Intake Legal Assistant, Casual B007-26

Legal Aid BC•Vancouver, BC

7d•CA$31 - CA$36•Hybrid

About The Position

Legal Aid BC is seeking an Intake Legal Assistant for a casual position until March 31, 2027, in Vancouver. This role is crucial for providing front-line contact and intake services to the public, including offering legal information, verified legal advice, assessing eligibility for legal aid, and potentially providing legal administrative support. The position involves performing intake services through a Call Centre, at Courthouses, lock-ups, and other offsite locations where Legal Aid BC services are offered. Legal Aid BC is committed to Truth and Reconciliation, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and encourages applications from equity-seeking groups. The organization values a culture of support for both clients and colleagues.

Requirements

Grade 12 education supplemented by courses in Law, Criminology, Sociology, or related discipline
Minimum 2 years relevant experience
Minimum typing speed 40wpm
MS Word – Basic Level
Spelling
Knowledge of court and tribunal procedures
Knowledge of registry practice and procedures, and civil law rules related to poverty law
Knowledge of community resources and other social services agencies
Ability to work effectively with a wide range of people including those with low incomes, physical/emotional disabilities, limited literacy, or otherwise disadvantaged
Ability to practice cultural competency using extensive knowledge of Truth & Reconciliation and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Ability to use judgement to make decisions
Ability to interpret policies and guidelines
Ability to adapt to changing circumstances and information
Ability to provide excellent client care
Ability to deal with distressed, demanding and/or hostile clients
Ability to work independently, take initiative and function as part of a team
Ability to organize workload, identify urgent work items, and set priorities
Ability to cope with heavy workload
Ability to draft routine correspondence
Ability to enter data quickly and accurately
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Strong desire to assist disadvantaged clients, including those with mental disabilities, those with low income, or those whose first language is not English
Must be discreet and able to manage confidential information
Familiar with general software applications (MS Word, Outlook)
Demonstrated awareness of the community's cultural diversity
Employment is conditional upon completing and obtaining clearance from a Criminal Record Check (CRC) in accordance with the Criminal Records Review Act
Employment is conditional upon completing and obtaining clearance from a security clearance check by BC Corrections including a Canadian Police Information Computer (CPIC) system check

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of client information system applications
Knowledge of LABC policies and procedures
Second language
Skills testing may be required, such as Typing, MS Word, Spelling, and Written assessment

Responsibilities

Provide an empathetic, non-judgemental, open-minded and person-centered approach aimed at building trust with clients in order to identify legal issues and urgency, meeting them where they are at.
Practice active listening, non-violent communication, non-violent crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques in order to achieve communication and information sharing with clients facing barriers to service through a lens of Truth & Reconciliation and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
Use trauma informed approach to complete client intake by obtaining client information to complete legal aid application.
Interview large volume of clients in person and by phone to answer enquiries, analyse and clearly identify client’s legal issue(s), urgency of issue and provide legal information / verified legal advice.
Identify client’s needs and circumstances and decide on course of action, including completion of intake application, provide legal information, redirect to other LABC or community resources.
Determine coverage and assess eligibility for legal aid based on legal aid coverage policies and guidelines.
Explain LABC coverage and financial eligibility criteria.
Keep current and be familiar with changes to policies, processes and procedures that affect clients’ eligibility to Legal Aid.
Determine if eligibility criteria can be waived based on current circumstance and past practice, as well as discuss and provide recommendation to supervisor in more complex situations.
Communicate decisions on legal aid application and provide rationale for decision of legal aid applications that are not approved.
Refer complex applications to supervisor.
Appoint duty counsel in local courts.
Conduct lawyer search and facilitate warm hand offs for clients / cases where it is difficult to obtain lawyer.
Contact lawyers to arrange representation for clients; issue contracts to private bar lawyers.
Respond to follow up requests and / or issues regarding duty counsel and contracts.
Review and analyse court and financial documents to determine clients’ eligibility for legal aid.
Enter client and case information into client information system.
Ensure information is entered accurately and appropriately in client information system.
Update client information in client information system.
Open, maintain and close case files.
Draft routine correspondence and legal documents; obtain crown particulars etc.
Maintain bring forward system and limitation diary.
Provide informal orientation and training to casual and new staff.
Assist in updating training materials and job aids.
Provide reception coverage, as needed.
Other related duties, as required.

Benefits

Four weeks paid vacation to start that grows the longer you are with LABC
An excellent employee benefits package, where premiums are 100% paid by LABC
A generous defined benefit pension plan
Support for training and development
An Employee and Family Assistance program
The opportunity to participate in various Employee programs (Employee Wellness, etc.)
Support for a healthy work/life balance
Generous leave provisions (sick time, special leaves)
13 paid statutory holidays
An opportunity for a flexible hybrid work arrangement for some positions
Transit friendly employer for eligible staff to have their commute subsidized
Dog-friendly offices
Dedicated Cultural Leave provisions for Indigenous employees