LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF NORTHEASTERN NEW YORK
Legal Secretary- PAI and HALC – Albany Office
Located in New York, must live in NYS
Full-time, Min 35hr/ week
Salary: $33,825 to $44,542, DOE, plus generous benefits
Overview
The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, a nonprofit civil legal services program, is seeking a Legal Secretary for the Albany office. Legal Aid’s mission is to fight for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty and for a society that is inclusive and equitable for all. We transform lives, build community, and empower people by using the law to address individual and systemic wrongs and inequities. Our service area spans sixteen counties, in upstate New York, encompassing six regional offices. This position is based out of the Albany office. For more information about our work, staff, and clients, visit www.lasnny.org.
Legal Secretary: The Legal Secretary will serve in our Albany office, and will be primarily supporting the Private Attorney Involvement Department (PAI) and the HIV/AIDS Law Consortium (HALC) project. LASNNY provides free legal assistance in civil legal matters to low-income people
Minimum Requirements
- Minimum 3 years prior secretarial experience, with a preference for legal experience plus an AA or BA.
- Demonstrated commitment to serving and working with vulnerable populations.
- Experience in following multiple rules and protocols for securing detailed information from callers, determining appropriate responses, and contemporaneously entering information obtained and responses provided in a computer database.
- Must have strong computer skills and experience in utilizing spreadsheets, performing data entry, reporting, and running reports in databases.
- Preference for experience in managing a database or other reporting systems and being responsible for producing accurate reports.
- Must be responsible, reliable, punctual, flexible, intelligent, detail-oriented, careful, well organized, able to prioritize and think independently, and understand and apply a wide variety of policies and rules. Must be able to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
- Must have strong communications skills and cultural sensitivity to low-income, diverse persons.
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Office and type at least 50 WPM.
- Must have a car and valid, clean driver’s license and must be willing to travel as needed within the service area.
- Must be willing to work reasonable overtime when requested.
- Preference for prior experience transcribing from both written copy and dictation equipment.
- Preference for experience managing a database or other reporting system and responsible for producing accurate reports.
- Ability to speak Spanish or Chinese is a plus.
- Strong preference for experience with AIRS.
Legal Secretary Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- For the HALC project, perform secretarial, clerical, and administrative functions necessary to the effective representation of clients such as preparation of legal and non-legal documents and other work products, sorting mail, entering reminders in the case management system, and assisting in communication between clients, courts, adverse parties, and legal staff. Perform intake for LASNNY and partners in HALC. Assist HALC project staff as needed and requested.
- Become an expert in the Department of Health AIRS reporting system. Data entry for both LASNNY and partners in HALC. Generate and submit required reports.
- Support LASNNY’s Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Program. Assist and provide clerical and secretarial support in processing a high volume of cases handled by the PAI program, including requests for the assignment of pro bono counsel in divorce matters. Organize and support PAI Program Process applications for assistance and poor persons’ applications. Work with clients, judiciary, and pro bono counsel to ensure and track timely case assignment, legal work completion, and readiness for case closure.
- Assist in grant reporting as requested.
- Provide administrative, secretarial, and clerical support to the PAI department including assisting with PAI intake and referral paperwork.
- Maintain courteous and professional contact with clients, opposing counsel, courts, and agencies.
- Assist legal and PAI staff in maintaining client contact and gathering relevant documents.
- Assist legal and PAI staff in performing legal and administrative tasks effectively and efficiently.
- Provide administrative, record-keeping, and reporting support for unit staff and work to complete necessary client forms, paperwork, data entry, and grant reporting.
- Respond to requests for assistance and conduct intake interviews to quickly determine eligibility and the general nature of the legal problem and make the initial determination of programmatic eligibility and case assignment.
- Substantial data entry responsibilities, including data entry in grant-specific databases, including data entry in LASNNY’s case management system and spreadsheets necessary to maintain required case and administrative information. Enter information in the Department of Health AIRS system. Ensure timely and accurate data collection and reporting by legal staff. Troubleshoot AIRS problems and work with external system administrators to resolve database and reporting issues. Run reports and correct data and reporting issues in AIRS and other relevant databases.
- Provide support for outreach, training, or clinics that the unit or other LASNNY advocates may
- Provide legal secretarial, clerical, and administrative support to other LASNNY staff as assigned.
- Assist with filing of Albany office closed case files and maintenance of on-site Albany office file storage and data entry in the LASNNY case management system as needed.
- Be a notary public and perform such duties as needed.
Work Environment
This position operates in a professional law office environment and occasionally may require the carrying of items of up to 20 pounds. This role requires the use of standard office equipment and software and remote videoconferencing platforms. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
We are a unionized program with excellent benefits, offering generous time off, excellent health insurance coverage with premiums primarily paid by LASNNY, health and long-term disability insurance, retirement contributions, tuition reimbursement, qualifying moving expenses, and flexible hybrid-remote and alternative work schedules.
Application Deadline: Until Filled
To apply, please go to www.lasnny.org OR
Complete the Application linked here, or
the mobile-friendly application linked here
Complete the Demographic Survey linked here
At LASNNY we value a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. We strongly encourage applications from women, BIPOC, LGBTQI+ persons, protected veterans, applicants and recipients of public assistance, older adults, and people with disabilities.
If you are unable to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at LASNNY and we will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities to the extent required by applicable law.
