Administrative Associate

Position OverviewThis student- and community-facing position is responsible for providing specialized support for the operations of an in-house nonprofit legal aid clinic in which KU School of Law faculty and students represent individuals in a range of legal matters in Kansas municipal and state courts.

This position involves litigation support for all aspects of the clinic’s trial-level litigation practice, office and financial management, and educational support and training. The clinic is a small law firm serving low-income individuals in an average of 250 cases a year through the work of two faculty members and a small group of students each semester. This position requires outstanding independence, creativity, and attention to detail and offers candidates a collaborative, professional work environment with public-service-oriented faculty, students, and members of the broader community.

Candidates best positioned for this work will exhibit excellent time management, the ability to communicate professionally and compassionately with a range of stakeholders, and experience working independently to improve and implement case management systems to be used in a collaborative environment.

The position is full-time and benefits eligible.Job Description

Specialized Administrative (Legal) Support: (60%)

Perform Litigation Office Support Including

• Maintain front office presence to communicate professionally in person and over the phone; provide appropriate referral and resource information with clients the clinics cannot serve; maintain community resource and referral network information for visitors and law students to use when connecting clients with outside agencies; supervise student worker who may provide front desk support at times.
• Conduct initial client/case screening and intake; interact with prospective clients;
• Administer and adapt the electronic confidential case management system (Clio) and implement consistent internal workflows to open, organize, process and docket cases, complete tasks, enter party information, and conduct conflict checks; maintain integrity of data and file structure practices;
• Use electronic case management systems to ethically and precisely update and manage court appearance calendars of up to 14 students and faculty per semester, and to organize case documents, videos, and work product.
• Review, proofread, format, and file legal documents with various courts (municipal, state) through electronic and traditional means; ensure notice by mail or publication are consistently delivered in accordance with court rules.
• Track requests for and receipt of discovery; download and organize discovery files in the electronic case management system.

Specialized Administrative (Office Management) Support: (30%)

• Maintain a welcoming front desk / reception environment in the clinic space, responding to community requests and coordinating responses with faculty.
• Communicate professionally with court personnel, law students, clients, attorneys, and other outside stakeholders in written and oral formats.
• Manage all office equipment and supplies, including inventorying and ordering/replacing supplies, communicating with University IT and outside vendors to administer clinic phones, computers, databases and other technology, and coordinating IT onboarding and offboarding of legal intern students each semester.
• Perform law firm accounting functions including processing payments; ethically managing client trust accounts and maintaining accurate financial records; billing outside parties for case work; depositing checks, collaborating with faculty on budget planning, invoicing, and grant application requirements; Participate in preparation of financial materials and reports for grant applications; assist Director in working with internal (KU) and external accountants to provide information for budget and tax reports and provide quarterly reports to Board of Directors for financial oversight. Assist Director in organizing periodic Board of Directors meetings.

Educational Student Support: (10%)

• Support faculty in recruiting, screening, and onboarding enrolled students.
• Collaborate with registrar and faculty to ensure student practice permitting through the Kansas Supreme Court prior to each semester and ensure adequate supervision of student legal work in accordance with ethical rules.
• Collaborate with faculty to orient and educate students about office practices and procedures; perform litigation/paralegal support as needed to prepare student/attorney-drafted documents for court filing; provide feedback for clinic faculty to help assess and develop student performance in office procedures and other tasks.
• Collaborate with students and faculty to assign new cases to students; monitor clinic caseloads and student workloads; and implement improvements to clinic workflow.
• Prepare and maintain classroom materials, office manuals, and Canvas educational site.
• Role model excellent law office practices for student learning; continually update knowledge base and collaborate with faculty to develop and teach emerging best practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Position RequirementsThis position is located on-site at the KU School of Law, Lawrence campus. Required Qualifications

High School diploma or GED equivalency and two years of office experience or two years of post-secondary education.

Excellent computer skills and proficiency in legal databases, in addition to Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams, and other Microsoft Office Suite products, as demonstrated in application materials; and

Demonstrated ability to apply mathematical and accounting principles to maintain accurate financial records and prepare internal data and budgets, as evidenced by application materials.Preferred Qualifications

Significant experience and/or training as a paralegal, legal assistant, judicial clerk, or other legal office role, or in litigation support; including some familiarity with state electronic filing systems and legal document preparation.

Associate degree or bachelor’s degree.

Proficiency in Clio case management system, or evidence of prior work in similar systems and willingness to attend training.

Proficiency in basic tasks of budgeting, account management, and trust account maintenance.

Excellent organizational, time management, and oral and written communication skills as evidenced by application materials and work history.

Demonstrated people skills and ability to work independently as well as effectively as part of a team.

Able to proofread and format legal documents/briefs for filing in district and appellate courts.

Experience in educational or nonprofit organizations or with vulnerable populations experiencing mental health, substance abuse, legal, financial, or other challenges.Additional Candidate InstructionsA completed online application consists of:

• A cover letter explaining your interest in the position and an assessment of your skills related to the required and preferred qualifications.
• A resume.
• A list of three professional references, including name, position, company/organization, and phone or email contact information.

Review of applications will begin June 8, 2026 and continue until a pool of qualified applicants is identified. To ensure priority consideration, apply by the review date. Contact Information to ApplicantsMelanie Daily, Director,

Douglas County Legal Aid Clinic

***email_hidden***

Advertised Salary Range$40,000Application Review BeginsMonday June 8, 2026Anticipated Start DateMonday June 29, 2026Apply to Job