Legal Assistant

About the role

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a dynamic social justice organization that strives to ensure a high-quality education for New York students who face barriers to academic success, focusing on students from low-income backgrounds. AFC works on behalf of children and youth who are at greatest risk of academic failure due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status/limited English proficiency, or involvement in the child welfare or juvenile/criminal legal systems. AFC uses uniquely integrated strategies to advance systemic reform, empower families and communities, and advocate for the educational rights of individual students, grounded in its values of family‑centered service, expertise, passion, community, justice, and impact.

Responsibilities

• Tracking and following up on money owed by the Department of Education to parents, schools, and service providers as a result of litigation
• Billing, negotiating, and accounting for fees owed to AFC by the Department of Education when AFC prevails in a case
• Processing, reporting on, and accounting for AFC’s client loan funds and coordinating with Hebrew Free Loan Society, which administers the funds
• Analyzing and preparing data on loans and legal fees for budgeting and auditing, including partnering with the Operations and Development teams to provide additional support as needed
• Assisting in casework including communicating with clients, preparing for hearings, and keeping records
• Based on demonstrated ability and capacity, the opportunity to learn to advocate on behalf of clients and handle casework

Qualifications

• Understanding of and alignment with AFC’s mission
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti‑racism principles
• A bachelor's degree
• 1‑2 years of relevant post‑college work experience
• Excellent technical skills, especially in Excel
• Experience with Salesforce or similar data management system, a plus
• Strong organizational skills and attentiveness to accuracy and detail
• Ability to think proactively, anticipate problems, and develop effective solutions
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks, prioritize them, meet deadlines, and escalate issues as appropriate
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a variety of people
• Ability to work independently and in a team
• Spanish fluency preferred

Pay

Salary range: $63,702 – $69,323, depending on experience.

Benefits

• Medical and dental insurance, with a plan option that covers full payment of medical plan premiums for staff and their qualified dependents
• Generous time‑off policies: 10 federal holidays, office closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day, 15 vacation days and 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment
• 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match
• Coverage of the premium cost of life insurance and short‑term and long‑term disability insurance

Schedule

Expected to work at least 2 days a week in the office and remotely on the remaining days.