Paralegal

American Civil Liberties Union•Philadelphia, PA

1d•$66,966 - $75,778•Hybrid

About The Position

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) seeks a motivated, organized, and detail-oriented full-time paralegal to join its legal department. This role is designed for a person who wants to make an impact on civil liberties and civil rights by providing top-notch administrative, intake and clerical support to the ACLU-PA’s legal team. The position is full-time and reports to the senior supervising attorney in our Philadelphia or Pittsburgh office. The Paralegal will join a 10+ person legal department that employs litigation and a wide range of advocacy tools to protect and expand civil rights and civil liberties. The legal department maintains an active litigation docket with particular focus on reducing the number of people held in jail, prison, and immigration detention; immigrants’ rights; TLGBTQIA+ discrimination; protecting democracy and freedom of expression and defending voting rights. The Paralegal will support the administrative needs of the legal team, as well as work with the intake manager to support processing and responding to the requests for legal assistance.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree or paralegal certificate from an accredited program, or equivalent experience in a law practice handling litigation in state and/or federal court.
Two or more years of complex litigation support experience.
Familiarity with electronic case filing, such as PACER, Westlaw, and PACFile.
Ability to stay organized, pay attention to details and manage time effectively.
Experience handling and prioritizing multiple activities and responsibilities under time pressure.
Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel, and ability to learn new computer programs.
Experience creating tables of contents, tables of authorities, mail merges, and organizing data into spreadsheets.
Experience being dependable and punctual and responsibly handling confidential information.
Ability to work cooperatively on a variety of projects with lawyers, other ACLU-PA staff, clients, and co-counsel.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to occasionally work evenings and weekends.

Nice To Haves

Basic understanding of issues related to civil and constitutional rights.
Familiarity with Pennsylvania and federal courts.
Experience with case management software.
Ability to speak and/or write in Spanish and to assist clients with limited English proficiency.
Demonstrated personal commitment to advancing the ACLU’s values, mission, goals and programs, with an understanding of a broad range of civil liberties and civil rights issues and their implications.
Direct personal or professional experience with communities impacted by systemic bias or economic exclusion.

Responsibilities

Meticulously organize and maintain electronic and hard copy legal case files, including court filings, discovery documents, attorney correspondence, client-related files, and other case-related documents.
Prepare legal filings, including by ensuring compliance with court rules, by creating tables of contents and authorities, proofreading/cite-checking, preparing exhibits, filing documents electronically, and coordinating the production, filing, and service of paper documents.
Assist attorneys with fact development and collection, including preparing and reviewing public records requests, and interviewing clients and witnesses.
Assist attorneys with preparing and serving discovery requests and reviewing discovery responses.
Assist attorneys in preparing materials for court hearings, depositions, and client meetings.
Communicate/coordinate with clients, court personnel, co-counsel, cooperating attorneys, partner organizations, and other stakeholders, as assigned.
Help manage the legal internship program, including administration of the hiring process and arranging programming and training of interns.
Assist with hiring, onboarding, and arranging for professional development for the legal department, including recruitment and training of legal department staff and interns.
Schedule meetings and conference calls, and manage calendars.
Maintain internal systems including case tracking, conflicts checks, calendaring, timekeeping, and expense tracking.
Manage departmental vendors and contracts (e.g., library and research tools).
Perform general clerical and administrative duties, including copying, scanning, filing, and mailing.
Assist in planning and coordination for meetings and events hosted by the legal department.
Attend departmental and issue-oriented meetings to stay updated on ongoing work.
Other duties as assigned.