Paralegal

Paralegal

The Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC) is a legal nonprofit and membership organization. We are widely recognized for systemic change litigation and for education and support for lawyers, advocates, and individuals with questions about the areas in which we practice. CREEC is seeking a full time Paralegal. This is a full-time non-exempt position with benefits. The paralegal may work remotely. If the selected candidate is local to Denver (CO), there will be the opportunity to work from our Denver office.

Our Mission

CREEC’s goal is to ensure that everyone can fully and independently participate in our nation’s civic life without discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

We challenge discrimination through litigation and education, seeking systemic change and improvement in individual lives. CREEC provides legal expertise as well as education and resources to individuals, advocates, and lawyers in the immigrant and civil rights communities.

CREEC’s work focuses on empowering communities through education and instructional resources, discourse, outreach, advocacy, collaboration, and well-timed humor. However, our work doesn’t stop there. We investigate and hold to account the powerful and the privileged. We file individual, systemic, and class action lawsuits while tenaciously protecting the civil rights of protected classes.

Position Overview

CREEC has a heavy case load of litigation and advocacy projects. We need someone who can keep track of the details of these projects, help with client outreach and communications, manage case documents and research, schedule and host remote meetings, and generally help to run and keep organized all but the purely legal aspects of each case.

We are looking for someone who can grasp legal concepts accurately and work under attorney supervision to help craft communications that explain them in an accessible manner, who has strong listening skills, and who can navigate sensitive conversations.

Responsibilities/Attributes

• Under attorney supervision, you may be asked to draft basic pleadings and correspondence, interview potential witnesses, and assist with investigations, strong communication and writing skills are a must.
• Under attorney supervision, you may serve as a point of contact for our clients in both complex litigation and direct representation. Your tasks may include conducting intake interviews, scheduling legal calls, and helping to update clients on the status of our advocacy.
• Ability to multitask and openness to general support work. We are a small operation, so the paralegal will also serve as an assistant for CREEC’s program work, including providing general support to attorneys, taking notes on calls, receiving and sending mail, and general administrative tasks as needed.
• Attention to detail and ability to internalize and synthesize information. Your work may include reviewing and coding evidence for pending cases, conducting basic, factual research, and drafting program-related outreach; so, you will need to be able to internalize the aspects and needs of a project on both a macro and micro level.
• Computer + social media skills. The paralegal will do web-based research and use Microsoft programs, scheduling platforms, and specialized litigation software. You will also be involved with social media strategy—including staying engaged in the movement landscape, uplifting others’ posts and creating original content for the project.
• Ability to work well with other people and alone. Under attorney supervision, the ideal candidate will be comfortable interacting with potential and current clients, court personnel, cooperating and opposing counsel, and the wide variety of people who contact our organization. While teamwork is really important at CREEC, you’ll also do well here if you’re a self-starter within parameters defined by attorney supervisors. You’ll have opportunities to take ownership of projects that are assigned to you and to suggest strategies, so you should be willing to take initiative, and work independently when advised. Lastly, although we try to maintain contact with our team through email, chats, and weekly check-ins, this is a remote position that lacks the in-person interaction that one would get if working with colleagues in a physical office. The ideal candidate will be aware of and comfortable with the unique challenges of a remote environment, including in onboarding, fostering connection and collaboration with a long-distance team, and time management.
• Passion. We’re looking for someone committed to intersectional liberation and curious about creative ways to work towards this goal. While it’s not required, we’re particularly interested in candidates who have lived or professional experience in immigrant and/or disabled communities.
• Empathy. The nature of our work can be intense. Most, if not all, of our clients have experienced trauma and discrimination, and we deal with systems that are cruel, incompetent, and violent. We are looking for a candidate who will extend empathy first and foremost to our clients, and also to themselves, and to their team here at CREEC.
• Humility. The paralegal will encounter new experiences, strategies, and perspectives throughout their time with CREEC. We look for someone who is committed to learning and to approaching differences with patience and respect.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Proficiency in a second language (especially Spanish or ASL) is strongly preferred
• Experience with Microsoft programs and social media platforms
• Adequate space to work from home while maintaining productivity and confidentiality
• Secure, reliable, and private Internet connection
• Strong communication skills and ability to grasp and help articulate legal concepts in an accessible manner, under attorney supervision
• Experience using document management systems and coding evidence is preferred

Salary & Benefits

This is a non-exempt hourly position, with a 7.5 hr work day and 37.5-hour work week. A paralegal in the Denver area, with 5 years’ experience, would have a pay rate of $34.68/hr. Actual pay is commensurate with internal pay scales at CREEC, and is based on years’ experience, geographic location of the candidate, and other factors.

Benefits include a health insurance plan with employee premiums paid in full by CREEC, vision & dental insurance, a retirement plan with employer matching, an annual education allowance for job-related learning, paid vacation and sick leave, monthly personal days (including three paid “summer” days off for each of the months of June, July and August), and necessary office equipment to work remotely. CREEC also observes paid holidays, including during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Each benefit is subject to the eligibility requirements as specified in plan documents, and CREEC reserves the right to modify the benefits it offers from time to time.