Who We Are
We work to keep people out of prison and stop state executions by adhering to our mission and core values—compassion, courage, competency, creativity, and collaboration—when representing clients. Our clients are indigent defendants charged with federal crimes ranging from drug offenses to white‐collar conspiracies and clients sentenced to death. We practice holistic lawyering to protect our clients’ rights and champion their humanity at every stage of the criminal case and beyond. Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee (FDSET) seeks to embrace diversities, support equity, and foster an inclusive work environment that promotes commitment, flexibility, and fairness.
The Job
We need a full-time experienced assistant paralegal in the Knoxville FDSET office.
Duties
The assistant paralegal acts as the front desk receptionist and is the first point of contact for incoming phone calls and visitors to the office for our traditional, capital habeas, and appellate units. In addition to the front desk duties, the assistant paralegal processes all incoming and outgoing mail; orders office supplies; maintains the unit calendar and communicates with staff regarding court dates and filing deadlines; conducts conflicts checks; communicates with the federal clerk of court’s office on a daily basis regarding docketing of initial appearances and other hearings; notifies unit staff regarding scheduled initial appearances; and assists in the preparation and filing of pleadings, motions, briefs, correspondence, and memoranda.
Salary and Benefits
Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications in accordance with the Defender Organization Classification System and the Federal Judicial Salary Plan (JSP). The current salary range is JSP 9/1 at $61,111 to JSP 9/10 at $79,443 annually.
FDSET offers a generous benefits package, which includes paid vacation and sick leave, 11+ paid annual holidays, medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, long-term disability, and 401K retirement. FDSET provides medical (employee-only plans), dental, vision, basic life/AD&D, and long-term disability at no monthly premium cost to employees.
A partial remote work week is available to employees after an initial probationary period.
Five or more years of legal office support experience is desirable, especially experience with the federal court system. This position demands attention to detail, excellent word processing skills, ability to use a multi-line phone system, exceptional communication and organizational skills, as well as an interest in working with indigent clients and the public. An above average skill level in using Word, Outlook, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat is required. The ability to exercise good judgment, act with diplomacy, and maintain confidentiality is a must. An affinity for teamwork is essential. Fluency in Spanish is a plus.
Qualified individuals may apply by sending ALL the following documents in a combined PDF file to [email protected] by Friday, May 30, 2025.
(1) Cover Letter
(2) Resume
(3) Three References
An email confirming receipt of the application materials will be sent to applicants. Only those selected for interviews will receive further communication.
FDSET VALUES A DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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