Telephone Intake Paralegal

Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) advocates for Marylanders experiencing poverty to achieve equity and social justice through free civil legal services. They are seeking a Telephone Intake Paralegal to handle all functions related to client intake in their Centralized Intake Unit, which will be 100% remote after a training period.

Responsibilities

• Conduct initial interviews with clients and follow-up communications with clients
• Screen clients for eligibility for MLA services
• Complete intakes and transfer calls to intakes to staff attorneys using MLA’s case management system and client contact service center software
• Obtain and verify client information and supporting documentation
• Make referrals, as appropriate
• Conduct legal issue spotting and factual analysis
• Maintain familiarity with legal services programs and community resources
• Prepare affidavit and other email correspondence
• Manage high-volume inbound and outbound calls while maintaining service standards
• Transfer calls and cases accurately based on legal issue, jurisdiction, and capacity
• Adhere to quality assurance and performance metrics
• Assist with training or onboarding of new team members
• Participate in team meetings and process improvement discussions
• Support and collaborate with a team of 35 + staff to ensure effective operations
• Ensure compliance with intake protocols, eligibility guidelines, and confidentiality requirements
• Maintain client confidentiality and comply with ethical standards
• Participate in required training and continuing education
• Perform other duties as assigned

Skills

• Individuals must have basic written and oral communication skills, computer proficiency, strong reading comprehension, and the capacity to perform paralegal duties with appropriate training and supervision
• Strong client/customer service skills, including the ability to empathize and assist people who are distressed
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint)
• Ability to work independently, prioritize, and multitask
• Ability to learn specialized software of the firm
• Responsible, reliable, honest, and ethical
• Performs other duties as assigned within the scope of the position's essential functions
• Paralegal certification or equivalent experience desired
• Experience working in a law firm or legal services
• Spanish language proficiency is strongly preferred

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life insurance
• A 401(k)-retirement plan
• 3 weeks paid time off
• Sick leave
• 14 annual paid holidays
• A standard 35-hour work week
• A hybrid work arrangement

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