The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is looking for a Paralegal to join our team! The Paralegal will be a dynamic professional who is looking for a meaningful opportunity in a proven and vibrant organization that makes profound differences in the lives of individuals. Our mission is timely, our staff is committed to protecting civil liberties, and we are poised to succeed, with a growing community of more than 30,000 donors and members.

At the ACLU of Minnesota, we take pride in our reputation of over 70 years of fighting the hard fight for people whose civil liberties are threatened or denied. And now—as we navigate the current threats to our civil liberties —is the ideal time to join us!

Under the direction of the Legal Director, the Paralegal is responsible for assisting the Legal Director in efficiently running the ACLU of Minnesota’s legal program, which includes litigation support for staff attorneys, day-to-day management of legal intake and requests for assistance, and other administrative and clerical tasks. The Paralegal will oversee legal intake volunteers and interns.

The position is based in our Minneapolis office, providing access to the best that the Twin Cities area offers. The ACLU of Minnesota currently employs a hybrid work environment with some level of remote work acceptable. This is also a bargaining unit position within the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild.

Our Paralegal will provide:

LITIGATION AND LEGAL ADVOCACY SUPPORT

  • Provide paralegal support for a wide range of federal, state, and administrative litigation, including impact litigation, complex class-action litigation, appeals, and amicus briefs.
  • Assist in case management, including maintenance of electronic files, physical files, court records, and litigation calendars; anticipate and identify potential litigation tasks and prepare accordingly.
  • Prepare, format, file and serve legal pleadings and other documents, such as notices, motions, briefs, exhibits, and discovery in state and federal trial courts and courts of appeal; assist with finalizing pleadings and exhibits; and prepare and serve discovery requests and responses as appropriate.
  • Research court rules and procedures to ensure accuracy of filings.
  • Coordinate all logistics for depositions, client meetings or conference calls, service of process, courtesy copy delivery, and other litigation support.
  • Maintain communication with clients, cooperating attorneys, opposing counsel, and court staff throughout the duration of a case.
  • Draft legal letters, open records requests under state and federal laws, and other correspondence as requested, and manage responses, including calendaring deadlines, and ensuring the deadlines are met.
  • Cite check pleadings and/or other court submissions, as requested.
  • Assist with drafting and finalizing correspondence and legal documents, by means of cite-checking, formatting, and proofreading.

LEGAL PROGRAM SUPPORT

  • Assist in factual research in support of current and potential legal advocacy and litigation, through interviews, internet research, and use of open records laws.
  • Assist with management of the legal intake process, including screening, investigating, and responding to legal intake and requests for assistance and maintaining intake records.
  • Assist in training and supervising volunteers to handle intake requests.
  • Assist attorneys with fact-finding interviews related to potential civil liberties violations.
  • Process incoming and outgoing Legal Department mail.
  • Maintain an internal legal docket with a brief narrative and list of attorneys and parties for each active legal case and ensure that the case information is accurate and up to date.
  • Coordinate and provide information to legal volunteers, including cooperating attorneys, and law student externs and interns as requested by the Staff Attorneys.
  • Assist with special projects and other additional duties as assigned by the Legal Director and Staff Attorneys
  • Provide other administrative support for staff attorneys and other staff as requested.

STRATEGY

  • Assist legal department staff to identify concrete short-to-medium-term objectives and to develop the appropriate integrated organizational plans to advance the strategic priorities identified in the ACLU-MN Strategic Plan.
  • Strive to keep legal work focused on and in line with the ACLU-MN Strategic Plan.

Our new Paralegal will have these essential attributes:

  • At least 3 years of paralegal experience.
  • Excellent writing, editing, formatting, and proofreading skills, with careful attention to detail.
  • General familiarity and comfort with the basics of legal terminology, the legal process, and procedures for filing and serving litigation documents in federal and state court.
  • Prior experience with litigation support, including discovery, motion practice, and formatting briefs.
  • Basic working knowledge of Westlaw and internet research.
  • Experience with federal and Minnesota state courts’ online e-filing systems.
  • Ability to organize and maintain legal files, physically and electronically.
  • Must be comfortable with frequent client contact, protecting clients’ best interests, maintaining confidentiality, and other ethical duties of the legal profession.
  • Excellent time management and organizational skills, including an ability to maintain focus and manage workflow in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while juggling competing priorities and assignments from multiple attorneys.
  • Proficiency with computers, including Microsoft Windows, Word, Outlook, and related office software. Ability to master new software such as an intake database and e-discovery document review platforms.
  • Ability to handle day-to-day legal intake and supervise legal intake interns and volunteers.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to work with a diverse clientele. Patience, sensitivity, and empathy are critical.
  • Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; a personal approach that values the individual and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance.

We would appreciate people who will also bring:

  • Knowledge of Spanish, Hmong, East African languages, or other languages likely to be spoken by clients with limited English proficiency.
  • Experience/familiarity with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
  • Experience with civil rights litigation.
  • Paralegal certificate desirable, but not required.
  • Adaptability, organizational skills, and self-motivation.

Finally, our next Paralegal will bring a commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU of Minnesota, along with a personal dedication to a professional team that will bring us into our next 70 years as Minnesota’s guardian of liberty.

COMPENSATION:

Salary is commensurate with experience within the range of $65,000 - $70,000 per year. We offer excellent benefits, including health insurance, life and long-term disability insurance; a 401(k) plan with employer contribution; and sick, vacation, and holiday leave.

Are You Ready to Help Lead Us into the Future?

TO APPLY:

Submit a letter of interest, a resume or C.V., a legal writing sample of no longer than five pages, links to any other relevant writing samples, a diversity, equity and inclusion statement and three professional references, identifying their relationship to you and including their email addresses and phone numbers. References will not be contacted until you are considered a finalist for one of our positions. Also, please let us know how you learned of this career opportunity!

Click Here to Apply

All attachments must be in Word or .pdf format.

Applications will be fully considered if received by Friday March 29, 2024. If this job sounds interesting, please apply immediately!

ACLU-MN is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. ACLU-MN encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or record of arrest or conviction.

ACLU-MN undertakes affirmative action strategies in its recruitment and employment efforts to assure that persons with disabilities have full opportunities for employment in all positions. We encourage applicants with disabilities who may need accommodations in the application process to contact: jburman@aclu-mn.org. (Correspondence sent to this email address that is not related to requests for accommodations will not be reviewed.)