Legal Staff Paralegal in Los Angeles, CA

Public Interest

Los Angeles, CA

Legal Staff Paralegal in Los Angeles, CA

Legal Staff

Min 3 yrs required

No

Job Title: Paralegal II, Homeowner Protection Team

Job Responsibilities:
The Paralegal II position with the Homeowner Protection Team at the organization involves providing legal administrative support to assist in protecting homeowners at risk of losing ownership or equity in their homes. The essential duties include:

- Conducting client intake, including screening potential clients for program eligibility, gathering substantive facts, collecting, and organizing client evidence for case merit analysis, and participating in case review under attorney supervision.
- Providing advice and counsel and/or limited services under attorney supervision.
- Communicating professionally with clients, opposing counsel, courts, government agencies, and financial institutions to resolve client matters under attorney supervision.
- Preparing administrative agency forms and applications under attorney supervision.
- Supporting attorneys with discovery requests, depositions, and preparation for hearings, motions, and trials, including legal pleadings preparation, exhibits, client coordination, calendaring deadlines, and ensuring compliance with court rules and procedures.
- Coordinating filing and service of appropriate documents.
- Assisting with outreach and education efforts, including developing outreach materials, delivering "Know Your Rights" presentations, and supporting legal clinics alongside attorneys.
- Coordinating volunteers’ and pro bono attorneys’ participation in legal clinics and cases, and training volunteers on clinic and team procedures.
- Maintaining well-organized legal files and entering timely and accurate case and client information in the case management database.
- Assisting with the administrative aspects of opening and closing files, including quality control.
- Supporting the grant reporting process and project administration, including building and maintaining basic templates and team procedures.
- Performing other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience Information:
- A paralegal certificate/degree in paralegal studies from an ABA-approved institution OR a bachelor's degree and at least 3 years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the California bar for the preceding 3 years is required.
- A California Notary Certificate is preferred.
- Experience in state court systems, including state court e-filing systems, is required.
- At least 3 years of experience working in a law firm, nonprofit, or in-house law office supporting multiple attorneys is required.
- Experience working in foreclosure, real estate or consumer litigation, and/or trial preparation is preferred.
- Thorough knowledge of legal terminology, court rules, and procedures is required.
- Bilingual and biliterate in both English and Spanish is preferred.
- Proficiency with the Internet and Web-based applications and MS Office is required.
- Legal database (Lexis/Nexis and/or Westlaw) proficiency is required.
- Clearly demonstrated proficiency with case management systems is required.
- Exceptionally organized, self-motivated, and goal-oriented qualities are required.
- Demonstrated commitment to the organization's mission to provide free legal services to those who need them most is required.
- Demonstrated commitment to applying principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in job performance is required.

Salary Information:
The salary range for this unionized position is $70, to $71,, depending on experience and qualifications. The final offer to candidates is based on an internal equity review and candidates’ relevant experience, skills, background, and bar date, if applicable.

Benefits Package:
The organization offers an excellent benefits package in addition to competitive salaries. These benefits currently include:

- A generous number of paid holidays, vacation, and sick days annually.
- Personal and floating holidays.
- Compensatory time for exempt employees.
- 18 weeks of paid parental leave (after 1 year of employment).
- Medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, and acupuncture coverage for employees and dependents, with office visit co-pay reimbursement for HMO enrollees.
- Life/accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, long-term disability insurance, and an Employee Assistance Plan.
- Voluntary (employee-contributed) life/AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital confinement, and pet insurance.
- Employee-contributed 401(k) plan.
- Employee-contributed 403(b) plan.
- Healthcare and childcare flexible spending accounts.
- Commuter transit and/or parking benefits.

Note: All positions are subject to funding; ongoing funding or employment cannot be assured. The organization is a unionized environment, and the salary range for unionized positions reflects the agreed-upon step placement system. The organization seeks diverse staff with cultural competency reflecting client populations and strongly encourages candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities and historically oppressed groups to apply.