Legal and Administrative Assistant (Bilingual – Spanish/English)

At DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), we believe everyone deserves access to justice and that income should never be a barrier to a family’s receipt of high-quality legal representation. DCALF delivers accessible justice to modest-income DC residents who do not qualify for traditional sources of free civil legal services and cannot afford standard representation and fills critical gaps by using innovative programming to expand access to justice and empower lower-income community members with unmet legal needs. DCALF provides a wide-range of no-cost and low-cost family law, probate, estate planning, and immigration legal services to DC residents and individuals navigating DC legal issues. We are fiercely dedicated to leveling the playing field and ensuring historically underserved clients can tackle some of life’s most daunting legal issues with a lawyer by their side.

DCALF seeks a full-time, bilingual (Spanish/English) Legal and Administrative Assistant to support our team of attorneys and provide administrative assistance in support of DCALF’s office management and operations.

The selected candidate is adept at building relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, has a strong sense of empathy, organization, and professionalism, is able to work independently to meet time-sensitive deliverables, and is committed to supporting our organization’s race, diversity, and equity initiatives. In addition, the selected candidate must be comfortable working with individuals navigating emotional and high stakes issues in immigration, probate and estate planning, and family law realms. The anticipated start date for this position is May 2025 and duties include, but are not limited to:

Case Management and Client Communication

• Promptly answer incoming calls, take messages, and regularly monitor the general DCALF email account;
• Manage the intake process for DCALF’s legal services programs, including family law, immigration, estate planning, probate, and Heirs’ Property;
• Conduct intake and conflict reports of potential clients in English and Spanish, screen clients for eligibility for services, and provide referrals when appropriate;
• Provide legal support for attorneys, including interpretation and translation to and from Spanish for client meetings, phone calls, correspondence, documents, court and government submissions, and hearings/interviews;
• Assist with compiling, organizing, and securely sharing case files with clients, to ensure timely and accurate distribution; and
• Assist attorneys and supervisors with other case-related tasks as needed.

Office Management, Administration, and Community Outreach

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of legal and non-legal resources in the DMV region, maintaining and updating referral resources as needed;
• Oversee and manage the firm calendars, ensuring accurate scheduling of internal meetings, trainings, and other key events;
• Coordinate conference room reservations and facilitate external visitor arrangements, including scheduling, check-in, and workspace setup as needed;
• Assist with internal office operations, including ordering supplies, monitoring supply inventory, mail processing, and organization of physical office files;
• Maintain and update office procedures and templates to reflect current policies, workflows, and best practices;
• Support the Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, Legal Director, and Operations Manager on administrative tasks as needed;
• Provide coverage for other support staff, including the FLAN Hotline Intake Specialist, DCALF Law Clerk, and other legal assistants, as needed to ensure continuity of office operations and client support;
• Be available to come into the office for a minimum of three days/week; and
• Attend other external meetings or community engagement events on behalf of DCALF, as required.

This job description is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements, or working conditions. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the position or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned.

Work Environment

DCALF is currently working in a hybrid remote/in-person model. Due to this position’s responsibilities, the selected candidate will initially be required to work in-person at DCALF’s offices five days per week. The candidate may have the opportunity to transition to a hybrid schedule, with a minimum of three in-person days per week, while remaining flexible to work additional in-person days as needed to support office operations, provide coverage for other staff, or facilitate in-person collaboration. This is a non-exempt, full-time position, Monday-Friday. This position may also require regular attendance at in-person community engagement events outside of working hours, in the District of Columbia.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three professional references to hiring@dcaffordablelaw.org with the subject line “LEGAL ASSISTANT [first initial, last name].” Cover letter must address Spanish fluency; individuals will not be considered unless they are fluent in Spanish. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No calls will be accepted regarding this posting.

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DC Affordable Law Firm is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equal opportunity to applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or other classification protected by law.