Administrative Assistant- Community Development Project

Description

ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is the nation’s largest provider of pro bono legal services. Founded in 1970, it is dedicated to advancing equal justice under law and addressing economic, racial, social, and other inequities by delivering free legal and social services to the most vulnerable members of our community. Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Rights, the Audrey Irmas Project for Women & Girls’ Rights, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law. 

Public Counsel has a full-time staff of over 130. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, and people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities.

ABOUT DEPARTMENT

Public Counsel’s Community Development Project (CDP) strives to build healthy, inclusive, economically stable communities through the delivery of pro bono legal services to community-based coalitions, nonprofits and small businesses in Los Angeles County. CDP provides transactional legal services to nonprofits that assist lower income people and neighborhoods and to qualifying entrepreneurs that meet our income requirements. CDP also supports community led advocacy groups and community based organizations in their efforts to advance racial and economic justice and build power in low-income communities and communities of color. 

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Supervising Attorney, the new Administrative Assistant will provide administrative support to all aspects of CDP. Approximately fifty percent of the Administrative Assistant’s time will be spent conducting client intakes and maintaining a case monitoring system for nonprofit and small business clients. Specifically, the Administrative Assistant will: 

• Conduct intakes with nonprofit and small business clients and gather relevant documents and information under the supervision of an attorney;
• Maintain client case files, complete data entry, manage project’s call and intake log, and monitor acceptance and placement of matters for nonprofit and small business clients;
• Assist with publicizing trainings, workshops, and events for clients, including drafting workshop flyers, e-blasts, and e-newsletters as well as maintaining email lists of clients, volunteers, and community partners;
• Schedule meetings for attorneys, as needed;
• Provide administrative support for litigation, including maintaining case files, proofreading, and creating exhibits;
• Handle logistics for seminars and trainings, including creating registration forms, sending materials, coordinating volunteers, and collecting evaluations (approximately 12 events per year) – will require occasional after hour or weekend work;
• Assist in outreach to potential nonprofit and small business clients and partner organizations; 
• Assist in project evaluation, data collection, and grant reporting;
• Train new staff, clerks, and volunteers on CDP’s policies and procedures; 
• Provide general administrative support to CDP such as maintaining databases, updating filing systems, organizing legal education material and shared office space, sending correspondence, and copying documents;
• Assist with translation, if applicable 

Requirements

ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community;
• Associate or Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Excellent verbal, written, and telephone skills;
• Fluency in Spanish or Korean, strongly preferred;
• Attention to detail, outstanding organizational skills, and ability to multitask;
• Experiencing working in a public interest or nonprofit setting, preferred
• Passionate about helping small businesses and nonprofits
• Commitment to gender/racial/social justice and the mission of Public Counsel
• Ability to complete work accurately and in a timely fashion with minimal supervision
• General computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Comfortable with practicing trauma-informed legal advocacy, including: displaying empathy, responsive listening, restraint from judgment, and demonstration of authentic care and concern
• An understanding of and/or willingness to learn about, basic legal concepts, terminology, principles, and procedures

JOB TYPE AND BENEFITS

• Full-Time, Non-Exempt position
• Bargaining
• Salary beginning at $25.64/hour
• Public Counsel offers a competitive benefits package including:
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with both HMO and PPO options, 
• The option to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account, 
• A 403(b) retirement plan with elective contribution and a discretionary employer contribution after a year of employment, and       
• Employer-paid life insurance and disability plans.
• Generous paid time off and compensatory time up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parking and transit benefits

HOW TO APPLY

We value lived experiences and experiences working with clients across a range of settings. Please consider discussing such experiences in your cover letter, especially if they are not reflected in your resume. 

PUBLIC COUNSEL VACCINATION POLICY AND COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Public Counsel requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees, including new hires. Pursuant to federal and state laws, Public Counsel will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.
 

Public Counsel is generally office-based, but remote work has been permitted during the pandemic. All employees with Public Counsel are required to work in the office at least one day per week, at the discretion of the head of department. This policy is subject to redesign by leadership. Public Counsel will work in a manner consistent with public health and local and state emergency orders.

PUBLIC COUNSEL EEO POLICY

Public Counsel is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against employees or prospective employees on the basis of union membership or activity, race, religious creed, religious observance, ethnicity, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or predisposition, military service, military and veteran status, pregnancy, child birth and related medical conditions, marital and family status, national origin, ancestry, age, medical conditions as defined by state or federal law, or disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

All qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

Our leadership team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities discipline, discharge and general treatment during employment.