Bilingual Legal Assistant - Downtown Los Angeles

Job Description

Job Description

Job Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the Regional Counsel and National Senior Counsel, the Legal Secretary is responsible for preparing legal documents for filing with state or federal court and for service on opposing counsel/parties using Word and for maintaining pleading/brief dockets, correspondence files, and related files for cases in litigation or under investigation by attorneys in regional office. The Legal Secretary maintains office calendar and tickler system for important court dates, deadlines, and other appointments; prepares and/or finalizes business correspondence, memoranda, and other documents for mailing and/or other distribution; prepares exhibits for use at trial, in a hearing, or as attachments to documents/briefs; collates, numbers, sorts, and files documents and other materials produced by or for opposing party in discovery; drafts simple correspondence and memoranda; prepares expense forms and check requests for attorneys; types, collates, and when necessary, calculates attorney hours for recovery of fees from opposing party; arranges business-related travel for attorneys and other professional staff; answers telephones and completes business telephone calls to confirm appointments and court appearances; receives and guides business visitors; and performs other duties as required.

Qualifications and Experience: The successful candidate will have two (2) years experience performing secretarial or clerical tasks in professional office environment. Law office experience highly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: The successful candidate will have basic knowledge of legal terminology and basic understanding of court system and legal documents; knowledge of general organization of pleading/brief dockets and legal correspondence files; basic knowledge of format and content of tables of authorities and contents, pleadings, declarations, and proofs of service; excellent computer skills, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and Internet. Knowledge of Outlook, Word, Adobe Acrobat and Internet search engines; knowledge of proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling sufficient to proofread legal work and to compose simple correspondence; ability to read and understand courts rules and procedures sufficient to prepare and format documents for filing; skill in typing and word processing at a minimum of 50 wpm; knowledge of both legal and general office procedures and routines. Candidates must be able to communicate fluently in both English and Spanish, including the ability to speak, read, write, understand, and translate from one language to the other.

Compensation: $38,700 - $45,600 per year. Salary is commensurate with experience. MALDEF offers a generous benefits package, including 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision for the employee and qualified dependent family members, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance, term life insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution and match, employee assistance plan, 11 paid holidays, and 20 days of personal time off (PTO) per year.

How to Apply: Send cover letter and résumé by email to: View email address on ziprecruiter.com. For ease of processing please title your email as follows: Your Name – LA Legal Secretary . Attachments should be in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt or .pdf format. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Position Open Until Filled.  Equal Opportunity Employer

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Company Description

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "law firm of the Latino community", MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access.

About MALDEF

MALDEF strives to implement programs that are structured to bring Latinos into the mainstream of American political and socio-economic life; providing better educational opportunities; encouraging participation in all aspects of society; and offering a positive vision for the future. Unique to MALDEF is an approach that combines advocacy, educational outreach, and litigation strategies to achieve socio-economic change.

MALDEF has achieved significant legal victories with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe. The Court struck down a Texas law that allowed districts to charge tuition to children of undocumented immigrant parents. MALDEF's victory opened school doors to all students equally. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard seven challenges to a Texas Congressional redistricting plan. Only MALDEF's prevailed. The New York Times described it as "the most important voting rights case of the decade, rejecting the statewide gerrymandering claim brought by...other plaintiffs while accepting the Voting Rights Act challenge in Southwestern Texas, brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund."? The case resulted in new lines drawn for the 23rd Congressional District and a special election (where a MALDEF suit opened the polls early) resulting in the Latino community having the opportunity to elect its candidate of choice to Congress.

MALDEF is headed by a President and General Counsel and is governed by a 30-member national Board of Directors. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MALDEF operates four regional offices in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Company Description

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "law firm of the Latino community", MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access.\r\n\r\nAbout MALDEF\r\n\r\nMALDEF strives to implement programs that are structured to bring Latinos into the mainstream of American political and socio-economic life; providing better educational opportunities; encouraging participation in all aspects of society; and offering a positive vision for the future. Unique to MALDEF is an approach that combines advocacy, educational outreach, and litigation strategies to achieve socio-economic change.\r\n\r\nMALDEF has achieved significant legal victories with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe. The Court struck down a Texas law that allowed districts to charge tuition to children of undocumented immigrant parents. MALDEF's victory opened school doors to all students equally. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard seven challenges to a Texas Congressional redistricting plan. Only MALDEF's prevailed. The New York Times described it as "the most important voting rights case of the decade, rejecting the statewide gerrymandering claim brought by...other plaintiffs while accepting the Voting Rights Act challenge in Southwestern Texas, brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund."? The case resulted in new lines drawn for the 23rd Congressional District and a special election (where a MALDEF suit opened the polls early) resulting in the Latino community having the opportunity to elect its candidate of choice to Congress.\r\n\r\nMALDEF is headed by a President and General Counsel and is governed by a 30-member national Board of Directors. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MALDEF operates four regional offices in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.