Legal Staff
Paralegal/Legal Assistant
Position Overview
The Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) is hiring a full-time paralegal/legal assistant for our Pittsburgh office. The ALC paralegal works with our legal department in litigation, investigation, and research tasks, communicating with incarcerated clients, managing case files, and managing intake correspondence. This is a full-time, in-person, Pittsburgh-based position. The paralegal will work with incarcerated clients and their communities and advocates to challenge state violence in all its forms and contribute to building powerful movements for liberation.
Responsibilities
- Work collaboratively with ALC attorneys on litigation-related tasks, including drafting correspondence, organizing, managing, and reviewing discovery; conducting research; managing case files in a database; assisting with filings, preparation for court proceedings, and document requests; assisting with client communication; and a variety of other litigation support tasks.
- Manage large volume of physical mail and email correspondence regarding difficult circumstances of incarcerated people. This includes reading, tracking, scanning, writing, sending, and storing physical mail.
- Conduct visits and calls with clients and potential clients who are incarcerated.
- Assist in investigations of conditions of confinement in jails and prisons in Pennsylvania, including developing and maintaining relationships with potential clients, witnesses, organizers, and community partners; preparing and managing record requests.
- Attend weekly staff meetings, providing feedback to leadership and staff to improve organizational effectiveness.
- Other duties and special projects as needed.
- Some travel within the state of Pennsylvania may be required.
Requirements
- Commitment to an abolitionist and movement-lawyering approach that seeks to replace punitive justice with healing justice, promotes decarceration and the elimination of the use of jails and prisons to deal with social problems, and centers the political agency and organizing activity of those individuals and communities most impacted by the criminal legal system.
- Exceptional organizational skills, capable of maintaining voluminous electronic and physical case and correspondence files.
- Proficiency in using or ability to learn Microsoft Word, Excel, and Sharepoint, Google Mail, Docs and Sheets, Adobe Acrobat, and legal case management software.
- Able to track, organize, and respond to a large amount of correspondence.
- Excellent writing ability, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to conduct legal research on an as-needed basis.
Compensation
This position will be based in ALC’s Pittsburgh office. This is a full-time position with a starting salary of $55,000 per year. Benefits include employer-sponsored medical, dental and vision insurance options (premium 100% covered by organization), options for traditional 401k and Medical Flexible Spending Account, and 280 hours of paid time off annually.
Application Process
Please send your resume, three professional references, and a detailed cover letter explaining your interest in the position as a single PDF to hiring@alcenter.org. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
Abolitionist Law Center is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, LGBTQI-GNC people, and formerly incarcerated people are strongly encouraged to apply.
Statistics show that people from structurally marginalized communities are less likely to apply if they feel they do not meet 100% of the requirements. If you have a strong feeling that you are right for this position, no matter who you are, we strongly encourage your application.
Internships
Summer Legal Internships
ALC accepts applications from October 1st thru January 31st for our summer legal internship positions.
The 10-week summer internship program is for law students interested in abolition and movement lawyering, who successfully complete their first year of law school and want to work with us in defending the human rights of incarcerated people and their communities in Pennsylvania.
Our casework includes solitary confinement litigation, direct representation of those seeking medical transfer under the state “compassionate release” law, post-conviction criminal representation, prison conditions litigation, and class action litigation against Philadelphia and Allegheny County Jails over their treatment of the incarcerated population.
ALC is accepting three Philadelphia-based interns who will be asked to work in ALC’s Philadelphia office at least two days a week, and two remote interns who can work from any location.
Statistics show that people from structurally marginalized communities are less likely to apply if they feel they do not meet 100% of the requirements. If you have a strong feeling in your gut about this position, no matter who you are, we strongly encourage your application.
Apply: Applications should be sent in a single email with one PDF attachment including all materials (listed below) with the subject line “Legal Internship Application” to Rupalee Rashatwar, Staff Attorney, at rupalee@alcenter.org.
Applicants are required to submit the following:
- Cover Letter: No more than two pages double-spaced. Include name and contact information; current law school or legal education; whether you are interested in a Philadelphia-based position or a remote position; your interest in prison abolition; why you want to work with the Abolitionist Law Center; and what experiences, skills, or attributes of yours make you suitable to work with ALC.
- Resume: No longer than one page in length to reflect most recent work history. Previous internships and volunteer and organizing experience may also be included.
- Professional References: Please provide three professional references. These can be prior employers, volunteer coordinators, or other people with whom you have worked. These should be from people who can attest to your ability to handle challenging intellectual work, learn new material, work well in a collaborative setting, and communicate effectively.
- Legal Writing Sample: no longer than five single-spaced pages or 10 double-spaced. This can be an excerpt from a longer writing.
Decisions: Decisions will be made on a rolling basis.
Funding: There is no guaranteed funding available from ALC for these positions; students will be required to finance their internship via grants or fellowships.