PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

For over 50 years, CCLS has been representing and advocating for low-income individuals in Merced, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Fresno, Tulare, and Kings Counties. With more than 90 employees, CCLS works to provide high quality, no-cost civil legal services to low-income individuals, families, and communities—improving the wellbeing of our Valley through systems-changing advocacy, client education, and legal work that meets individual clients’ immediate needs. We also work closely with agencies and community organizations that share our commitment to support our clients in being their own agents of change. 

In addition to CCLS’s main service area, CCLS’s Health Consumer Center also assists consumers with health-related issues in the counties of Stanislaus, San Benito, Madera, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Under supervision of the Health Consumer Center Directing Attorney, the paralegal will be assigned to the Merced office, working with a team of attorneys, paralegals, and intake clerks in providing advice, counsel, outreach, and representation to clients and the client community dealing with a variety of issues related to healthcare access, systems and agencies.

DUTIES

• Work with CCLS advocates to ensure delivery of high-quality legal representation to clients consistent with CCLS program priorities;
• Develop and maintain relationships with client groups and community-based service providers, and work with them to identify community lawyering opportunities;
• Identify and analyze systemic issues through individual and impact casework;
• Participate in planning and strategy meetings with project partners and statewide networks of Legal Aid advocates;
• Participate in weekly CCLS case review meetings, keep abreast of changes in the law, including continuing legal education, and adhere to CCLS policies and procedures;
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working with low-income clients, collaborating effectively with diverse groups of individuals and organizations, and connecting and strategizing with local community leaders;
• Ability to communicate effectively with people with communication barriers including those who are stressed or confused, those who suffer from physical or mental disabilities or those for whom English is a second language;
• Previous Legal Aid or other non-profit legal services experience desirable;
• Bilingual ability strongly preferred (Hmong/English, Spanish/English, Punjabi/English);
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills;
• Comfortable working under pressure, on a team or independently, passionate about the work, inquisitive, and analytical;
• Commitment to the rights and empowerment of clients;
• Ability to travel as needed and proof of liability and property insurance on vehicle used.

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Education, training and experience sufficient to meet the requirements of Business & Professions Code § 6450, including documentation of at least one of the following:

• A certificate of completion of a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association;
• A certificate of completion of a paralegal program, or a degree from a postsecondary institution that requires the successful completion of a minimum of 24 semester (or equivalent) units in law-related courses and that has been accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization or approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education;
• A baccalaureate degree or an advanced degree in any subject, a minimum of one year of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California for at least the preceding three years or who has practiced in the federal courts of this state for at least the preceding three years, and a written declaration from this attorney stating that the person is qualified to perform paralegal tasks;
• A high school diploma or general equivalency diploma, a minimum of three years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California for at least the preceding three years or who has practiced in the federal courts of this state for at least the preceding three years, and a written declaration from this attorney stating that the person is qualified to perform paralegal tasks.

CCLS is an equal opportunity employer: we value equity, inclusion, and diversity, across all races, cultures, classes, ages, religions, gender identities and presentations, sexual orientations, body sizes, family structures, abilities, and all categories protected by law. We encourage all interested individuals to apply. CCLS is subject to a Collective Bargaining Agreement.