Careers

Paralegal (Hybrid)  

Position: Paralegal (Hybrid)
Location: Grand Rapids and Brainerd offices  

Justice North seeks to fill the position of paralegal providing civil legal services to eligible individuals in Justice North’s 11 county coverage area, with a geographic focus on residents of Itasca, Cass, Crow Wing and Aitkin counties. The position can be primarily remote but will require attendance at in-person client and office meetings, outreach and other events as needed.

Organization:
Justice North, formerly Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota, provides legal representation to low-income and senior citizens in 11 counties with offices in Duluth, Grand Rapids, Virginia, Brainerd, and Pine City. Justice North was founded in 1952 and has become an integral part of the justice system and a cornerstone of Northeastern Minnesota’s commitment to the proposition that equal access to justice is a basic human right. In addition to a full range of general poverty law services, Justice North operates special projects to focus on the unique needs of the clients we serve, such as the Elder Law Project, Housing Clinics, and critical partnerships in multiple counties to prevent homelessness. Justice North is also one of the seven legal services programs that form the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition.

In every case that we handle, our goal is always to help our clients reach sustainable, holistic resolutions to the problems they face. Legal problems do not arise in a vacuum, nor does resolving a legal matter always achieve the client’s goals of safety, stability, and security. To that end, we work closely with many community partners across our service area. Working in tandem with our community partners can often spark a virtuous cycle of success for our mutual clients.

Responsibilities:
The paralegal position provides supportive legal work to staff attorneys with their representation of low-income individuals in all areas of poverty law, but primarily family law, housing law, consumer law, public benefits, and elder law matters.  

Position responsibilities include:  
Conduct initial interviews of applicants to assist with determination of services;
Drafts correspondence; drafts and files petitions, motions, affidavits, legal memoranda, discovery documents, settlement proposals, orders, and other pleadings;
Arranges for and monitors service of documents, obtains settings for court hearings, maintains contact with court administration as necessary, manages files including deadline tracking;
Maintains client relationships through frequent contact, assists clients in preparing affidavits, expense lists, discovery responses and other information necessary to the case, updates attorney and client with new information;
Assists attorneys in trial preparation by preparing case summaries, exhibits for presentation at trial, witness lists and trial notebooks, interviewing witnesses, and preparing and arranging for subpoenaing of witnesses;
Occasionally attends trial with attorneys, takes notes of testimony for use by attorney at trial and in preparing closing arguments and findings of fact, assists with witness management at trial, and provides other assistance to the attorney during court proceedings.
Establishes and maintains relationships with advocates, court staff, and other community resources; attends trainings, workshops, and various continuing legal education courses.

Qualifications:
Previous paralegal experience in poverty law is preferred but not required. Demonstrable awareness and sensitivity to the needs of the populations we serve is necessary. Candidates must have a valid driver’s license, a working vehicle with valid insurance and willingness to travel to outreach opportunities, staff meetings and trainings. Excellent written and communication skills, familiarity with various forms of technology, the ability to work constructively with others, the ability and willingness to work hard, use good judgment, as well as the willingness to work independently are all necessary qualifications for this position. Applicants must be flexible and willing to accept additional duties as necessary.

Compensation:
Pursuant to Justice North’s salary scale based on years of experience, starting at $51,250.  

Justice North offers an excellent benefits package that includes health, dental, life and disability insurance, 403(b) retirement plan; exceptionally generous paid time off, and observes federal holidays.  

Deadline to Apply: Open Until May 20, 2024. Please submit a cover letter, resume and list of three references by clicking on the link: https://justicenorth.bamboohr.com/careers/42
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Justice North is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, religion, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, age, or veterans’ status is not permitted.