Paralegal - Elder, Health & Disability Unit

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Job location
197 Friend Street
Boston, MA 02114
United States
Organization information
Organization name: 
Greater Boston Legal Services
Street address: 
197 Friend Street
City: 
Boston
State: 
Massachusetts
ZIP: 
02114
Job type: 
Legal - Civil
Position Description: 

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Accessible Employer and strives to ensure that our staff members reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) seeks a paralegal to work in the Elder, Health and Disability Unit. The Unit represents elders, people with disabilities, and families to ensure that they have income, health care, and services needed to live independently in the community. The Unit’s work includes access to SSI income for children and adults, access to affordable health care for all, and representation of elders in benefits and housing matters. Our special projects include: Medicare Advocacy Project, Children’s Disability Project, and School to Prison Pipeline Intervention Project. The Unit’s work includes keeping people out of institutions and improving the quality of life for those who live in institutions. We empower people to make decisions about their lives and support people with disabilities in their fight for accessibility.

The candidate will work on a range of unit work. Half of the paralegal’s work will involve client representation including administrative hearings in Social Security matters. The other half of the paralegal’s work will involve client representation with the Children’s Disability Project, which will include representation at administrative hearings. The position involves responsibility for client cases under the supervision of unit attorneys including interviewing, investigating facts, assessing the merits of a case, research and analysis of law, drafting of written and oral legal arguments, and preparation for and handling of administrative hearings with examination of witnesses including medical experts. The position may also involve assisting in litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, supervising student and volunteer interns, and community legal education.

The salary for this position is based on a union scale. The salary range for an applicant with 3-5 years of experience is $41,500 to $43,500 (currently under negotiation) with increases depending on experience. GBLS offers a generous benefits package including low cost health insurance, retirement contribution, paid time off, and ongoing professional development opportunities. GBLS provides excellent benefits, including health and dental.

GBLS values diversity and encourages applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.

Requirements: 

Qualifications include: good communication skills, writing, organizational, and oral presentation skills; ability to read, analyze, and synthesize large volumes of medical and other records; and strong demonstrated commitment to anti-poverty and civil rights work. Experience advocating for low-income people and working to advance social justice preferred. In addition to fluency in English, fluency in one or more of the languages spoken by GBLS clients, such as Spanish or Haitian Creole, among others, is preferred.

To apply: 

Candidates should submit cover letter, resume and a brief writing sample to the Human Resources Team via e-mail at [email protected]. Please refer to Job Code: EHD-PARA, when applying for this position. Deadline: November 20, 2022 or until the position is filled.

Notes: 
Equal Opportunity Employer
Salary range: 
$41,500 to $43,500
Submission deadline: 
Sunday, November 20, 2022