Discovery Paralegal II

The Legal Aid Society is hiring for Discovery Paralegals and expects to have openings in multiple boroughs.  The Legal Aid Society, the nation's oldest and largest social justice legal services organization and the Criminal Defense Practice and represents clients across all five boroughs,  providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 200,000 people facing misdemeanor, felony, and homicide charges.  

Historic discovery reforms have transformed the law practice in the criminal legal system by requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence to accused people and their defense attorneys. In return, the new law requires reciprocal discovery be provided to the prosecution by the defense. Technology will be a vital part of the platform used to meet this new law.  To meet the needs of our clients, The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice has created a unit to facilitate the receipt and transfer of electronic discovery.  

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Process receipt of discovery materials and certificates of compliance from the prosecution including preserving materials and providing notice to assigned attorneys and staff
• Review discovery materials for completion and compliance and oversee the timely processing of discovery materials and certificates
• Process evidence items by tagging, labeling, categorizing, splicing, and entering metadata onto evidence items as needed
• Ensure all information is entered into LawManager correctly
• Responsible for monitoring and liaising with the District Attorneys and other court staff to ensure compliance and thoroughness of all discovery files associated with a case, including tracking receipt and organization of all discovery
• Assist attorneys, paralegals, and investigators in accessing discovery materials, including identifying and organizing all discovery and troubleshooting issues related to the receipt of discovery and/or accessing evidence
• Upload discovery material to an electronic discovery platform and ensure that material has correctly uploaded, is accessible, and in a readable/playable format  
• Work closely with our internal IT department on existing and evolving procedures set up to process discovery on our internal servers and electronic discovery platform 
• Organize and maintain discovery to support the attorney assigned to the case and the Discovery Attorneys. Work also includes cross-referencing discovery with other versions or evidence to provide clarification or identify concerns
• Gather reciprocal defense discovery for assigned attorney review
• Process delivery of reciprocal discovery to prosecution
• Communicate with prosecution regarding any issues with the discovery materials
• Prepare written reports summarizing information compiled
• Obtain and copy court and office files
• Assemble court files and materials for attorneys
• Liaison between attorneys and their clients
• Perform functions in the Paralegal I title, only as necessary
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  • An associate degree (or additional higher education)
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
  • A high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of related work experience, at least 2 of which are as a paralegal
• Proficiency in computer, electronic data and file sharing software, word processing skills, Outlook, and Windows
• E-file experience desirable and willingness to obtain credentials for future e-filing
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people is strongly desired 
• One year of experience in a legal or other relevant work (paid or unpaid) environment 
• Some relevant college-level work and/or paralegal training preferred 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 
• Ability to work independently and in a team setting 
• Ability to multi-task  
• Some knowledge of New York criminal law and criminal procedures 
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required
• A Bachelor’s degree is strongly preferred, but not required

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $61,245 - $93,803

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below. 

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume 

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email TalentAcquisition@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law. 

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.