Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal

Root & Rebound is seeking a Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal!

About Root & Rebound:  Root & Rebound (R&R) is a nonprofit reentry advocacy center whose mission is to restore power and resources to the families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration through legal advocacy, public education, policy reform, and litigation—a model rooted in the needs and expertise of people who are directly impacted. We work to build innovative, holistic, and creative solutions to solve the reentry crisis across California and the United States. We offer a strong work culture of supportive supervision and team-based collaboration, where people get to be challenged, receive ongoing professional development, and do impactful work.

Commitment: Full-time

Location: Based in Oakland, CA, with some travel required; currently remote.

About the Role: Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal 

The Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal at Root & Rebound serves as the backbone of our California legal team, responsible for supporting attorneys working in 5 California regions (Bay Area, Central Valley, Rural & Tribal Communities in Northern CA, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire) through their own efforts and by coordinating and overseeing volunteers, interns, and pro bono paralegals to do the same. This work includes organizing client matters across the state, entering legal intakes into the client database, ensuring internal compliance with data entry protocols and audits, and supporting robust communication with clients.  

The ideal candidate is impeccably organized, calm under pressure, passionate about ensuring high-quality and consistent client work, thrive in environments that demand creativity, innovation, and piloting new systems and ideas, and has 2-5 years of experience working in a similar, fast-paced, nonprofit legal services environment. 

This person is technologically savvy and comfortable with legal client management systems, including client data-base systems (Clio), legal search engines (LexisNexis), legal cloud-based client systems (Lawyaw), Google Suite, Excel, and DocuSign. Great communicator, who leans into problem-solving through collaboration and direct feedback, and is eager to take the initiative. Must be detail-oriented.

The Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal will be responsible for components of the administration and coordination of Root & Rebound’s legal programs, focusing on direct services via the reentry legal hotline and clinics. 

Paralegal Support of Direct Legal Services (Est. 50% of Time), Including, but Not Limited To:

• Direct services follow-up, including communicating with clients in place of the attorney.  
• Mailing documents and petitions requiring signatures. 
• Maintaining communication with attorneys on client matters, elevating urgent legal concerns to the responsible attorney. 
• Completing record cleaning forms.
• File and serve legal paperwork and calendar hearings with courts across the state, ensuring local practices and procedures are followed. 
• Input client data into our online client management system. 
• Assist attorneys to organize and have strong administrative data. 
• Develop tools and resources to streamline legal/programs work.
• Manage organization’s general email inbox, fielding inquiries when possible and forwarding inquiries to appropriate team members as needed.
• Manage incoming mail for the legal team, by scanning and uploading copies to the client management system, notifying the appropriate legal team member of receipt, and screening for urgency.

Management Responsibilities (45% Time):

• Directly supervise two full-time AmeriCorps VISTA staff members, including day-to-day support with tasks, weekly check-ins, and onboarding of new members.  
• Outreach VISTA team member’s responsibilities include event/clinic outreach, client outreach, support & coordination for the legal team, development of non-legal volunteer program/outreach, etc. 
• Client Liaison VISTA team member’s responsibilities include communicating with existing clients regarding critical updates and reminder check-ins, calling courts regarding client matters, connecting clients with warm referrals to social service providers, and responding to email inquiries from potential clients. 
• Develop paralegal internship and volunteer programs to increase R&R’s capacity to provide direct legal services.
• Serve as point of contact with paralegal programs, schools, and other coordinated volunteer groups in order to recruit volunteers and interns. 
• Develop volunteer and intern role descriptions, onboarding plans, and ongoing supervision structures. 
• Recruit, screen, match, train, supervise and manage paralegal and administrative support volunteers and interns. 
• Support the programs team to proactively recruit volunteers, interns, law clerks, and volunteer attorneys to carry out R&Rs mission.

Data Management and Audits (5% of Time)

• Develop and implement strong systems for client data collection, from paper intake to data entry into client management system to ensure attorneys’ proper use of data systems. 
• Provide initial and regularly recurring trainings to R&R attorneys, direct services staff, interns, and program volunteers on data systems, and provide regular support on using and implementing data systems to the R&R Legal Team.
• Work collaboratively with the R&R Data & Evaluation Coordinator to ensure an internal culture that values data and tracking, pulls data for grant reports, and ensure client data is well managed, complete, and accurate.
• Manage and audit all paper data and data entered into our electronic client management system, ensuring that all data entered by the legal team is completed and accurate weekly, and includes all required and relevant client information.

Qualifications & Qualities Sought:

• 2-5 years of experience working in a similar, fast-paced, nonprofit legal services environment; 1-3 years managerial experience preferred.
• Paralegal experience, preferably working in a fast-paced nonprofit or community legal aid environment. Experience with the California Superior Court system is preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software as well as Google products (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs).
• Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and criminal justice.
• Strong project management, delegation, and coordination skills.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to prioritize multiple projects given organizational and client needs
• Team-based and collaborative approach to work. Excellent communication skills. 
• Excellent problem-solving skills. Proactive in thinking of and designing creative solutions to advance our mission and work. Enthusiastic, and willing to learn and try new things.
• Responsible and reliable, with a strong work ethic. Excellent time-management and organizational skills. 
• Willingness to travel. You may be expected to attend legal clinics that Root & Rebound routinely hosts in Northern California, the Central Valley, and Los Angeles/Inland Empire regions. These trips can vary in length from one day to a week. Please note: Until further notice, all in-person legal clinics have been suspended in favor of hosting them online and via phone. 
• A certified paralegal, A.A., B.A., B.S., or paralegal certificate is a plus but is not needed in this position.
• Spanish proficiency is preferred.

Compensation & Benefits:

The Paralegal/Legal Programs Assistant role is a full-time, non-exempt position. Starting hourly rates for full-time paralegals at Root & Rebound’s California office begin at $28/hour. Employment benefits include medical, vision, dental care, an employer-sponsored retirement plan, as well as three weeks of paid time off per year plus holiday closures, which typically includes 2 weeks around the December/January holidays as well as federal holidays.

Application Instructions:

To apply for this position, please send a resume, cover letter, and at least three references with contact information in an email to Eva DeLair at edelair@rootandrebound.org by April 18th, with the subject line “Legal Programs Assistant/Paralegal Application.” Resumes without a cover letter and references will not be reviewed. No phone calls, please.

Root & Rebound is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals including formerly incarcerated and/or system-involved individuals, people of color, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender variant individuals. People with past involvement in the justice system are seen as an asset to our organization and are strongly encouraged to apply.