Paralegal Opportunities in the Nonprofit Sector

Positions for trained paralegals in the public interest sector are very often dependent on funding by the government or by foundation grants.
 

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) The American Civil Liberties Union is an example of an agency employing paralegals which is supported by foundation grants and private donations.

The national headquarters is located in New York City. There are affiliate organizations located through¬ out the United States. The larger affiliates and the national headquarters employ paralegals. Some of the larger affiliates are located in California, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas.

This organization deals with issues that relate to civil liberties as set out in the United States Constitution. Some examples of the kinds of cases that the ACLU may become involved in against the government and its agencies include sex discrimination, abortion, separation of church and state, children's rights, alien rights, and pornography. These cases are often controversial in nature.

The paralegal's job involves continual contact with attorneys and the public. Informational interviewing and making referrals to other private agencies are other aspects of an ACLU paralegal's job.

Specific job duties of these paralegals include performing factual research and investigative work. Their pretrial and trial work includes digesting depositions and assisting the attorneys in the courtroom by compiling data and charting statistical information.

Many of these paralegals work on legislative projects : They attend legislative hearings to collect information. To apply for a paralegal job in the ACLU, a resume should be sent to the office manager. For further information regarding the American Civil Liberties Union write to its headquarters

Legal Aid Societies A Legal Aid Society employs paralegals in the civil and criminal divisions. The criminal division represents clients accused of murder, rape, burglary, robbery, serious assaults, and child abuse. The civil division handles landlord-tenant, consumer credit, Social Security, Medicaid, and divorce cases. The funding for these organizations comes from county and state governments with some appropriations from the federal government.
Legal Services Corporation funds 30 percent of the civil division of the Legal Aid Society and determines the eligibility guidelines for the Society’s clients. In addition, major corporations may make donations. A paralegal working in a Legal Aid Society may write and serve subpoenas, submit reports on the results of an investigation, serve orders and have them certified, interview clients who are incarcerated, and testify in the courtroom on behalf of clients.

The Legal Services Corporation The Legal Services Corporation is a federal independent agency which provides funding to legal services groups nationwide, representing the urban and rural poor. This corporation which began in 1974 employs attorneys, paralegals, intake officers, com¬ munity workers, and secretaries who provide legal services to these economically disadvantaged. Its headquarters is in Washington, D. C.

Its board of directors is comprised of individuals employed in various segments of the legal community. The Legal Services Corporation has offices in every state of the union and in Puerto Rico. Many of these offices employ paralegals as members of their staffs.

These offices are considered to be "community-based" since they are located in the neighborhoods of many of their clients. The paralegals who work in this corporation are employed to assist attorneys in areas of law, which affect individuals: welfare, employment, housing, and immigration.

The clients who cannot afford basic civil legal services include single mothers, homeless families, immigrant families, victims of consumer fraud, the elderly, and the handicapped. Legal Services also assists tenants, workers, and people who have been discriminated against in employment, housing, or other matters.

In the local offices, paralegals, under the direction of lawyers, assist Legal Services clients by interviewing them; opening case files when the client has been determined to have a legitimate claim; instructing the client on what to bring to an administrative hearing; preparing clients and witnesses for direct testimony; and representing the client at an administrative hearing and to an appeals board.

The paralegal on occasion will perform questioning and cross-examining. He/she may also write and submit legal memoranda to the hearing officer. Of course only the attorney can bring a court action on behalf of the client.
In addition to the Legal Services Corporation's local offices, there are the national support centers, which also employ paralegals. These centers specialize in a single area of law: women and family law, employment law, welfare law, immigration law, or consumer law. The centers will provide assistance to the local offices when they are asked.

For instance, in a complex case, the support centers may assist in discovery work or order documents and evidence.
Each of the national support centers deals with all of the issues that confront its clients. The women and family law center, for example, handles cases involving divorce, custody, child support, termination of parental rights, domestic violence, and child abuse.

A college degree and paralegal training is helpful in obtaining a position with organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation. Good communication skills are stressed since paralegals have a great deal of client contact and are also requested to write legal memoranda. Speaking a second language in addition to English can also be of assistance in the job. Most importantly, however, is the paralegal's commitment to the clients. The paralegal must be aggressive in representing them.