Clinic Paralegal - Denver - Community Economic Defense Project

Description

Job Description

Job Description Salary: $60,000

About the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) & CED Law

Our mission

We partner with low-income and working people to build economic and racial equity. We do this by confronting economic abuse and investing in community wealth. We use an ever-evolving set of legal, economic and advocacy tools to challenge and dismantle unjust systems, building quickly towards a world where all people have what they need to live and thrive.

Our Organization

The Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) is a Colorado-based nonprofit. Launched in 2020 as the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, our organization was formed to keep our neighbors housed during the pandemic. Working with clients, we built a deeply integrated approach to eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness prevention that centers the legal and financial needs of housing-insecure families and uses a variety of tools to keep them housed.

Our team now serves more than 1,000 people per month, bringing together housing lawyers, economists, data analysts, policy-experts, organizers, and technologists to serve our clients. We have served more than 50,000 low-income Coloradans across 45 counties, distributing over $200 million in emergency assistance. We have also contributed to the passage of major legislation to prevent eviction, stop economic abuse, and make credit and life-saving medication cheaper. CEDPs model has been cited as a best practice by White House, HUD, the Urban Institute, and in the media.

Building on our work to stop evictions, CEDP has further expanded its integrated services model to include disaster response, predatory towing, debt collection, benefit access & navigation, long-term rental assistance, and homelessness response. Similar to CEDPs work on rental housing, these efforts offer a continuum of care that includes navigation and advisory services, targeted payments, legal support, and the ability to participate in advocacy.

More about the Clinic Paralegal Role:

CED Law, the law firm at CEDP, is seeking a Clinic Paralegal to help us advance our courthouse clinic program.

A successful candidate will have experience working at CEDP and a track record that demonstrates a commitment to providing the highest quality assistance to clients facing housing instability. The role will be directly supervised by and work closely with the Clinic Program Supervisor. Work will largely focus on operational support at CEDPs courthouse legal clinics but will also provide the opportunity to develop legal analytical and drafting skills.

In This Role You Will:

• Staff CED Laws courthouse legal clinics, which currently operate in Arapahoe County on Mondays and Denver County on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It is possible that the clinic program could expand to other counties and/or additional weekdays, in which case the Clinic Paralegals clinic schedule would also expand accordingly.
• Work in-person on site at the courthouse clinics 2-3 times per week and potentially more as needed or as the clinic program grows. At the clinic, the paralegals will be responsible for a wide range of administrative and operational tasks, including but not limited to: performing intake, filing and gathering necessary court documents, obtaining signed representation agreements, printing, assisting tenants with the completion of various forms such as affidavits of unlivable conditions, explaining the eviction process and next steps after tenants sign a stipulation or Answer, completing rental assistance referrals, sending timely close out emails to tenants, assisting with use of an electronic pro se Answer tool, troubleshooting and providing accurate legal information in response to tenant questions.
• After extensive training, interview tenants facing eviction at the clinic and draft Answers and other simple legal pleadings that will be reviewed and finalized by the Clinic Program Supervisor or other supervising attorney.
• Outside of the courthouse clinic context, duties will include performing all necessary follow-up clinic work, attending briefings, and engaging in training to increase efficiency and effectiveness of clinic program; converting cases in CED Laws case management system; covering for the CED Law Intake Specialist as needed; other administrative and operational tasks that may arise and are necessary to support the successful operation of CED Laws various services and programs.
• As time permits, participating in a CED Law-led Court Watch program designed to track and identify trends and practices in county courts. Duties may include watching court proceedings in person and virtually, recording observations, and assisting with maintenance of a Court Watch database. Clinic Paralegals would receive thorough training on county court proceedings and legal issues to be identified.

Position Requirements:

• Ability to travel to and work at CED Laws various courthouse clinics in and around the Denver metro area, requiring in-person work 2-3 times per week and potentially more as needed.
  
• Excellent client-relations skills and ability to handle client problems and complaints respectfully and professionally.
• Proven ability to manage administrative work and follow administrative procedures and policies closely with attention to detail.
• Previous experience in the legal field, and specifically in legal aid, is desired but not required.
• The ability to read, write, and speak/translate Spanish fluently is preferred but not required.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Strong writing and drafting skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with people of diverse personal and professional backgrounds with a focus on social and racial justice and equity.
• Openness and adaptability to new environments.
• A process-oriented mindset.
• Ability to think critically and analytically in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Knowledge of MS Office suite, specifically Excel, CLIO or other case management systems, and Google Suite.
• This role requires to be in the office 2-3 days per week to support client services

Additional Details:

• Candidates must reside in Colorado, ideally within the greater Denver Metro area. The position includes competitive pay, flexible time off, benefits package (including medical, dental, vision), and 401k.
• A competitive base salary of $60,000 per year plus an additional $1,000 per year hybrid employee salary adjustment.
• Employees who utilize two languages or more at work are eligible for a $2,000 salary differential per year added to the salary grade listed above. Language assessment will be conducted by the organization as a requirement to receive the differential
• All employees receive a technology stipend of $720 per year
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by 03/14/2025
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by 03/21/2025
• As in-person work is required, all employees at CEDP & CED Law are expected to maintain current vaccination status in keeping with CDC recommendations.
• CEDP is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.