Volunteer Paralegal

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The Special Litigation Unit of the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) seeks a fluent Spanish-speaking, Volunteer Paralegal to work in our office for a minimum of two, and preferably three or more, weekdays per week.

NYLAG is a not-for-profit law office that provides free civil legal services for low-income New Yorkers. NYLAG’s Special Litigation Unit (SLU) brings class-action lawsuits challenging systemic violations of our clients’ rights under federal and state law. SLU’s impact litigation focuses on ensuring access to public benefits (such as public assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, and home care) and enforcing the rights of immigrants, people with disabilities, and consumers. SLU maintains its own litigation docket and also co-counsels cases with other public interest organizations and private firms to secure creative, systemic relief for our clients.

The Volunteer Paralegal will assist staff attorneys with existing litigation and litigation that is in development. Recent SLU lawsuits include: M.W. v. Achievement First Crown Heights, which seeks relief for students with disabilities enrolled at a New York City charter school; Caballero v. Senior Health Partners, on behalf of individuals whose Medicaid-funded home care services have been unlawfully reduced; Mayfield v. Asta Funding, which alleges that that debt buyers and their attorneys have victimized thousands of New Yorkers in a massive debt collection scheme to wrongfully obtain and enforce millions of dollars of default judgments against them; and Salazar v. Duncan, an action against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of students eligible for student loan discharges. SLU is also litigating or developing potential litigation in the fields of homeless services, immigrants’ rights, wrongful denial of public assistance/food stamps, freedom of information access related to student loan discharges, predatory legal services for consumers, and other topics.

The Volunteer Paralegal will provide general litigation support, which includes assisting with case research, discovery, and the preparation and filing of litigation documents; interviewing and assisting individual clients; obtaining facts from clients and others about cases; managing case files; non-legal research, writing, and editing tasks; providing administrative support; and responding to new tasks and responsibilities as they arise. The Volunteer Paralegal will have the occasional opportunity to observe proceedings in federal and state courts.

Applicants must be college graduates and fluent in Spanish. No paralegal training is required. To be considered for this position, email a cover letter and a resume to volunteer@nylag.org with "Volunteer SLU Paralegal" in the subject line. We will ask for a writing sample and references before interviewing.

The New York Legal Assistance Group is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer; applicants from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.