Paralegal

Seton Hall Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic (IRC) operates within the Center for Social Justice—a public-interest law firm. The Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative (DDDI), funded by New Jersey’s Office of New Americans, provides legal services to detained immigrants in New Jersey. This grant-funded paralegal will join a team of attorneys and law students to support a high-volume immigration caseload.

Responsibilities

• Oversee incoming mail: sort, date-stamp, scan, and upload documents into Clio or other case-management systems.
• Manage outgoing mail: arrange pickup/drop-off, process service, coordinate FedEx/overnight deliveries, verify delivery via process servers or certified receipts, and handle FedEx invoicing.
• Conduct sensitive client intake interviews, gather evidence, and perform conflict checks before case acceptance.
• Translate and interpret documents and conversations between Spanish and English in the office, at detention centers, and during phone contact with clients.
• Maintain case files: open, update, and close both paper and electronic files; ensure Clio uploads match physical files and notify clients upon case closure.
• Communicate with clients, family members, and witnesses; make referrals to other agencies; schedule appointments; and reserve meeting spaces.
• Prepare immigration forms, motions, affidavits, and other legal documents for attorney review before filing.
• Perform related temporary tasks as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent training.
• Fluency in Spanish (written and spoken).
• General clerical/legal-assistant skills and knowledge of legal-office procedures.
• Ability to communicate professionally with clients, attorneys, judges, USCIS administrators, detention staff, and the public.

Pay

$31.217 per hour (non-exempt).

Benefits

• Bundled medical, prescription, and vision insurance.
• Dental and life insurance.
• Retirement plan.
• Additional programs to simplify and enrich daily life.

Seton Hall University is located in South Orange, New Jersey, 14 miles from New York City. It is the oldest Catholic diocesan university in the United States, with approximately 6,300 undergraduates and 3,700 graduate students.