Legal Assistant

Legal Assistant Job Announcement

The Organization

Justice in Motion, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the rights of migrants across borders, seeks applications for a bilingual (English/Spanish) Legal Assistant. In the face of overwhelming legal and practical barriers, many migrants who have suffered exploitation or abuse at the hands of employers or government officials give up their rights after leaving the United States. Other migrants who flee abuse, violence, and persecution are unable to remain in safety due to lack of evidence to support their claims.

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These migrants need “portable justice” - the right and ability to access justice across borders. Justice in Motion is dedicated to ensuring portable justice through legal, educational, and policy initiatives in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Essential to this transnational model is our Defender Network, a unique partnership of on-the-ground human rights organizations in Mexico and Central America. Justice in Motion makes sure that wherever migrants go, their rights will follow.

The Position

The Legal Assistant role is a great opportunity for someone who will enjoy working in an important administrative role to keep everything moving behind the scenes, and understands that others are relying on them for high-quality work. The Legal Assistant regularly interacts with members of the Justice in Motion Defender Network and as such the candidate we seek must have professional-level Spanish fluency (written and spoken), but does not need a legal background. Other important skills include task management and organization, facility with spreadsheets, a willingness to learn new systems, and excitement about the role of international collaboration in the pursuit of justice for migrants across borders.

The Legal Assistant is a full-time, non-exempt position that reports to the Legal Director and begins as soon as possible, ideally in December. This is a union position, and will be covered by Justice in Motion’s collective bargaining agreement.

Note: Justice in Motion does not represent clients directly and this position does not involve direct interaction with migrant populations.

Requirements

The ideal candidate for this position possesses the following core competencies:

1. Spanish fluency in a professional setting: This person can easily switch back and forth between English and Spanish with comprehension nearing 100% and is either a native speaker, or has significant experience using Spanish language skills, ideally professionally.
2. Cross-cultural experience: This is someone who has lived, studied or worked with people from many cultures and within diverse communities and thrives in those environments, easily connecting with people and demonstrating curiosity and empathy.
3. Effective working behind the scenes: This person understands the importance of administrative tasks, following systems, especially in a remote work environment, and enjoys making sure everything is running smoothly.
4. Excellent attention to tasks and details: This is someone who meets deadlines, uses simple tools to follow through on action items, and loves keeping track of the smallest details to stay organized.
5. Proactive communicator: This person excels at confirming what’s being requested, checking for understanding, communicating progress regularly, and raising potential issues before they become major problems. They welcome feedback, and are oriented toward the larger success of the work.
6. Tech-savvy: This is someone who easily picks up and adapts to new technologies and systems, can quickly figure out their way around a database, and knows how to use video and chat apps to find the best way to connect. Must be able to work with Excel and Word, GSuite, Adobe Acrobat, and basic document management. Salesforce or database experience is a plus.
7. Patience and adaptability: This is someone who knows people operate in different ways, and takes the time needed to work with each individual, and follow up appropriately. They are able to adapt to and thrive amidst changing circumstances, and have a demonstrated ability to learn new concepts.
8. Skill with data management and math: This person is able to perform simple accounting and bookkeeping tasks and knows how to run basic Excel formulas and ensure a high degree of accuracy.
9. Able to maintain confidential information: This person has excellent judgment and has references who will attest to their high level of maturity, trustworthiness, integrity, and experience working with sensitive information.

Responsibilities

This is an important position on a small team, and the duties will evolve over time. The primary areas of responsibility may include the following:

Administrative and General Support for the Legal Action program

• Supporting case collaborations with our partners in the US and abroad, including:
  • Entering case information in our case management system
  • Creating and running reports
  • Communicating with lawyers in the US and members of the Justice in Motion Defender Network in Central America and Mexico (in Spanish and English)
  • Scheduling meetings
  • Creating, editing and completing forms, and templates
  • Reviewing and processing time and cost records for payments and invoices
  • Making evaluation calls (in Spanish and English)
  • Taking notes and writing case summaries (in Spanish and English)
• Assisting with strategic project-based work
• Attending external webinars, taking and cataloging notes
• Supporting logistics for meetings, trainings, events and activities

General Support for the Organization

• Providing logistical support in cross-departmental projects
• Participating in organization-wide meetings, trainings, events and activities

Location and Travel

This is a remote position and can be based anywhere in the U.S., with regular weekday work hours that are aligned with the Eastern Time Zone. Occasional travel (1-2x per year) within the U.S. is likely.