Job Title: Denver Housing Unit Paralegal

Location: Denver, Colorado

Classification: Non-exempt

Reports To: Denver Housing Unit Assistant Supervising Attorney

Salary Range: $45,034 - $60,997 (Commensurate with experience)

Organization Overview:

Colorado Legal Services (CLS) is Colorado’s statewide nonprofit legal aid program, with thirteen offices providing civil legal assistance to low-income Coloradans throughout the state. CLS provides free legal assistance in a broad variety of legal areas, including family law, public benefits, eviction defense, consumer protection, services to survivors of serious crime and human trafficking, and many others.

CLS has strengthened lives, assisted families, and supported communities–one person at a time for over 90 years. We are committed to providing high-quality, free legal advice and representation to eligible individuals throughout Colorado. We have a long history of successful impact and advocacy. CLS strives to bring about substantive, transformational change in the lives of those we serve.

Position Summary:

The Denver Housing Unit (DHU) empowers Colorado tenants through passionate and strategic collaboration, advocacy, and expertise. We believe that all Colorado tenants should be able to find and retain high quality and affordable housing. Our focus is eviction defense. Eviction cases move quickly, and we manage a high caseload. We work to provide as many clients as possible with legal and related services, and when we cannot, we provide referrals to appropriate organizations/services. We work on cases from our four housing advice clinics in Arapahoe and Adams Counties and in the Cities and Counties of Denver and Broomfield, in addition to cases received from the CLS intake system.

Paralegals in the DHU play a crucial role in empowering tenants. They will be assigned to staff one of our courthouse clinics two to three days a week, assist attorneys with casework, and educate the community about tenants’ rights. More experienced paralegals can advance to become case handlers. Under attorney supervision, you could advocate for clients in a variety of circumstances, including drafting letters or requests to landlords or participating in subsidy termination hearings. Our team has many niches to fill. We strive to offer opportunities to tailor your job to your housing law interests through projects.

If you are passionate about direct client service, eager to learn a complex area of law, and committed to being a fierce advocate, we are looking for you! We value having a diverse team. We actively encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and personal experiences related to housing instability to apply.

Essential Duties:

These are the core tasks critical to successfully fulfilling the job's requirements:

• Provide professional and technical assistance to Denver Housing Unit attorneys
• Staff a courthouse clinic in one of the one of the clinics the DHU services (Arapahoe, Adams, Broomfield, and Denver Counties) up to three days a week, offering direct support to tenants facing eviction. Duties include:
  • Serving as a professional clinic contact point for CLS and partner organizations
  • Interviewing applicants to gather relevant facts, documents, and identify legal issues to determine eligibility for our services and alignment with our case priorities
  • Referring applicants and clients to partner organizations, including "warm hand-offs" when appropriate, by providing pertinent information
  • Offering detailed administrative support to the clinic, including data entry into Legal Server, managing client documents, and organizing clinic operations
  • Researching potential defenses and assisting attorneys in drafting routine pleadings
• Collaborate with attorneys to discuss case details, potential strategies, and client goals:
  • Investigate cases, conduct client and witness interviews, review documents, and contact case workers
  • Independently conduct legal research for attorney review
• Draft written communications to clients, opposing counsel, and other organizations, ensuring timely contact within deadlines
• Support the training of new staff, including job shadowing
• Assist in the timely closure of cases and other administrative tasks
• Conduct community education and outreach by participating in events, meeting with partner organizations, and delivering Know Your Rights presentations

Required Qualifications:

• 1 year(s) of customer service experience or volunteer work with low-income or other vulnerable communities
• Ability to work independently managing multiple tasks, while meeting deadlines with acute attention to detail
• Competence in drafting accurate, detailed writing
• Dedication to housing justice for low-income and vulnerable populations
• Ability to travel to and from the courthouse clinic assigned (Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield or Denver) two to three days a week

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, and/or paralegal certification from an ABA accredited program
• 1 year(s) of experience in legal support, paralegal work, intake specialist roles, or other relevant position
• Knowledge of Colorado court procedure, federal or state housing law, or housing subsidy programs
• Previous experience performing investigations, legal research, or community education about complex topics
• Previous experience working with people with mental health issues
• Understanding of community resources such as mutual aid groups, food banks, and government programs

Compensation and Benefits:

We offer a generous plan that includes 100% employer paid premiums for employee health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance as well as partial employer paid premiums for spouses/dependents, based on a sliding scale. We also offer Dependent Care and Medical Flexible spending accounts, a 403(b) retirement account, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Additionally, CLS offers a $350.00 monthly stipend (to be used as you choose), generous paid time-off and 12.5 paid holidays per year. CLS values its employees’ commitment to working hard for the population it serves and recognizes the importance of work/life balance; therefore, we offer flexible work schedules and hybrid work arrangements as appropriate. We promote and foster a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and psychologically safe work environment, striving to be a “Best Place to Work” in Colorado.

How to Apply: Please use the "Apply for This Job" link for this job opening on our careers page. We will not be reviewing applications sent via e-mail or physical mail. 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging:

CLS embraces diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building and retaining a workforce that respects and empowers each individual and represents a variety of diverse cultures, perspectives, skills, and experiences. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply for this position.