Entry Level Civil Rights Paralegal Jobs in New York

Company Description
Job Description
The NYC Law Department is seeking qualified candidates that are either permanent in the Paralegal Aide title or reachable on the list for a level 2 position across various divisions.
Labor and Employment Division: 3 Positions
The New York City Law Department's Labor and Employment Law Division is seeking qualified candidates that are permanent in the Paralegal Aide civil service title for a Level 2 position. Representing the City in State and Federal Courts, and in some administrative agencies, the Labor and Employment Law Division reviews and litigates claims on a range of employment issues. The chosen qualified candidates will be assigned to perform work of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility under the supervision of supervisory paralegal staff, attorneys, and/or higher level staff which may include but is not limited to the following:
Organizing and indexing exhibits. Preparing trial binders. Managing document-intensive files. Requesting files from outside agencies on an expedited basis. Preparing and issuing subpoenas. Composing correspondence and assisting with the discovery phase. Some of the physical activities performed and environmental conditions experienced include lifting and carrying large boxes and/or heavy files, climbing stairs, and traveling throughout the City on all types of public transportation, and/or walking in all kinds of weather, often carrying heavy files.
Commercial and Real Estate Litigation Division: 1 Position
The NYC Law Department is seeking a permanent Paralegal Aide for a Level 2 position in the Commercial and Real Estate Litigation Division. This position encompasses work of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility performed under the supervision of higher level staff and/or attorneys. Under supervision, with latitude for independent initiative and judgment, the qualified candidate will assist through various stages of legal proceedings performing one or more various types of paralegal duties related to complex commercial and real estate cases including but not limited to the following: Assist attorneys with case investigations by, for example, locating witnesses and retrieving documents from Federal, State and City agencies. Assist the Mortgage Foreclosure Unit in preparing answers, stipulations, court filings, maintain files and produce spreadsheets. Provide support to attorneys during pre-trial, trial and post-trial phases. Prepare trial exhibits. Organize and manage voluminous litigation files in complex cases. Assemble, serve and file court papers, which may involve appearance in court at calendar call. Retrieve court decisions. Perform administrative tasks, such as data entry/retrieval in Law Manager and Relativity, Digest deposition transcripts. Conduct routine legal research. Assist in preparation of correspondence and various legal documents, such as subpoenas, notices of entry, stipulations and notices of appearances. Attend document inspections. Some of the physical activities performed and environmental conditions experienced include lifting and carrying boxes and files; climbing stairs; and traveling throughout the City on all types of public transportation, and/or walking in all kinds of weather, often carrying files.
Family Court Division: 3 Positions
Qualified candidates assigned to the Juvenile Delinquency Unit will under supervision with latitude for independent initiative and judgment, manage discovery/caseload through various stages of legal proceedings or performs moderately difficult paralegal work; and performs one or more of the following types of paralegal duties:
Assists attorneys in the Family Court Intake Office with telephone inquiries, making copies of forms, rescheduling, address verifying; preparing, copying and filing of petitions, motions, orders family court minutes, orders 911 and other electronic recordings; escorts witnesses; picks up and distributes temporary orders of protections, subpoenas, warrants, probation referral forms, and dispositions.
Maintains case tracking using the LawManager program and notifies police officers, and chemists using the NYPD Appearance Control System.
Schedules appointments for witnesses to come in and give statement/sign release forms.
Opens files and determines what documents are needed to complete the file; drafts requests to secure these records; arranges for service of process; or transmits these requests once they have been executed and ensures that the evidence is received within the specified deadline.
Assists the staff attorneys in conducting preliminary warrant investigations and prepares warrant reports for filing in Court, documenting their efforts in this regard with the assistance of NYPD detectives.
Completes investigations to locate Respondents by using DMV records, LexisNexis/Lexis Advance and search engines. Assists the staff attorneys in conducting legal research.
Assist attorneys with Notices of Entry, Notices of Appeal, Requests for Appellate Division Intervention and files these documents with the Court.
Assists with front desk coverage by answering the telephones and responding to inquiries using computer based programs such as LawManager, Child Support Management System (CSMS) and the Universal Case Management System (UCMS).
Field work may be required to locate witnesses, serve documents, or retrieve some type of evidence (i.e. hospital records, photographs, videos, criminal court paperwork, etc.)
Using Outlook, emails or informs attorneys by phone when witnesses, police officers or agency representatives arrive.
Keeps sufficient office supplies and new case files in the Intake Office. Sort and distribute mail.
Retrieve, file and maintain the file room as needed. According to a weekly schedule, archive files of overage respondents using Excel and labeling/boxing files for storage in the municipal warehouse.
Executive Litigation and Policy Unit: 1 Position
The Law Department is seeking a highly organized, proactive, and collaborative Paralegal for the Executive Litigation and Policy Unit. Working closely with the Unit Chief and attorneys, the Paralegal will assist with both litigation and counseling matters involving significant revenue and programmatic implications for the City of New York.
