Sentencing Resource Counsel Project

Position Announcement

Sentencing Resource Counsel Paralegal

(full-time remote or remote/in-person hybrid position)

Anticipated Start Date: Summer 2026

The National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project (SRC) is accepting applications for the position of full-time paralegal. Candidates must be willing either to (1) work at least several days each week in-office at the Federal Defender Office in Phoenix, AZ, or potentially another Federal Public Defender Office with available space, or (2) work remotely, with occasional travel to Phoenix or another Federal Public Defender Office, with all travel costs reimbursed.

About Us. The National Sentencing Resource Counsel (SRC) is a highly collaborative, mission-based project of the Federal Public and Community Defenders. SRC is one of several national projects that support the work of defenders and CJA-appointed attorneys. SRC staff are federal defender employees of the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Arizona (FDO AZ) and are supervised by the SRC Director. SRC has four, often overlapping focus areas: U.S. Sentencing Commission, Legislation (Congress), Litigation, and Data. Additionally, SRC attorneys regularly train defenders and CJA-appointed attorneys on sentencing-related topics. SRC attorneys do not currently represent individual clients.

Job Requirements. SRC seeks applicants for a newly created paralegal position, to handle a variety of administrative and information management duties that SRC attorneys have historically handled on their own, along with some basic legal and policy research and writing. To qualify for this position, you must:

• be a high school graduate or equivalent, with college degree preferred;
• have at least three years of relevant experience;
• possess excellent interpersonal skills and be highly self-motivated, organized, and detail-oriented, while also excelling in a fast-paced, remote team environment;
• have experience and skills related to personal computing, office administration, procurement practices, and legal work;
• be proficient in the Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat;
• be able to analyze administrative and technological problems and develop solutions;
• be able to communicate effectively with team members and the public; and
• demonstrate good judgment and personal integrity.

Ideal candidates are self-motivated, independent workers who have experience or strong commitment to working with and advocating on behalf of indigent clients. Given the document-intensive nature of much of the work, organizational skills, attention to detail, and time-management are key.

Candidates should have the ability to maintain flexibility, recognize and analyze problems, and recommend practical solutions. Candidates should be able to initiate and finish projects independently, and work collaboratively in a team across the country on other projects. Candidates should also be able to work occasional weekends and holidays as needed.

The individual must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and is required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. Some travel will be required.

Employment is subject to a satisfactory background investigation, including an FBI names and fingerprint check and an IRS tax check. All claimed experience, certifications, training, and references will be checked. U.S. Citizenship is required.

Job Duties. Duties for this new paralegal position will include assisting SRC team members with the following:

• creating, organizing, and maintaining file organizational systems, and more generally managing a large quantity of information, for SRC's remote team;
• planning and facilitating team travel and in-person meetings;
• supporting teammates in formatting, proofreading, and assisting with creation of PowerPoint presentations;
• maintaining technological proficiency, including learning new software and technological support tools to collect, review, analyze, produce, and present legal, policy, data, case, and/or training materials;
• assisting with external outreach, scheduling, SRC-hosted office hours and trainings, and maintaining calendars, as well as maintaining internal trackers, folders, spreadsheets, and tables;
• managing and updating SRC listservs, sample brief bank and other box.com folders, and website;
• proofreading, editing, and formatting lengthy documents, including comments to the Sentencing Commission, letters to Congress and outside agencies, internal memoranda, summaries of research and letters, and potentially legal motions and briefs, in accordance with "Bluebook" and SRC style guides;
• performing legal, policy, and factual research and helping to collect, organize, maintain, and analyze data on developing legal issues across the country;
• gathering and aggregating information on emerging legal topics from FPD and CJA attorneys across the country;
• preparing, gathering, organizing, summarizing, indexing, and/or redacting electronic and paper documents; and
• performing other duties as assigned.

Salary and Benefits. The starting salary for this position is based on experience and qualifications. The starting salary range is at JSP 11 to JSP 14, currently yielding between $78,117 and $171,043 (salary range based on Phoenix locality). This position is in the excepted service and does not carry the tenure rights of the competitive Civil Service. The position does include regular government employee benefits including health and life insurance, retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan. Salary is payable only by Electronic Funds Transfer (direct deposit). All positions are at will and are subject to the availability of funds.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. SRC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and are committed to fostering a culture of equity, inclusion, belonging, and mutual respect, which are central to SRC's mission and work. We seek a team member who shares these values, and we embrace the unique perspectives of individuals from underrepresented and historically marginalized communities. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, height, weight, disability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital or parental status. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in any personnel decisions or employee interactions.

Apply. Qualified persons should apply via the online application system at https://azfd.acquiretm.com/home.aspx. To be considered for the position(s), applicants need to register at the above web address and create an online profile, or login if you already have a profile. Please follow the prompts to upload a letter of interest, rsum, and three references. Please indicate in your letter of interest your unique qualifications, highlighting your experience with paralegal and administrative duties and your interest in remote work and sentencing policy reform. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but no later than May 8, 2026. We may fill current and future positions from this position announcement