Intake Legal Assistant, Casual B051-25

Legal Aid BC•Vancouver, BC

34d•$31 - $36

About The Position

To provide front-line contact and intake services to the public, provide legal information, verified legal advice, assess eligibility for legal aid and may provide legal administrative support to department. This will include performing intake services through the Call Centre, at Courthouses, lock-up and other offsite locations where Legal Aid BC (LABC) services are offered.

Requirements

Grade 12 education supplemented by courses in Law, Criminology, Sociology, or related discipline
Minimum 2 years relevant experience as outlined in rated requirements
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
Must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Must have a 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
Must be familiar with general software applications (MS Word, Outlook)

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of client information system applications, an asset
Knowledge of LABC policies and procedures an asset
Second language an asset
Demonstrated awareness of the community's cultural diversity

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 (LABC reserves the right to change this policy at any time)
Transit friendly employer for eligible staff to have their commute subsidized
Dog-friendly offices
Dedicated Cultural Leave provisions for Indigenous employees
An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council, and Indigenous employees Council and Accessibility Committee of employees from equity-seeking groups that advises on ongoing improvements and investments in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at our workplace