview and assess clients for representation; represent clients in administrative hearings; work with attorneys and social workers to resolve the government benefits issues involved with cases; obtain rent arrears payments and FEPS preliminary rental arrears relief; document preparation and advocacy on eviction cases and termination hearings; advocate with various agencies regarding government benefits; engage in policy advocacy on behalf of clients; handle a high volume of individual cases and respond to the needs of community-based organizations; provide client services off-site and during evening hours as needed; and other duties as assigned.
The ideal candidate must possess: a paralegal certificate from an accredited school, bachelor's degree in relevant field, or satisfactory completion of a comprehensive in-house training course appropriate to practice area; excellent writing, verbal, organizational, and computer skills; ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and manage a high volume of cases; ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations; commitment to protecting the rights of low-income clients; experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people and immigrants is strongly desired; experience assisting people in crisis is desirable; proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required.
