Legal Assistant / Paralegal

Job Description:

The Center for Protest Law & Litigation, a project of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, seeks a collaborative, detail-oriented, and highly organized individual to provide both programmatic and administrative support as a Legal Assistant. This position is well-suited for a person with a deep commitment to civil rights issues who will thrive in our collaborative, team-oriented and deadline-driven environment.

Responsibilities include supporting constitutional rights litigation and Freedom of Information Act requests, administering programs that interface with local civil rights attorneys nationally, event planning, connecting with justice activists and organizations, clients, constituents and the general public.

About the Organization

As leaders in bringing high impact civil rights and constitutional rights litigation for over 25 years, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has brought groundbreaking cases, changed laws and policies, and won millions in damages for persons whose rights have been violated. Our litigation work is integrated with outreach, education and advocacy with affected groups, communities, activists and organizations in racial, social and environmental justice movements. Our work is focused ultimately on creating meaningful social, political and legal changes and dismantling systems of repression.

Our new Center for Protest Law & Litigation works to protect and advance the rights of protestors to organize, assemble and demand justice around the country. We defend free speech rights through affirmative civil litigation, including against the mechanisms of police violence, as well as criminal defense of protestors swept up in political arrests.

This is a full-time position based in Washington, DC.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide general litigation support, including formatting and preparing legal documents for filings, assembling and organizing exhibits in electronic format, preparing tables of contents, reviewing and categorizing materials produced in discovery, communicating with clients to maintain relationships and exchange information.

• Draft Freedom of Information Act and public records requests, track the status of requests and agency responses, track deadlines for agency and requestor action, categorize and review incoming records disclosures, and maintain organized electronic files of all related materials.

• Manage and update list serves, online files for collaboration between civil rights attorneys nationally, liaise with collaborating attorneys to facilitate information exchange.

• Communicate with activists and organizations involved in justice struggles on the ground, as well as with existing clients generally in support of litigation efforts; perform intake for potential representation.

• Assist with case investigation and development.

• Assist in the planning of events such as panels and seminars, both in-person and virtual.

• Assist with coordination with grassroots and partner organizations.

• Prepare and maintain office calendar (i.e., court dates, meetings, conference calls, travel, etc.).

• Serve as administrative point person on all assigned matters, anticipating each individual supervisor’s or group’s needs and leading logistical arrangements and information handling.

• Supervise interns and intern tasks.

Minimum Requirements and Competencies:

• Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience required.

• Minimum of two years of related work experience in a fast-paced, professional work environment, preferably in a legal department/law firm, and/or professional services firm or nonprofit organization.  Additional experience above the minimum is preferred.

• Excellent administrative, organizational and time management skills.

• Excellent people skills, sense of humor, and comfortable in fostering and contributing to a friendly, supportive, inclusive and collaborative environment.

• Self-starter with the ability to use problem-solving skills and initiative to plan ahead and execute assigned tasks on time, with also the ability to look ahead, independently of assignment, to anticipate needs.

• Meticulous attention to detail.

• Excellent grammar, spelling, punctuation, proofreading and editing skills

• Mastery of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) and Adobe.

• Facility with social media platforms, including creating and posting effective communications for organizational or professional communications, a plus.

• Prior experience with CRM databases and/or Salsa a plus.

• A strong work ethic is essential as well as the capacity to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously and to meet deadline requirements, including working occasional weekends and evenings in particular when litigation deadlines or the need to response to events involving the struggle for justice unfold.

• The ability to maintain strict confidentiality is essential due to responsibilities of handling attorney-client privileged and work-product protected litigation matters.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

February 18, 2022 – note that applications will be considered on a rolling basis and the position may be filled by then, so early applications are encouraged.

START DATE

ASAP

LOCATION

At this time, the Litigation Assistant will be onboarded remotely and will be expected to maintain a high level of productivity virtually. The office is in Washington DC, so candidates should live in the DC area once we deem it safe to return to work in the office.

Vaccine Policy: Please note that the PCJF has made the safety of our clients, staff and our surrounding community a priority and requires all staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. You will be required to submit proof of vaccination prior to commencing employment. Requests for exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis, to the extent required by law.

SALARY

The salary is expected to be in the range of $55,000 - $70,000 and will depend on the applicant’s experience and qualifications. Benefits include fully paid, outstanding health and dental insurance, generous paid vacation, personal and sick leave, and all 11 paid federal holidays. 

SUBMISSIONS

Please send a cover letter detailing your interest in the position and a resume to recruitment@justiceonline.org putting “Job Application: Legal Assistant, [your full name]” in the subject line of the email.

NOTE: We are only accepting applications electronically submitted. Please do not make any inquiries about the position or the status of your application as we cannot respond individually to each application. We will contact those applicants that are of interest directly.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, formerly incarcerated person status, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

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