Paralegal Advocate - Tenant Rights Coalition

Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks racial, social and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustices that trap people in poverty and provided legal services that help our clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country; our staff of more than 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers annually. We partner with scores of community-based and client-run organizations, elected officials, public agencies, pro bono lawyers, and the courts to maximize our effectiveness. Our work fights discrimination and helps to achieve equity for all low-income New Yorkers.

LSNYC employees have numerous opportunities for growth and professional development, including access to our internal Justice Learning Center, which provides opportunities to earn free CLEs and gain experience as a trainer. 

BROOKLYN LEGAL SERVICES

PARALEGAL ADVOCATE - TENANT RIGHTS COALITION

Brooklyn Legal Services seeks Paralegal Advocate for its Tenant Rights Coalition.  This is a staff position based in our Brownsville, Brooklyn office.

About us

Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS), part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC), is a civil legal services organization with a mission to fight poverty and seek racial, social, and economic justice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers. Our office provides a wide range of civil legal services and balance individual case representation, impact litigation and policy advocacy, as well as outreach, education, and trainings, in various subject areas. We have a wall-to wall union that includes attorneys, paralegals, social workers, and support staff. As a community-centered, social justice organization, BLS is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where staff and clients feel welcome. Through our various affinity groups and committees, we actively work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore and advocate for racial justice and anti-oppression growth within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about and seek to understand unconscious biases and systemic oppression and work to realize our organizational goals and mission. 

The Tenant Rights Coalition (TRC) is a team of approximately legal workers performing anti-displacement work in partnership with tenant leaders and community organizers throughout Brooklyn to combat the impacts of gentrification and greed. Our unit is based in a community office in Brownsville; however, our day-to-day work includes but is not limited to, supporting tenant association meetings at buildings in south, central, and east Brooklyn neighborhoods, defending against and/or asserting claims in Housing Court, Supreme Court, Appellate Court, Federal Court, and/or at various administrative agencies, conducting workshops and trainings, staffing multiple monthly clinics, and supporting local and statewide coalition work.

The Paralegal Advocate will work closely with the TRC team and our community partners to support Brooklyn tenants through community education and outreach, advocacy both in and out-of-court, and be responsible for case handling including applications for housing subsidies, rental and/or public assistance, and complaints filed at various administrative agencies.  Occasional evening and weekend hours may be necessary.

Responsibilities include:

• Client interviews to assess eligibility for services, benefits, and/or other housing-related needs;
• Draft and/or prepare applications and complaints to multiple administrative agencies to obtain assistance and/or vindicate rights;
• Legal research and drafting of supporting documents for legal cases, including affidavits and charts;
• Conduct and/or attend tenant meetings, clinics and workshops at buildings and other locations throughout Brooklyn;
• Manage diverse caseload of individual and group cases alongside attorneys and community partners;
• Attend and/or conduct team meetings and substantive trainings;
• Support local and statewide coalition spaces to support larger organizing goals of our community partners and tenant leaders;
• Work well within teams of multiple stakeholders – including legal and non-legal workers – to execute creative and complex litigation;
• Manage cases and ensure compliance with various grant reporting requirements.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities and communities of color;
• Effective interviewing, writing, and communication skills;
• Experience working with low-income people;
• Excellent organizational skills including ability to prioritize multiple tasks within a set amount of time;
• Skilled in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, internet research, and eagerness to learn and adapt to evolving technologies and systems;
• Good sense of humor and ability to work well on a team;
• Familiarity with Housing Court processes and cases, as well as public benefits advocacy (strongly preferred);
• Fluency or strong proficiency in a second language (strongly preferred);

How to Apply:

Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples –these can be advocacy letters, emails, and/or any form of writing that demonstrates abilities to clearly state instructions and/or give detailed information.

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please.

BLS offers an excellent benefits package and a highly competitive public interest salary. We offer excellent benefits, including health, dental, and vision plans; contributions to a 403(b) plan; and generous leave time. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Brooklyn Legal Services is an equal opportunity employer: people of color; women; people with disabilities; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people; and people over the age of 40 are welcome and encouraged to apply. We are committed to race, gender, and economic justice in our work and within our workplace. Staff members who are not managers are members of the LSSA/NOLSW UAW Local 2320.

Additional information about the practice may be found on our website, www.legalservicsnyc.org.

All employees are strongly encouraged to continue to receive and maintain up-to-date COVID vaccinations unless they are unable to for medical or religious reasons.

Legal Services NYC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 40, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are strongly encouraged to apply.