Paralegal or Administrative Assistant - Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Public Law Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free legal services to low-income residents in Orange County. They are seeking a skilled Paralegal or Administrative Assistant to support their Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit by managing client intakes, case management, and legal document preparation, while ensuring efficient legal operations and collaboration with attorneys and clients.

Responsibilities

• Conduct initial client intakes, including legal issue-spotting, conflict check, and eligibility determination in eviction defense, discrimination, habitability, subsidized housing cases (including housing vouchers), and other issues arising in landlord/tenant relationships
• Act as a point of contact for clients, ensuring professional and effective communication, including providing approved legal information or advice under an attorney’s supervision
• Maintain and organize legal documents, case files, time records, and client information, including case notes, ensuring data integrity and accessibility
• Manage discovery processes, conduct investigation and fact gathering (including housing inspections), perform legal analysis, draft pleadings and legal forms, coordinate filings, mail and serve documents, and assist with attorney preparation for court proceedings
• Prepare legal correspondence and other documents with precision and confidentiality
• Prepare and conduct trainings and community presentations and otherwise assist with community outreach and education efforts
• If bilingual, assist with interpretation and translation for staff and volunteer attorneys as needed
• Provide general administrative and clerical support to the office, such as scanning and filing documents, assembling court filings, handling mail as needed

Skills

• High school diploma or GED required
• For paralegal title, depending on level of education, must have matching experience to meet definition of paralegal pursuant to California Business & Professions Code section 6450(c) to qualify for that title
• Strong writing and analytical skills required
• High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple cases effectively required
• Paralegal certificate or equivalent level of training preferred
• 1–3 years prior experience at a legal organization preferred
• Strong background in litigation preferred
• Proficiency in legal research databases (Westlaw) preferred
• Knowledge of litigation procedures preferred
• Knowledge of landlord/tenant and other housing law preferred
• Bilingual English/Spanish or English/Vietnamese preferred

Benefits

• Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance (100% of employee premium costs paid by PLC, and 50% of dependent health insurance premium costs paid by PLC)
• Flexible Spending Account Program to help pay for medical expenses and childcare costs
• 15 paid holidays per year
• Approximately 1 paid week off during office winter closure (between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)
• 21 paid sick/wellness days per year to promote mental wellness and general wellbeing
• 15 paid vacation days per year
• Birthday paid time off (2 hours of paid time off during birthday month)
• 403b retirement plan (after 6 months of employment PLC provides a matching contribution equaling 100% of salary deferral up to a maximum of 3-4%, depending on length of employment)
• Monthly $55 stipend for Wi-Fi and cell phone use
• Monthly Bilingual Pay Premium upon successful completion of an oral and/or written test ($50 for oral premium and $50 for written premium)
• Optional monthly peer support group facilitated by third party mental health clinic
• Opportunities for growth and advancement

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