Paralegal

Position Overview

A significant barrier to the empowerment of our clients is having a criminal record, which affects job eligibility and housing access. Our clients also experience a myriad of other legal issues that impact their ability to reach their goals of restoration and building the life they long for and deserve.

The Paralegal will assist and support the Director of Legal Services in the navigation and services survivors need in the form of on-site legal support. This position is a dedicated one-to-one support role, with the paralegal working exclusively alongside a single attorney to manage all aspects of an active family law and criminal record-clearing practice. NFNL does not represent members on active criminal matters or cases involving monetary damages.

Reporting Relationship

The Paralegal reports directly to the Director of Legal Services.

Job Responsibilities

• At the direction of the Director of Legal Services, provides paraprofessional trauma-informed legal services to adult female clients who are actively engaged in our program, in accordance with the program's mission and programmatic guidelines.
• Manages an active caseload of approximately five to ten family law matters simultaneously, with additional responsibility for processing expunctions on an as-needed basis.
• Calendars and tracks all deadlines, hearings, and appointments using case management software.
• Assists the Director of Legal Services in the planning and coordination of outside legal clinics hosted by NFNL on an occasional basis, supporting logistics, client intake, and document preparation.
• Serves as a primary point of contact for client communication, managing incoming inquiries and coordinating client scheduling with the Director of Legal Services to ensure timely case progression.
• Provides investigatory support function to gather case-relevant information, coordinating with medical, financial, employment, educational, and criminal agencies to obtain required documentation for organization and attorney review.
• Prepares trial notebooks, witness lists, and exhibit binders as needed by the Director of Legal Services.
• Drafts legal documents which may include motions, decrees, orders, letters, pleadings, and other written documents related to assigned cases or projects.
• Organizes, maintains, and archives all documentation related to cases, referrals, and legal clinics.
• At the direction of the supervisor, coordinates with community-based organizations that work closely with our client communities to identify legal issues important to survivors.
• At the direction of the supervisor, makes referrals of clients to appropriate alternative or additional sources of legal assistance.

• Stays abreast of changes in legal framework as they related to the duties of the position and our client and agency needs.
• Creates and maintains caseload data and statistics in accordance with grant requirements and the needs of the agency.
• May participate in advocacy and presentations to community groups.
• Attends in-house trainings, conferences, staff meetings, and agency events.
• Performs other duties as requested.

Required Job Qualifications, Education, Skills:

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field and/or graduate from an ABA-approved paralegal program.
• Family Board Certified Paralegal certification through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) preferred.
• Family law experience required.
• Criminal Record-Clearing experience not required, but preferred.
• At least 2 years of paralegal work experience (may include internships)
• A strong commitment to serving others and ability to work compassionately and respectfully with clients in crisis.

NFNL offers a highly competitive benefits package. We promote an overall healthy work/life balance by offering exceptional PTO policies, extra paid holidays and extended paid days off between Christmas and NYE. We take great care of our employees so they can take great care of our clients!