The Unit's work includes complex and high-impact litigation spanning administrative, constitutional, and municipal law, as well as counseling work related to federal grants, emerging regulatory and enforcement issues, and intergovernmental coordination. The Paralegal will play a critical role in supporting litigation management, maintaining organizational systems and trackers, coordinating materials across stakeholders, and assisting attorneys with legal and operational priorities in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, adaptable, professional, and able to manage complex assignments with strong judgment and exceptional organizational skills. Applicants should have a strong commitment to public service; an ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion; excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills; an ability to work independently while collaborating effectively; flexibility, responsiveness, and composure under pressure; and strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
-Assist with complex litigation, including preparing exhibits, managing discovery materials, and coordinating court filings;
-Maintain and organize case files, document repositories, litigation calendars, deadlines, and tracking systems;
-Conduct legal and factual research using online research platforms, databases, public records, and government resources;
-Assist with records management and information collection across multiple matters and agencies;
-Track developments, deadlines, and deliverables across high-priority litigation and policy matters;
-Support hearing, deposition, meeting, and trial preparation;
-Assist in developing and maintaining organizational systems, workflows, and operational processes to support the Unit's work;
-Contribute to a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing team environment.
General Litigation Division: 1 Position
Duties include:
-Drafting correspondence, subpoenas, and stipulations
-Conducting research on internet as well as on law-related (Lexis/Westlaw) and court databases
-Preparing spreadsheets containing information from documents and other sources
-Assisting with discovery by requesting and obtaining documents from other agencies
-Order transcripts from court reporters in State and Federal Court
-Request Stenographer and Interpreter Services
-Preparing documents for disclosure by reviewing, redacting and Bates stamping using
Adobe and Relativity programs
-Research and update case information using Law Manager, PACER, and State
Court ECF
-Reviewing, organizing, maintaining, and archiving case files
-Preparing motion papers for service and filing
-Preparing and processing settlement papers for payment
-Field work entails visiting courts and agencies throughout the city to review and/or
photocopy records.
Environmental Law Division: 1 Position
The Environmental Law Division's paralegal would be responsible to perform the following tasks, among others, with appropriate oversight from attorneys in the Division: drafting, finalizing, filing and serving litigation papers (including electronically); tracking filing deadlines; drafting, organizing, tracking and updating agency document preservation letters; engaging in all aspects of discovery, from preparing and serving requests to working with others when reviewing, redacting and producing documents and privilege logs; data entry, including Bates stamping and photocopying; document formatting, including for electronic submission; reviewing environmental laws, regulations and agency protocols and working with Division colleagues on compliance matters; reviewing Notices of Violation and investigating and responding to allegations, including by assisting in settlement negotiations; researching property titles and deeds; preparing and submitting the Division's monthly reports; updating hard copies of rules and regulations in the Division's library; and, identifying court formatting and communication requirements.
Special Federal Litigation Division: 4 Positions
The NYC Law Department is seeking qualified candidates that are permanent in the paralegal aide title for a level 2 position within its Special Federal Litigation Division. Under supervision, with latitude for independent initiative and judgment, the qualified candidates will assist through various stages of legal proceedings and performs various types of paralegal duties including, but not limited to the following:
Managing a large caseload from inception to conclusion of the cases.
Working closely with staff attorneys and representatives of other agencies in order to obtain documents and information.
Assisting attorneys in preparation for and during trial.
Requesting documents such as police, medical, employment and criminal records. Conducting telephone and submitting written follow up requests when documents are not received.
Preparing legal documents such as subpoenas, releases, letters of request and settlement papers.
Performing data entry with use of some databases and programs such as LawManager and Summation.
May go to court or other agencies to request, obtain, submit or file documents.
Some of the physical activities performed and environmental conditions experienced include lifting and carrying large boxes and/or heavy files, climbing stairs, and traveling throughout the City on all types of public transportation, and/or walking in all kinds of weather, often carrying heavy files.
Legal Counsel Division: 1 Position
The Legal Counsel Division of the NYC Law Department is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Paralegal Aide. The Legal Counsel Division is a counseling unit that advises the Mayor, other elected officials, City agencies and other divisions within the Law Department on issues concerning virtually every area of municipal law. The Division provides the legal advice and crafts the legislative changes necessary to shape and implement policy initiatives, and coordinates with other divisions to examine legal issues that arise in the context of litigation. The Division is responsible for drafting State and local legislation proposed by the Mayor and City agencies, and for assisting in the drafting of administrative rules. On a daily basis, the Division fields questions from City Hall and City agencies on issues of overriding importance to the City as well as those regarding day-to-day administration.
The chosen qualified candidate will be assigned to perform work of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility under the supervision of attorneys, and/or higher level staff. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
-Tracking developments, deadlines, and deliverables across high-priority legislation and policy matters;
-Tracking updates to legislative matters, including litigation about local laws and amendments to the Charter and Administrative Code;
-Reviewing requests from agency General Counsels regarding document retention/destruction, which requires tracking, reviewing and responding to the requests, and elevating issues to the attorneys within the division for a decision if needed;
-Creating and maintaining an organizational system for file room records, which contains actively used reference and historical materials;
-Conducting legal and factual research using online research platforms, databases, public records, and government resource; and
-Contributing to a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing team environment.
**Only candidates either permanent in the Paralegal Aide title or reachable on the list should apply. Please indicate division preference in your cover letter.
PARALEGAL AIDE - 30080
Qualifications
1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, accredited by regional, national, professional or specialized agencies recognized as accrediting bodies by the U.S. Secretary of Education and by the Council for Higher