New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) seeks a full-time Paralegal Advocate. With NHLA attorney supervision and as part of an integrated team, Paralegal Advocates will help low-income and older (age 60 and over) clients resolve civil legal problems with a focus on access to public benefits programs. NHLA offers comprehensive training for new paralegal advocates.
NHLA is a civil legal aid law firm with offices in Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth, NH We are seeking a Paralegal Advocate to be based in either Berlin, NH or Manchester, NH. Extensive travel throughout New Hampshire is required (mileage reimbursement at the IRS rate is provided). NHLA offers hybrid (remote/in person) work arrangements to interested staff, typically permitting up to two days per week of regularly-scheduled remote work. Staff members are provided with the necessary equipment (such as laptop computers) to work from their homes.
Position Duties:
-With attorney supervision, provide legal information and advice to clients, and represent clients in administrative proceedings such as public benefits appeals.
-Provide litigation support in state and federal court cases, including work with clients.
-After building expertise, participate in community engagement efforts such as educational presentations and webinars.
-Learn and implement NHLA’s holistic, client-centered approach to civil legal aid, including language access, cultural competency, and trauma-informed practices.
Position Salary/Benefits:
This is a full-time position. Full-time is defined as 37.5 hours per week. This position is considered non-exempt for the purpose of federal wage/hour law.
The anticipated salary for the position depends on prior law-related work experience, expected to range from $21.54 per hour/ $42,000 per year (for candidates with 0 years of prior law-related work experience) to $24.53 per hour/$47,850 per year for candidates with 5 years of prior law-related work experience. The position is eligible for the NHLA employee benefits package including medical/dental insurance, retirement plan, and generous paid time off.
The desired start date for this position is no later than Monday, October 3, 2022. The application process and timeline is described below.
-At least 2-4 years of prior relevant education and/or work experience.
-Prior law-related work experience and/or law-related education a plus.
-Ability to travel routinely within New Hampshire.
-Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
-Ability to speak and write another language in addition to English a plus, particularly if the language is widely spoken in New Hampshire.
-Current technology skills including familiarity with Office 365 and Adobe.
-Commitment to and interest in expanding knowledge about access to justice and poverty.
By August 3, 2022, please send your resume with a cover email summarizing your interest in the position and your qualifications to: [email protected]. A separate cover letter is not required in addition to the cover email.
In your cover email, please tell us in which office(s) (Berlin, NH or Manchester, NH) you would be willing to work. Please also feel welcome to tell us anything that will help us communicate respectfully with you, including your preferred pronouns, the pronunciation of your name, any communication access needs or reasonable accommodations requested during the hiring process, or any other relevant information.
Application Process and Timeline:
NHLA will appoint a Hiring Committee including 2-3 NHLA staff members and the NHLA Human Resources Manager. NHLA occasionally asks people who are not NHLA staff members to serve on a Hiring Committee.
Applications are due by 5 PM on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. See “How to Apply,” above. All applications received by that date will be considered.
Applications will be reviewed by the Hiring Committee by Wednesday, August 10. If you have not heard from NHLA to schedule an interview by Friday, August 12, your application is no longer being considered.
We expect the Hiring Committee to conduct first interviews with no more than 6 candidates. We expect first interviews to be scheduled during the week of August 15. Interviews are 45 minutes in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. Candidates selected for first interviews will receive a list of the interview questions at least 48 hours in advance. No other questions will be asked at the interview, but it is possible that not all questions will be asked if we run out of time. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions at the conclusion of the interview. For candidates who speak a language other than English, a portion of the interview may be conducted in that language, with interpretation provided for other participants as needed.
The Hiring Committee will recommend no more than 2 finalist candidates to the Executive Director for second interviews. We expect second interviews to be scheduled during the week of August 22. Second interviews are 30 minutes or shorter in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. The Executive Director may conduct the second
interview alone or with 1 other NHLA staff member, who may be a member of the Hiring Committee. Questions are not provided in advance for second interviews. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions.
After the second interview, we will ask no more than 2 finalist candidates to provide 3 references and a brief writing sample of no more than 10 pages. We will contact the 3 references as quickly as possible, asking all references the same questions. Candidates with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations should they be offered the position are invited to request them, in writing, at this stage of the process.
Based on information gathered in the entire hiring process, we will make an offer to 1 candidate with salary and benefits information. The offer is contingent on completion of a criminal record background check. Not all criminal records are disqualifying.
Once a candidate has accepted the position, we will notify all candidates who had a first interview (or a first and second interview) that they have not been selected. We do not notify candidates who were not selected for interviews due to the volume of applications we typically receive.
Please note that NHLA does not expect to receive thank you notes from candidates selected for first or second interviews and does not place any weight in the hiring process on receiving (or not receiving) thank you notes.
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