Paralegal

The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) is seeking an experienced paralegal to join its Veterans Benefits and Military Unit (VAMU). The CVLC’s mission is to help veterans recovering from mental illness and homelessness overcome legal barriers to housing, healthcare, and income. As a national leader in medical-legal partnerships (MLP) and legal aid to veterans, CVLC’s work often occurs where veterans' law intersects with economic and racial justice, human rights, and mental health.

The Paralegal position requires an individual ready to support a team of attorneys practicing law on behalf of disabled veterans throughout Connecticut. This position will require you to support multiple attorneys working on a variety of different legal issues before the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Board of Corrections of Military Records. We are a hybrid office; you will be expected to have at least one to two office days per week.

The paralegal will primarily be responsible for serving our VA attorneys, but will be cross-trained in Discharge Upgrades and other military practices. Much of the work includes preparation of appellate materials, so experience with preparing briefs (including cite-checking), court filings, and federal filing and portal systems is a plus.

About You:

• You have a passion for justice: The VAMU Paralegal will have a passion for social justice issues and an enthusiasm for helping people in need.
• You like people: The VAMU Paralegal must be comfortable having regular interactions over the phone and in-person with low-income and disabled clients and helping them navigate the complex system of the VA and other related supportive systems. Many of our clients are elderly or severely disabled; patience is a must, especially when helping them navigate our paperless office!
• You want to learn: One’s success will be based on being willing to learn and support multiple areas of legal practice.
• You are flexible and comfortable with technology: The Paralegal needs to be comfortable working in various locations and with different computer systems. The CVLC is a paperless office and needs a paralegal that has the skill set to function independently in that environment.
• You enjoy working on a team: The VAMU Paralegal will need to work well not only with the Veterans Benefits/Military Unit and the larger CVLC staff but also with the variety of clinicians (such as doctors, social workers, therapists, housing specialists) that we partner with to help serve our clients. You will be one part of the medical-legal team helping to find and create solutions for our clients.
• You have paralegal experience: VAMU is seeking a paralegal with firm experience. Experience in managing multiple dockets, preparing briefs for filing, and being exceptionally organized is a hallmark of the job. Experience with administrative law (such as Veterans Law or Social Security Disability) or federal practice is a plus, but not required.

In this job you will be:

• Responsible for supporting a team representing clients in a variety of legal issues, both on the written record and through in-person (court and administrative) hearings.
• Responsible for monitoring dockets and preparing CVLC’s electronic and paper filings in various venues on behalf of clients in administrative agencies and federal court in an accurate, organized and timely manner.
• Managing attorneys’ calendars, meetings and deadline schedules.
• Communicating with clients, volunteer attorneys, opposing counsel, pro bono attorneys and court clerks regarding open matters. This includes drafting, proofreading, scanning, faxing and mailing outgoing correspondence letters, short memos, briefings, and court documents.
• Collecting client records and releases.
• Entering and maintaining accurate data in CVLC’s case management system, Salesforce.
• Working with other CVLC practice groups to support and back-up other team members, including state court electronic filings.
• Other duties as assigned.

You will also get to:

• Join CVLC’s legal team, participating in intake discussions and legal strategy meetings.
• Be an active participant in a team that seeks to change national and local policies that affect veterans.
• Work with VA and community partners to strengthen CVLC’s Medical-Legal Partnership.

About Us:

• We are client-centered and hard-working. It is a privilege to do this work and we strive to provide our clients with the best services possible.
• We are outcome-oriented and creative. The results we obtain for our clients are some of the best in legal aid and we all play a part in making that happen.
• We are democratic and collegial. We all pitch in as needed. Our teamwork is a hallmark of our organization.

Compensation:

Salary is assigned via a step scale based on experience, ranging from $50,000 to $75,000. Benefits include 100% of health insurance premium cost for employee and 80% of premium cost for family members; dental insurance; a flexible saving account for medical expenses; 20 vacation days per year; 15 sick days per year; and a 403(b) retirement program, including employer contributions of 3% of the average employee salary for all participating employees.

Veterans, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. CVLC will make reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. CVLC is proud to work with a diverse community of clients, staff, and constituents. Come join our team!