Administrative Assistant

Neighborhood Legal Services Inc•Buffalo, NY

16d•$24 - $38•Onsite

About The Position

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. (NLS) is the largest provider of civil legal services in Western New York and provides free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families facing barriers to stability, safety, and access to justice. This Administrative Assistant will support NLS’s Public Benefits Unit in the Buffalo office, which helps clients address urgent needs related to public assistance, SNAP, Medicaid, utility shutoffs, emergency assistance, shelter access, benefits fair hearings, overpayments, language access, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. The role provides critical administrative and legal support to attorneys and paralegals who represent clients before administrative agencies, tribunals, and courts, including clients experiencing homelessness through outreach efforts such as the Homeless Task Force.

Requirements

Legal services background or knowledge of general civil legal work
Experience working with vulnerable populations and knowledge of community resources
Self-motivated and dependable
Excellent communication skills for client contact and attorney interface
Excellent writing skills with attention to detail and proofreading for written materials including court filings, correspondence, and other documents. Understanding of the court filing system and its requirements
Excellent organizational skills and calendaring awareness
Document-drafting capability under the supervision of staff attorneys for court filings, including how to format those documents
Willingness to work as a team member and contribute to the efforts on any case

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with diverse communities is a plus
Second language skills a plus but not required

Responsibilities

Review and format a variety of legal materials, including court filings, petitions, pleadings, motions, memoranda, letters, and reports.
Review, format, and edit outgoing correspondence to ensure all legal documents and enclosures are in proper processing order and that correspondence is grammatically correct.
Sort and distribute mail.
Assist Attorneys and Paralegals as directed with answering inquiries over the phone or in person and managing secretarial and administrative details.
Organize and maintain spreadsheets, files, and records of a confidential, complex, or otherwise sensitive nature.
Provide backup for reception staff answering telephones and greeting clients.
Manage own professional development; keep informed of new rules and processes pertinent to the organization; participate in continuing education and other appropriate training; develop specialty knowledge or areas consistent with the level of experience.
Organize trainings and meetings for the unit.
Work constructively as a team member with other NLS staff on advocacy projects consistent with program priorities.
Perform diverse clerical work as directed by the Office Manager or Attorney staff.
Conform to the rules and responsibilities applicable to all employees and perform all other assigned tasks.