Intake Specialist - CRT

Position Summary

Under supervision of an attorney supervisor and/or other managers, the Intake Specialist may perform any or all of the following duties: Greet clients; answer telephone calls from applicants for service, client and/or the general public; helpfully and respectfully interview potential applicants for legal services who may be under stress of legal action; elicit factual information from applicants quickly, accurately, and courteously; correctly analyze the type of legal problem presented to determine whether LASSD may assist, or whether a referral is appropriate; evaluate the legal need and financial eligibility of the applicant and open an application or make meaningful referrals.

About the Organization

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere

Essential Functions:

• Answer a high volume of incoming calls to LASSD.

• Perform personal interviews of applicants for legal services.

• Determine the legal need and financial eligibility of the applicant for program services.

• Make appropriate and knowledgeable referrals.

• Accurately enter error-free data into the LASSD client database to create a new file for all applicants being forwarded to the CRT or other teams for legal assistance or enter notes into an existing case in the database for current clients.

• Record statistics.

• Copy and maintain an adequate supply of pro per packets for distribution.

• Accurately distribute pro per packets.

• Duties as assigned by management.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Ability to gather and complete information from clients in a telephone interview or in person interview.

• Ability to respond to clients in a calm, empathetic and professional manner while courteously directing the conversation to the pertinent issues.

• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills

• Must have reliable transportation

• Strong oral and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational skills to handle individual caseload.

• Bilingual English and Spanish. Determination of satisfactory proficiency in Spanish must be demonstrated by successful completion of a Spanish language examination administered by Management. NOTE: Given the ability of the telephone system to direct English and Spanish callers to specific intake specialist workstations, this requirement may be waived by Management for any position based upon the total number of bilingual intake specialists available for the unit opening.

• Demonstrated computer skills, including ability to work with LASSD databases, and other software programs.

• Ability to think logically and follow written and oral instructions carefully.

• Ability to remain calm and helpful in high stress situations.

• Ability to respect confidentiality and obtain confidential information from applicants for services in a trustworthy and professional manner both in person and by phone.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish

• Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people.

• Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds.

Salary and Benefits:

The Intake Specialist position is a non-exempt position with an hourly rate $21.98 - $27.47. The starting hourly rate is $21.98. LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as, dental, vision and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Hybrid Work Environment:

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.

Mandatory Vaccination Policy:

LASSD has implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. We will consider individual requests for exemption from the policy for: (1) medical reasons, and/or (2) based on an applicant or employees sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Any applicant or employee requesting an exemption should submit a completed exemption request form to Human Resources. Upon receipt of a completed exemption request form and any supporting documentation, LASSD will engage in an interactive discussion with the applicant or employee to determine whether an exemption is appropriate and can be granted without posing an undue hardship to LASSD or a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual making the request or others at LASSD. Any individual granted an exemption from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement may be subject to conditions and restrictions (such as being required to use additional personal protective equipment or submit to LASSD-provided COVID-19 testing) to mitigate the risk to the individual and others at LASSD. LASSD will require employees to be up to date on their vaccinations which will include at least one booster.

Diversity and Inclusion:

It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve. LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge. We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives. We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.