Legal Assistant (time limited) (union)

The Wage Justice Center (“WJC”) seeks a full-time Legal Assistant to support our work serving unhoused and housing insecure day laborers in Los Angeles, Kern and Ventura counties. The position is subject to grant funding and is currently funded through June 2024. Work is currently remote, with some in-person meetings and office duties. WJC is dedicated to combating wage theft and using legal strategies to help low-income workers get paid. For over fifteen years, WJC has pursued this mission through various legal services and programs including: a direct services legal program for day laborers; litigation against employers who have failed to pay workers and sought to evade judgments for unpaid wages; legal-rights workshops for community groups and workers; training and technical support for other non-profits.

Responsibilities

The Legal Assistant’s responsibilities include, among others:

• Conduct pre-screening of individuals requesting legal assistance and ensure timely communication, eligibility for services, and grant compliance

• Prepare legal documents and correspondence related to the representation of our clients

• Gather and file documents with the courts and other governmental or administrative agencies

• Support the legal department with case related tasks, including but not limited to fact investigation, communicating with clients, opposing and/or co-counsel, preparing serving and filing documents

• Maintain the office calendaring system and confirm appointments and court appearances

• Assist with outreach and education efforts, including “know your rights” presentations

• Assist with training and overseeing graduate law clerks/volunteers

• Assist with administrative and clerical duties including word processing, managing data and case files; scanning and coping documents; opening and closing case files

Qualifications

• Prior administrative experience in the legal services, real estate or construction industry preferred

• Experience with court systems, including e-filing systems and interacting with court clerks preferred

• Attention to detail and ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint)

• Experience using legal research databases (Westlaw, Lexis Nexis) preferred

• Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills with the ability to work and communicate with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse, multicultural community

• Demonstrated commitment to workers’ rights, social, and economic justice, and their intersections

• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Favorable consideration will be given to applicants who have familiarity working with unhoused individuals and/or day laborers

• Professional proficiency in Spanish required; additional language proficiency a plus (especially indigenous languages of central and south America, or Korean)