The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) is dedicated to promoting legal, economic, and social equity, focusing on racial justice through various advocacy efforts. The Paralegal will support civil rights work by managing case files, conducting client intakes, and providing administrative assistance to attorneys.
Responsibilities
- Managing the prisoner advice and referral program, a project which provides substantive responses to each letter received by the Committee from an incarcerated individual. This will include scanning and uploading each letter to the case management system, reviewing the letter, identifying legal issues and drafting responses for attorney review
- Conducting intakes for new potential cases and clients
- Managing dockets and maintaining organized, up-to-date case files
- Drafting and updating relevant informational guides for both the individual teams and the Committee as a whole
- Providing administrative support in arranging client and witness calls and meetings
- Facilitating the Committee’s document retention and return policy with respect to closed matters, pending matters and matters not accepted by the Committee
- Ensuring case accessibility for clients (securing interpretation, translation, Optical Character Recognition compatibility, and any transportation or related issues)
- Updating the Committee’s client management system and be responsible for organizing closed case files
- Participating in the coordination of the Committee’s undergraduate interns
- Other administrative duties as assigned to support the Committee’s advocacy work
Skills
- Deep passion for civil rights and racial justice advocacy
- Demonstrated awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations
- Ability to manage competing priorities and to communicate effectively regarding the progress of various projects
- Excellent organizational skills
- Familiarity with, or willingness and ability to learn, various case management, communication, and software systems (for example, Excel, Outlook, Legal Server)
- Ability to contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture that encourages and celebrates differences
- Experience working with communities from a diverse set of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds strongly preferred
Benefits
- Generous paid time-off
- Comprehensive healthcare benefits (medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave)
- 401k plan
- Professional development
- Telework option -- two days per week (Mondays, Fridays)
Company Overview
Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs is a nonpartisan public interest law organization advancing civil rights for low-income and marginalized communities in DC, MD, VA (DMV), and nationwide. It was founded in 1968, and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia, USA, with a workforce of 11-50 employees. Its website is https://www.washlaw.org/.