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 150. 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 THE CENTER FOR VETERANS’ ADVANCEMENT
Veterans and individuals leaving military service are facing disproportionately higher rates of poverty, employment barriers, housing instability, trauma, mental health issues and challenges with adjusting to civilian life. As a consequence, service members are struggling to meet their basic human needs.
The Center for Veterans’ Advancement (CVA) provides legal advocacy and resources to ensure that every veteran and returning service member and their family have access to basic life necessities and entitlements that will increase stability and self-sufficiency, including the right to government benefits, access to employment, housing, and health and mental healthcare. CVA also provides support to ensure intersectionality among all Public Counsel projects serving veterans.
JOB SUMMARY
CVA is seeking an Administrative Assistant. The Administrative Assistant works under the supervision of the CVA Interim Directing Attorney and has the following responsibilities:
- Primarily responsible for administrative office support to CVA;
- Manages referrals and incoming phone calls from intake portals, including direct online intakes from referring agencies, various phone lines, internal referrals from other projects within Public Counsel, and various other external referral sources (e.g. UniteUs);
- Conducts detailed intakes with prospective clients and prepares cases for eligibility and merit assessment at weekly Case Review meeting and, if applicable, facilitates case placement with in-house staff or external Pro Bono volunteers;
- Create and maintain client files (online case management system), including opening, closing, uploading and storing documents, case notes, and updating pro bono and client information;
- Tracking project data, including preparing all reports for grant compliance and program budget;
- Prepare and send correspondence/filings to clients, court, the VA or other government agencies;
- Manage all incoming and outgoing mail and track certified mail as requested;
- Maintain project calendars, manage CVA Zoom account and draft meeting agendas;
- Coordinate outreach, hiring, onboarding and management of in-house volunteers, interns and Pro Bono attorneys;
- Assist in outreach to clients and partner organizations;
- Assist with document review and project management in complex administrative law and benefits cases; and
- Other duties as assigned.
Requirements
ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Candidate must be a team player who possesses the following:
- Strong writing and editing skills;
- Strong communication skills;
- Strong computer skills (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Pro);
- Ability to prioritize multiple tasks;
- Ability to work well under pressure and in teams;
- Ability to complete work accurately and in a timely fashion;
- Attention to detail, outstanding organizational skills, ability to multitask;
- Experience in and dedication to working with people of diverse cultural, geographic, and economic backgrounds including individuals with a history of trauma.
The following skills or abilities are encouraged:
- Bachelor’s degree with at least one year of relevant experience in social services, or relevant life experience;
- Experience maintaining legal case files (especially in digital case management systems such as LegalServer or ProLaw);
- Interest in veterans’ rights and trauma-informed practice.
JOB TYPE AND BENEFITS
- Full-Time, Non-Exempt position
- Bargaining
- Salary Range: The annual salary range for this position is $52,500-$56,060.
- 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
- 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.