Job Description
Queens Legal Services (QLS) seeks an Intake Paralegal/Legal Services Assistant to join our Immigration Advocacy Project (IAP) in our vibrant community-based civil legal advocacy organization in Queens.
About Us
Founded in 1967, QLS seeks equal access to justice for all low-income residents of Queens through a range of legal advocacy, education, and community partnerships. We provide free legal counseling, representation, and referrals in civil matters involving the essentials of life, including housing, public and disability benefits, domestic violence prevention, consumer and homeowner protections, access to education, and employment rights to eligible low-income individuals and families. We work with our clients and partners to identify and address the root causes of systemic inequalities in Queens and New York City. We provide immigration legal services from our Community Law Center (Center) in Jamaica and at the Queens Family Justice Center (QFJC), where we are the founding on-site community partner. We are part of a network of local programs that make up Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), the largest free civil legal services provider in the United States.
Responsibilities
The intake paralegal/Legal Services Assistant’s responsibilities include:
• Helping open and close client cases by conducting eligibility screenings of clients for services, getting needed information, and creating electronic/physical files;
• Entering and tracking client information in databases and grant management systems, running reports, and helping prepare for audits;
• Maintaining client-related files, including copying, scanning, uploading, and distributing documents from Immigration Court, USCIS, and other entities;
• Conducting intakes at the QFJC, community partners, and other sites as needed;
• Coordinating follow-up services including appointments, referrals, client correspondence, and gathering documents and information;
• Interviewing clients, preparing papers from standard forms, preparing letters and requesting documents to prepare clients’ cases, providing information and advice to clients under the supervision of an attorney;
• Submitting FOIA requests, U-visa certification requests, and some immigration applications under the supervision of an attorney;
• Interpreting, translating, and using language assistance resources to assist LEP clients and community members;
• Work closely with QLS social workers and community agency advocates to provide comprehensive culturally sensitive legal assistance.
Experience and Qualifications
• Demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with immigrant communities, communities of color, and low-income communities to advance equity;
• Advocacy experience in areas relevant to immigrants’ rights and immigration law, especially with humanitarian and family-based immigration matters in both affirmative and defensive contexts;
• Excellent client interviewing, writing, and communication skills;
• Experience working as part of an interdisciplinary team preferred;
• Demonstrated communication habits that are consistently prompt and responsive;
• Excellent analytical, research, and writing skills;
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills;
• Facility with software technology and proficiency in the entire MS Office suite;
• Experience with LegalServer or other case management systems (preferred); and
• Fluency or strong proficiency in a second language, in particular Spanish (preferred).
How to Apply
Applicants should email a cover letter, resume, and a recent writing sample to jobs@queenslegalservices.org. Please write “IAP Intake Paralegal/LSA” in the email's subject line.
Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please.
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience (determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement). Benefits include excellent health and dental insurance, an employer contribution to a pre-tax 403(b) pension plan, and generous leave time.
QLS is an equal opportunity employer. It is an organization committed to race, gender, and economic justice in our work and within our workplace. Staff at QLS are members of the LSSA/NOLSW UAW Local 2320. People of color, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and people over the age of 40 are welcome and encouraged to apply.
To safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, LSNYC requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.
Job#5_2022; Posted: 1.2022