Legal Assistant

Legal Assistant

Position Description 

Date: 1/21/2025 

FULL TIME and NON EXEMPT

Reports to: Senior Manager of Legal Services

Schedule of Hours:  Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm

Position Remote Eligible: No

Mandated Reporter: No       

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

As the only agency in San Mateo County with the sole purpose of serving those experiencing intimate partner abuse, CORA provides safety, support and healing. CORA’s comprehensive services include a 24-hour hotline, collaboration with law enforcement, emergency shelter options, legal services and family-centered mental health therapy. In addition, CORA provides community education and prevention programming throughout the county.  CORA is a multicultural agency committed to serving individuals, regardless of age, ethnicity/race, financial status, language, sexual orientation, immigration status, class, religion, gender, gender expression, mental or physical ability.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Legal Assistant works on site at CORA’s community office. This role is responsible for providing support to CORA’s legal team of attorneys and advocates, coordination of services across departments, and limited direct legal services to survivors of intimate partner domestic violence. This role is distinguished from the Legal Advocate position in that the Legal Advocate position involves significant direct legal services including conducting full intakes, regularly assisting clients to complete legal documents, and accompanying clients to court, mediation, and law enforcement appointments. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Administrative Support:

• Support legal team with litigation case management, including: opening and closing case files, completing Judicial Council forms, drafting correspondence, filing documents, and serving legal documents by mail.
• Regularly enter accurate case notes into the agency’s database – EmpowerDB – and update other trackers and data as needed. 
• Provide clear and exact translations of written materials and interpretation of verbal communication in Spanish and English. 
• Maintain the confidentiality of client, staff, volunteer, and agency information. 
• Provide front office reception coverage for the receptionist’s lunch break or when they are out of the office (legal department is assigned one day per week). 
• Coordinate assignments of legal volunteers and work with legal department staff to ensure volunteers are trained and supported in their work with CORA legal program. 

Client Support:

• Ensure timely completion of interviews, intakes, and assessments for clients seeking legal services.
• Conduct initial intakes and provide supportive services including basic legal information and referrals to clients in-person and via telephone.
• Schedule meetings and coordinate delivery and receipt of client documents. 
• Engage in client-specific advocacy to meet identified client needs, such as contact with other service providers, law enforcement, etc. 
• Work closely with other CORA departments in order to best serve clients and the community. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bilingual in Spanish and English.
• Experience with legal systems and systems advocacy. Experience with family law and criminal law preferred. 
• Ability to comprehend and analyze legal information, including statutes, and to explain it in an understandable way. 
• Completion of 40-hour domestic violence training. Candidates who have not completed the 40-hour training will be required to do so and will be provided by CORA. 
• Associate of Arts (AA) degree in Social Work, Psychology, or a related field. Additional degrees or relevant certifications are preferred. Candidates with a high school diploma or equivalent and significant work experience in domestic violence services, crisis intervention, and community engagement may be considered in lieu of the AA degree.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/ PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

• Valid CA Driver’s license, insurance and ability to drive own vehicle for work purposes to travel within San Mateo County.
• Successful results from a criminal background check, including fingerprinting clearance from the Department of Justice.
• Eligibility to work in the United States. 

MANDATED REPORTER STATUS 

This position is not subject to mandated reporting under California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA).  Such a report, including sharing information with another employee who is a mandated reporter position without following "release of confidential information" policies is a breach of confidentiality is a violation of state and federal law and can result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

CORA HISTORY AND OVERVIEW

CORA has provided services to survivors of intimate partner abuse since 1977. Our Sites include Crisis Intervention Services, including a 24-hour hotline, collaboration with law enforcement, emergency shelter options, and supportive counseling. Family Support Services provides mental health therapy, supportive/transitional housing, and a children’s Site. CORA has robust legal services for survivors of domestic violence and provides educational workshops about the dynamics of domestic violence and healthy relationship skills. CORA is strengths-based, collaborative, accessible, and client-centered. CORA believes that everyone deserves to be treated with respect in their intimate relationships. We provide safety, support and healing to individuals who experience abuse in an intimate relationship and educate the community to break the cycle of domestic violence. Regardless of a survivor’s race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or culture, we save lives and provide an opportunity to begin again. CORA inspires work of the highest caliber by fostering staff engagement through transparency and inclusion in agency decisions wherever possible. We strive to ensure our policies and communications reflect an appreciation of the impact of social inequities, historical and current, and actively promote healthy relationships amongst staff by demonstrating mutual respect in all our communications. 

CORA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We seek diversity with respect to race, color, age, sex, (including breastfeeding and medical conditions related to breastfeeding), religion (including religious dress or grooming practices), national origin, mental or physical disability, genetic characteristics and information, ancestry, marital status, family status, political belief, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), medical condition, military, or veteran status or any other category or status protected by Federal, State or other applicable laws. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the individual(s) assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary. In addition, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. 

All applicants are welcome. Individuals who are bilingual, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community and/or survivors of domestic violence are strongly encouraged to apply. The position will remain open until filled.