Staff Paralegal

About the Organization

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. (NLS) is a nonprofit civil legal aid provider serving five counties. Its work is centered on expanding fair access to justice by helping people who face financial hardship, disability, discrimination, or abuse obtain legal advice, representation, and education. With offices in Batavia, Buffalo, Lockport, and Niagara Falls, the organization supports individuals and families who cannot afford private counsel.

Each year, NLS assists thousands of clients with low income and other vulnerabilities, including people dealing with eviction or homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, people with disabilities, veterans, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and those struggling to access food, healthcare, and public benefits. The organization also works with community partners and medical providers to address legal issues affecting health and well-being. The Batavia office has a long-standing presence in Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming counties, with a focus on housing law, public benefits, family law, disability law, and consumer matters.

Position Overview

NLS is hiring a mission-focused Staff Paralegal for its Batavia office. In this role, you will screen and follow up with clients, make referrals when appropriate, provide community education, and offer limited legal advice and counsel under attorney supervision.

As part of the Batavia team, you will help connect people to the legal support they need while contributing to the organization’s broader efforts to reduce systemic inequality and strengthen access to justice.

Key Duties

• Interview and screen applicants for assistance, assess eligibility and case priority, determine whether a matter should be accepted, and provide brief legal guidance during intake under attorney supervision.
• Deliver legal advice, counseling, and extended services on qualifying matters according to agency procedures and supervision requirements.
• Route matters to the right internal team or external agency when another resource is more appropriate.
• Manage assigned cases and projects under attorney oversight in line with Bar Rules and LSSP representation standards.
• Carry a proper caseload of administrative matters, including both routine and more complex files, based on experience level.
• Move cases forward promptly, keep clients informed, maintain case files according to policy, and close matters once representation is complete.
• Assist attorneys with client contact, witness interviews and preparation, factual investigation, document gathering, photo and evidence collection, legal research, drafting discovery and pleadings, summarizing litigation materials, creating trial exhibits, and negotiating with unrepresented opposing parties such as landlords, merchants, social workers, and public agency staff.
• Maintain dockets and calendars, prepare recurring case reports, and take part in case review meetings led by the Supervising Attorney.
• Contribute to advocacy projects, self-help resources, impact litigation, community legal education, community economic development, legislative and administrative advocacy, outreach, and related initiatives.
• Build and maintain working knowledge across NLS practice areas and keep current on legal developments and resources.
• Use a trauma-informed and culturally competent approach when supporting clients in distress or crisis.
• Participate in training and supervision to help ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery.
• Work collaboratively with other staff on advocacy matters aligned with program priorities.
• Provide informal support such as advice, co-counseling, training, and coverage for colleagues when needed.
• Take part in volunteer attorney program operations, including recruiting and training volunteers, conducting intake, preparing and assigning cases, tracking work, coordinating staff support, maintaining quality controls, and helping build relationships with private attorneys and bar associations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Core Competencies

• Strong personal accountability and the ability to manage time, coordinate multiple priorities, and meet deadlines with limited supervision.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills with strong attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well in a collaborative, cross-functional team.
• Self-directed, inquisitive, and able to anticipate client needs.
• Cultural humility and comfort working with low-income clients from diverse backgrounds, including differences in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, religion, disability, and limited English proficiency.
• Experience with diverse communities is considered an advantage.

Compensation and Schedule

Pay is determined by the candidate’s relevant paralegal experience and placement within salary Steps 1 through 22. Step 1 corresponds to the first year of qualifying paralegal experience, and each higher step reflects one additional year of relevant experience.

Credited prior experience is counted from the date the employee started in a qualifying paralegal or legal support role. If there was a break in relevant employment, only eligible years of experience are credited.

Examples of the salary scale include Step 1 at $53,000, Step 5 at $58,513.27, Step 10 at $64,620.14, Step 15 at $71,545.86, and Step 22 at $82,976.80.

This is a full-time role with a 35-hour workweek and reduced summer hours.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous paid time off, including 3 weeks of vacation, 12 paid holidays, and one week of PTO between Christmas and New Year’s
• Sick leave and personal leave
• Eligibility for public student loan forgiveness
• Life insurance
• Pension plan
• Health reimbursement account (HRA) and flexible spending accounts (FSA)
• Paid memberships
• Professional development support
• Reduced summer hours

Additional Information

This position is based in the Batavia office and supports the organization’s civil legal aid work across its service area. The role requires regular collaboration with attorneys, staff, volunteers, and community partners. No additional education requirement, openings count, or application deadline was specified in the source.