Litigation Assistant, Citywide

The Legal Aid Society•New York, NY

1d•$62,400 - $95,555•Onsite

About The Position

The Legal Aid Society, the nation's oldest and largest social justice legal services organization, has immediate openings for dedicated, passionate Litigation Assistants in the Criminal Defense Practice throughout the city as part of our Paralegal Services Unit. The Criminal Defense Practice is the primary public defender in New York City, providing holistic, client-centered representation to over 200,000 people facing misdemeanor, felony, and homicide charges. The Litigation Assistant (LA) provides critical support to attorneys and clients as a member of the defense team. Working closely with the Discovery Unit, counsel and defense team, Litigation Assistants will gather, organize, and analyze discovery, investigations, and other pertinent materials to prepare for mitigation and/or litigation. Litigation Assistants will also help prepare and subpoena witnesses, prepare documents, videos and other materials for hearings or trials. Litigation Assistants will provide in-litigation support and input from pre-trial motions, jury selection, presentation of evidence, through notice of appeal, if any.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree (strongly preferred)
A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
5+ years of combined higher education and/or legal work experience
Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people is strongly desired
Excellent writing, verbal, and organizational skills
Advanced user of Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, PowerPoint, and SharePoint for document management, collaboration, and workflow automation
Proficiency in legal research and developing legal arguments with counsel supervision
Proficiency in computer, electronic data management and file sharing platforms, e-discovery platforms and Microsoft Suite
Ability to work independently and in a team setting
Ability to multi-task

Nice To Haves

E-filing experience desirable
E-discovery experience desirable
Some knowledge of New York criminal law and criminal procedures is desirable
Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

Responsibilities

Manage and organize discovery, investigation, and other case materials into case file using applicable data management platform. Convert files into OCR PDF files or other formats. Build trial or case notebooks, create bookmarks and indexes to assist attorney and team
Create spreadsheets or other logs to aid in managing and organizing digital files and case information. Identify matters of significance in communication with counsel and team
Organize and analyze discovery from prosecutors and provide in-depth analysis of the evidence to assigned attorneys identifying fact and law issues, including compliance with discovery law
Review discovery to locate potential sources of other evidence that needs to be gathered and preserved and provide notification to attorneys and staff
Understand New York State discovery laws and developing case law to assist attorneys in filing challenges to prosecutors’ certificates of compliance and in defense compliance. Review certificates of compliance and create a list of any potentially missing discovery for attorneys. Draft letters with counsel supervision to prosecutors regarding missing discovery for staff attorneys to review
Provide insight, analysis, and assistance in litigation and/or mitigation strategy
Assist attorneys and team in accessing case materials
Assist attorneys in conducting legal research and drafting documents, including subpoenas, letters, motions, and other legal documents for attorney review
Liaison between attorneys, clients and other parties to provide updates and address questions, without providing legal advice
Ensure that cases are trial ready by coordinating witnesses, including subpoenas, and assist counsel in preparing witnesses for mitigation or litigation
Oversee the retaining and payment of expert witnesses and coordinate travel and other logistics for in-person testimony at hearing or trial
Assist attorneys in hearing and trial preparation, including trial or case notebooks, gathering documents for possible trial evidence, and assist in using platforms to aid in presenting evidence (PowerPoint, etc)
Accompany attorneys to court and assist in litigation support during hearings and trials, including all phases of trial through notice of appeal, if any. Assist in jury selection and juror research, tracking witnesses and exhibits, document events to assist counsel, coordinate trial materials, including presentation of evidence and digital files
Update case management system as needed
Perform functions in the Paralegal 2 title, only as necessary and on a temporary basis
Other duties as assigned