Policy Assistant & Paralegal - Youth in Out-of-Home Care and Fair Courts

Position: Policy Assistant & Paralegal – Youth in Out-of-Home Care and Fair Courts

Department: Legal

Office Location: New York, NY

Work Type Designation: Hybrid

• Generally, employees can live in any of the states that fall within the Combined Statistical Area (CSA) boundaries of their Office of Record as long as they reside within three (3) hours of their Office of Record by ground transportation or ferry. Exceptions may be possible. These states include California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
• Work from Office and Hybrid employees must be able to commute to the Regional Office as their schedule demands.

Report To: Senior Counsel

Union Status: L1. This is a union position.

Annual Salary Range: $65,206 - $82,544. The salary for this role will be determined by a candidate's years of relevant experience related to the position, as well as their geographic region. Our salary scale steps start at 1 year or less and go up to 30+ years of experience.

Travel: This position will require travel up to 15% (local and national, i.e., coalition meetings, conferences, agency meetings). The travel may be fairly unpredictable due to the needs of policy and litigation efforts.

FLSA Status: Non-exempt / Full-TimeSupervisory Responsibilities: NoneWho We Are

Lambda Legal is a national advocacy organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. Since 1973, Lambda Legal has used impact litigation and other advocacy tools to decriminalize same-sex relationships; challenge discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in the workplace, in the home, in schools, in health care, and in the military; and protect LGBTQ+ families, including by winning and defending marriage equality. Our clients are not charged for legal representation or advocacy and Lambda Legal receives no government funding. Headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal also has regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, DC. We believe that serving the full breadth of the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities requires cultural competency and enthusiasm for diversity of all kinds. To be successful, we must approach our work with an understanding that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status is not the only obstacle to achieving full formal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV; rather, we recognize the intersectional nature of discrimination, specifically including biases based on race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, education, and class. Considering this reality, we prioritize a proactive commitment to counteracting these biases and their compounding effects in the work we do, but also in how we work together as an organization.

Policy Assistant & Paralegal

The Policy Assistant and Paralegal – Youth in Out-of-Home Care and Fair Courts assists attorneys with legal and other research; drafts, prepares and files documents in federal and state legislative bodies and offices, administrative, agencies, and courts; and works within coalitions and with clients to advance Lambda Legal’s cutting-edge policy advocacy, impact litigation, and educational work.

This role primarily supports the work of attorneys who focus on Lambda’s Fair Courts and Youth in Out-of-Home Care (foster care, juvenile justice, youth homelessness) Projects and other advocacy for youth.

This role may be subject to a fairly unpredictable travel schedule that depends on the needs of policy and litigation efforts for the team.

What you’ll do:

Policy Work

• Prepare and file public policy advocacy materials, including administrative comments, substantive advocacy letters, and other similar documents.
• Perform research, track nominations, legislation, and regulations at the state and federal level, monitor activity in the Federal Register, and search the Congressional Record
• Contact court personnel, government offices, other attorneys and advocates, and others as appropriate
• Assist in maintaining client and governmental relationships, participate in coalition and workgroup meetings
• Work collaboratively with other paralegals
• Prepare presentations and other educational materials, assist with research and drafting of Lambda Legal publications
• Coordinate support and payment for youth with lived experience in out-of-home care systems collaborators as they join us in education and policy advocacy
• Finalizing and submitting written testimony and agency comments
• Providing support for virtual or in-person coalition meetings.
• Other duties as assigned

Litigation Work

• Provide legal and administrative support to attorneys including, but not limited to, the production of reports, legal pleadings, and briefs (including proofreading and cite-checking)
• Help to ensure compliance with all applicable court rules and maintain case files and other organizational systems
• Draft correspondence
• Submit expense reports for attorneys in Concur
• Provide general administrative support to members of the Legal Department
• Opening confidential legal mail
• Producing briefs and briefing materials
• Filing legal documents
• Other duties as assigned

Who you are: 

With the understanding that no one person will offer every desired skill and characteristic outlined below, compelling candidates will offer much of the following:

• Willingness to develop specialized knowledge about the legal system and legal documents necessary to perform duties in a law office setting is essential; and prior legal support work, which may include support for legislative and policy advocacy, is highly desired
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Highly motivated, detail-oriented, well-organized, and dependable
• Strong collaborative team player with ability to work well under pressure
• Knowledge of issues facing transgender and nonbinary people and/or prior experience working with transgender and nonbinary people preferred, not required
• Experience in Microsoft 365 (specifically Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Knowledge of Adobe Acrobat
• Previous use of Westlaw or LexisNexis is preferred, training available
• Knowledge of electronic court filing systems (including Federal Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system) is preferred
• Experience with iManage is preferred (or other law-firm storage applications)
• Experience with FiscalNote is a plus but training available
• Previous paralegal or public policy experience is preferred
• Experience working with children, teenagers, and young adults is preferred

Successful candidates will welcome the opportunity to work in a racially- and gender-diverse environment and to contribute to a positive and inclusive atmosphere. Working at Lambda Legal requires a demonstrated awareness of and commitment to the concerns of the breadth of the communities that Lambda Legal serves. Prior work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community and/or people living with HIV is highly desirable. Experience working with other historically marginalized communities (in a professional or volunteer capacity) is also desirable.

All employees at Lambda Legal are expected to adhere to ethical conduct in all interactions and tasks, ensuring a positive and respectful workplace environment.

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Read more about Lambda Legal's work on our blog and Instagram.

Lambda Legal believes in creating a more equitable playing field for applicants and values the depth of relevant skills built through successful education, work, and life experiences. If your background and skills are a close match for this position, you are strongly encouraged to apply.

Lambda Legal is committed to further building and maintaining a staff that reflects the full range of LGBTQ+, HIV-affected and allied communities, and is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. Lambda Legal encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship or immigration status, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and gender-diverse people, women, people with abilities in multiple languages, immigrants, people living with disabilities, protected veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals living with HIV are all encouraged to apply.

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Why Work at Lambda Legal?

You get to do meaningful, life-changing work at a national level for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV. Lambda Legal also proudly offers competitive benefits for our team. We understand that our staff’s dedication and effort are instrumental in achieving our mission. A highlight of the benefits we offer include:

• Medical benefits that begin on your start date
• Dental, Vision, and Life insurance (effective 30 days from your start date)
• Short & Long-Term Disability plans (effective 30 days from your start date)
• 403(b) Retirement Plan (employer contribution and matching program begins after 90 days of employment)
• Paid Time Off:
  • Paid Vacation (15 Days)
  • Sick Leave (12 Days)
  • Personal Leave (3 Days)
  • Religious Observance Leave (3 Days)
  • Bereavement and Bereavement Anniversary Leave
  • Floating Holiday (1 Day)
• 12 paid holidays and 5 early office closures
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA/DC FSA) and Commuter Benefits
• Health Reimbursement Account
• $50 monthly mobile phone reimbursement
• Annual professional development fund
• Summer Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day
• Premium subscription to the Calm App
• Paid sabbatical after 7 years of service at Lambda Legal (4 weeks for non-exempt positions and 8 weeks for exempt positions)