Intake Paralegal, Pro Bono Services

Our Organization:
Legal Services NYC (“LSNYC”) fights poverty and seeks racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustice and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps more than 110,000 New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equal opportunity for all low-income New Yorkers.

LSNYC's Pro Bono Program:

LSNYC’s pro bono program engages a range of private partners on behalf of thousands of low-income New Yorkers across multiple practice areas. Managed by a director and staffed by a coordinating attorney, three immigration attorneys, a bankruptcy attorney, a housing attorney, a public benefits attorney, and four paralegals, the Pro Bono Services Department (“Department”) works with LSNYC staff and pro bono partners to create and manage pro bono projects, place cases, run clinics, train and mentor volunteers, access in-kind resources, and match individual volunteers with appropriate LSNYC offices. LSNYC’s private partners include nearly 100 law firms and corporations, along with law schools, bar associations, and individual volunteers. Our pro bono program offers more than a dozen initiatives focused on housing, immigration, benefits, education, family, and more. LSNYC conducts more than 100 pro bono clinics and study groups each year for tenants, immigrants, and transgender clients, among others. Immigration makes up more than half of our pro bono work, with a focus on asylum, U-visas, VAWA self-petitions, battered spouse waivers, youth removal, and naturalizations. We operate a high-volume practice, with more than 2,000 pro bono cases annually at law firms, impacting more than 7,000 New Yorkers each year

Role & Responsibilties:

The Paralegal for the Pro Bono Department will work to expand and operate our benefits, housing, and immigration clinics and case placement, and to support additional pro bono efforts with corporations and law firms. Collectively, these initiatives will help thousands of New Yorkers who need legal representation to secure safe housing, improved immigration status, and other forms of relief. Under the supervision of the Director of Pro Bono Services, the Paralegal will: prepare clients for pro bono placement, including processing intakes, scheduling clients for clinics, gathering relevant documents and other information for case assessment, and offering relevant referrals; coordinating with onsite volunteers; track relevant data in our case management system; secure relevant compliance documents; open and close cases; provide additional support on pro bono cases as needed; attend and execute clinics; serve as a point of contact for clients who are participating in clinics, help manage communication between clients and coordinating attorneys, and more.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Collaborative orientation, capacity to work in a team, and solution-oriented approach
• Commitment to legal services for low-income people
• A second language is regularly spoken by LSNYC clients
• Demonstrated consistent ability to pay close attention to details
• Demonstrated excellent, consistent computer skills – including case management software, Excel, Word, and email – and comfort with learning new programs
• Demonstrated excellent, consistent client interviewing, writing, and communication skills
• Demonstrated excellent organizational skills, particularly with regard to scheduling, referring, tracking, and gathering documents for significant volumes of clients and volunteers
• Demonstrated communication habits that are consistently prompt and responsive
• Ability to work with people from a range of backgrounds—including low-income clients, other LSNYC staff, and pro bono attorneys from law firms and corporations

How to Apply