Paralegal Position Available In Suffolk, Massachusetts

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) is committed to fair employmentpractices. We are proud to employ a staff with the cultural andlinguistic competency to work within a variety of communities. GreaterBoston Legal Services (GBLS) seeks a paralegal to work in the Elder,Health and Disability Unit. We provide free legal services andrepresentation to clients in the greater Boston area who cannot affordprivate legal representation. The Unit represents elders, people withdisabilities and families to ensure that they have income, health careand services needed to live independently in the community. The unitswork includes access to SSI income for children and adults, access toaffordable health care for all and representation of elders in benefitsand housing matters.

Our special projects include:

Medicare AdvocacyProject, Childrens Disability Project, and School to Prison PipelineIntervention Project. The units work includes keeping people out ofinstitutions and improving the quality of life for those who live ininstitutions. We empower people to make decisions about their lives andsupport people with disabilities in their fight for accessibility andintegration. The Paralegal will be part of our School to Prison PipelineIntervention Project team, primarily handling special education andschool discipline cases for low-income students, with an emphasis onstudents with disabilities, students of color, and homeless students,mostly in Boston public and charter schools in the Boston area; thiswork will also include policy advocacy. The candidate may also work onother unit cases as needed. The position involves responsibility forclient cases under the supervision of unit attorneys including:interviewing, investigating facts, assessing the merits of a case,research and analysis of law, drafting of written and oral legalarguments, negotiation with school officials and agency staff, andpreparation for and handling of administrative hearings with examinationof witnesses including clinical experts. The position may also involveassisting attorneys in litigation, legislative and policy advocacy,supervising student and volunteer interns, and community legaleducation. The position requires attendance at statewide meetings andtrainings.

Qualifications:

Candidates should have good communication,writing, organizational, and oral presentation skills; ability to read,analyze and synthesize large volumes of school and other records; andstrong demonstrated commitment to anti-poverty and civil rights work.

Experience advocating for low-income people and working with youngpeople of color preferred. Spanish fluency/proficiency is a plus. Thesalary for this position is based on a union scale. The salary range foran applicant with 4 to 6 years of experience is $50,000 to $52,000with an additional $950 annual payment for second language ability.

GBLS offers a generous benefits package, retirement contribution andgenerous Paid Time Off leave.