Student Loan Paralegal

Employment Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt 

Practice Group/Team: Consumer Finance & Housing (CFH)/Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP)

Organization Information

Empire Justice Center, a diverse and highly respected statewide legal services organization, seeks a Student Loan Paralegal for our Consumer, Finance, and Housing practice group. This is an opportunity to join and grow in one of the most influential organizations serving marginalized low-income individuals and families in New York State. 

Empire Justice Center attracts and employs a diverse team of dedicated, determined, and passionate advocates who significantly impact the lives of low-income New Yorkers. We succeed through direct legal representation, high-impact litigation, and legislative and administrative advocacy. As an organization, we provide top-notch training and technical assistance to other advocates to ensure fairness and justice for New Yorkers. We thrive on our commitment to supporting justice for populations that have historically experienced high levels of oppression. These populations include racially diverse individuals and families experiencing poverty, housing insecurity, immigration issues, and domestic violence. Additionally, the organization advocates for people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, and school-age children facing discrimination and violations of their civil rights in schools.

Our offices in Rochester, Albany, Westchester County, and Long Island offer staff an exciting, dynamic, inclusive working environment with a solid commitment to work/life balance, teamwork, diversity, wellness, and personal/professional development.

Position Summary 

Empire Justice Center is pleased to announce an opening for a Student Loan Paralegal. The Student Loan Paralegal works in Empire Justice’s Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP) within our Consumer Finance and Housing (CFH) practice group. EDCAP was created by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) to help New Yorkers struggling with student debt navigate the student loan repayment system and regain financial health. This position will work closely with and under the supervision of the Managing Attorney. The paralegal will conduct client intakes, perform case management, maintain client records, assist with developing and implementing EDCAP initiatives and programming within Empire Justice, and provide direct services primarily to individuals with student debt in the Capital Region, and elsewhere in New York State if needed.  

Salary

The referenced pay range/scale represents this job's estimated minimum and maximum compensation. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates will be set within the job's compensation range and determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, education, experience, qualifications, expertise of the individual, market data, and internal equity considerations.

The salary range for this position is $40,000-$52,624.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

· Travel to and work in the Albany office is required to meet client and organizational needs.

o This position is eligible for a hybrid work request under the organizational policy.

· Must demonstrate a high level of comfort and commitment to working with people from marginalized communities. 

· Provides information and advice to student loan borrowers based on their circumstances. 

· Help student loan borrowers apply for relief through cancellation, forgiveness, or discharge programs. 

· Conducts outreach and educational presentations on higher education debt-related topics. 

· Develops student loan and financing communications to organizations and individuals, such as training materials and fact sheets, as needed.

· Accurately details and tracks client information in the client database, including Legal Server.

· Conducts intake, including handling intake received by phone and online.

· Engages in administrative duties, including, but not limited to, taking and returning phone calls, drafting correspondence, filing, copying, and scanning documents. 

· Provides litigation support to the attorneys of the practice group.

· Maintains thorough case records of services provided, advice, and/or referrals.

· Obtains, reviews, and maintains information related to program trends and statistics, and, as necessary, creates reports of program trends and statistics. 

· Ability to work in the office and the community, as determined by the supervisor. 

· Ability to travel occasionally, as needed. 

· Works closely with the assigned supervisor and participates in regular supervision meetings, including work plan development and grant deliverable management. 

· Please note that all positions will supervise other practice group members if needed.

· Due to limited resources, all staff are expected to perform administrative and other support-related duties to serve our clients and fulfill our mission as a non-profit legal services organization.

· Other duties as assigned by your supervisor and/or to meet the organization’s needs. 

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) 

· Student loan experience is required. 

· Excellent writing, research, analytical, and grammar skills. 

· Experience conducting outreach, training, and presentations. 

· Demonstrated excellence in utilizing the Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint), with the ability to learn and adapt to other applications quickly. 

· Must demonstrate strong communication skills, including proficiency in technology that facilitates the delivery of communication, documents, and other materials. 

· Ability to communicate effectively in written language. 

· Demonstrated case management experience. 

· Practices effective time management and demonstrates an ability to meet deadlines. 

· Strong presentation and public communication skills. 

· Ability to schedule appointments and manage calendars. 

· Administrative skills, including database and file management. 

· Must demonstrate excellence in technology systems, facilitating the creation and delivery of communication, documents, and record-keeping, among other tasks. 

· Skilled in problem management. 

· Strong organizational skills. 

· Experience with report writing.