Contract Attorney- AI-Driven Legal Information & Knowledge Base

ABOUT SCALE JUSTICE

Scale Justice (formerly known as Pro Bono Net) is a leading nonprofit access to justice innovator with a 25-year history of impact. Our digital tools and partnerships help people navigate the law, access justice, and live more secure lives. We are building a future where the power of the law belongs to everyone. To learn more about our impact, visit: https://scalejustice.org This request for proposals supports Scale Justice's work developing and maintaining AI-driven legal assistants to help immigrants nationally and low-wage workers in New York State.

DESCRIPTION

Scale Justice seeks a contract attorney to maintain and strengthen the legal knowledge base powering our existing AI-driven legal assistant, Reclamo AI, and to help conceive a new AI-driven tool addressing immigration law needs. The attorney will ensure that current tool content and outputs are accurate, accessible, and safe for the communities we serve, and will bridge a leadership transition in this program area while we search for a permanent Legal Director. The engagement is scoped at an estimated 150–250 total hours over approximately 3–6 months, beginning August 14th or sooner. The contractor sets their own schedule.The contractor will coordinate with the Chief Innovation Officer, who is the primary point of contact for this engagement. Scale Justice expects to separately post a permanent Legal Director role; contractors are welcome to apply.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the contract is to keep the existing AI assistant's legal knowledge base accurate, current, and safe; strengthen the underlying content and review process; and lay the groundwork for a new immigration-focused AI tool. Objectives and deliverables include:

• An accurate, well-structured knowledge base across all core NYS employment law issue areas as well as resources to help young workers navigate workplace issues
• A functioning quality and safety review cycle for AI-generated content
• Functional prototypes for “middle layer” workflows to help workers advance their employment case
• An initial concept, scope, and legal content strategy for a new immigration law AI tool
• Clear documentation of content sourcing and curation decisions to support a smooth handoff to a future permanent Legal Director

Priorities are listed in order; the first two are the core of the engagement.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

Content Curation

• Review, update, and structure legal content across our core issue areas: discrimination, wage and hour violations, retaliation, leave rights violations, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, labor organizing rights, and unlawful termination
• Identify and fill gaps in the knowledge base, prioritizing areas flagged by user testing
• Translate legal concepts into clear, plain-language, trauma-informed content appropriate for non-lawyers, multilingual users, and young workers (aged 18-25).

Co-Design

• Support co-design process to surface content needs and workflows to better support immigrants and workers

Quality Review and Safety

• Run AI outputs through Scale Justice's existing safety and quality evaluation rubric
• Flag and help resolve critical and medium-severity errors in AI-generated responses
• Facilitate scheduled review sessions with legal aid and advocacy partners

Immigration AI Tool Development

• Partner with the Chief Innovation Officer and product/engineering teams to conceive and scope a new AI-driven tool addressing immigration law needs for the communities we serve
• Identify priority immigration issue areas, likely user needs, and potential risks or ethical considerations specific to immigration status
• Help define the legal content strategy, safety guardrails, and review process for the new tool, drawing on lessons from the employment law assistant

Program Support and Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Chief Innovation Officer, product, and engineering teams to define where AI tools should hand off to a human advocate versus respond directly
• Provide written guidance and review feedback on content contributed by partner organizations.
• Document content sourcing and curation decisions for continuity and future onboarding

REQUIREMENTS

• A J.D. degree and membership in the New York State Bar preferred
• Experience in immigration law or NY employment law or similar multi-issue-area exposure preferred
• Plain language writing skills, with experience producing legal content for non-lawyer or immigrant audiences.
• Comfort working with structured or technical content (FAQs, knowledge bases, chatbot content), or strong willingness to learn quickly.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted content systems is a plus, not required.
• The ability to work collaboratively with product, engineering, and partner organizations.
• Bilingual Spanish proficiency preferred.
• Project management and nonprofit experience are helpful.
• New York State residency or proximity preferred.
• Ability to carry professional liability insurance for the duration of the engagement

Scale Justice is committed to a selection process free from discrimination. We evaluate all proposals on the merits, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, military status, prior arrest or conviction record, citizenship or immigration status, or any other protected characteristic. The communities we serve are diverse, and we believe our contractors should reflect that.

This is not an employment relationship. The contractor will use their own office space, equipment, and computer. The contractor is also responsible for their own taxes, benefits, and insurance. Total engagement not to exceed $25,000 without written approval. The contractor invoices monthly.

Bilingual Spanish proficiency preferred