Careers - CARPLS

CARPLS Legal Aid was established as the first legal aid hotline in the country in 1993 and has been a national innovator ever since. The organization’s mission is to ensure that anyone in need can access legal help. Through its committed staff and continued technological development, CARPLS has grown into a lead partner on four statewide programs and serves Cook County as the largest provider of free legal services.

Communications & Marketing Intern

CARPLS Legal Aid is offering a remote, 16-week internship in the communications and marketing department to help assist in:

Social media management
Content writing and editing (blogs, press releases, website copy, newsletter, and more)
Layout design (graphic design skills a huge plus)
Media list building
Other projects based on interest and skillset

Preferred skills:

Proficient in Microsoft Office
Interested in and competent in research skills, data, and social media/marketing
Great organizational skills
Spanish speaker is a plus but not a must
Undergraduate and Graduate students are welcome to apply
Internship may be most suitable for a student in the communications department, but any area of study is welcome

Details

20 hours per week
Hours are flexible but preferred to have some working hours Monday-Friday, 9-5
$20 per hour

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Development & Marketing Associate

Under the direct supervision of the Director of Development, the Development & Marketing Associate (DMA) supports all aspects of fundraising and marketing for the organization. The DMA supports CARPLS’ long-term fundraising and marketing plans that include expanding grant opportunities, increasing individual giving, organizing special events, and increasing CARPLS’ visibility in the community and on social media with consistent messaging. The DMA also works closely with and under the direction of the Director of Communications, and supports the work of the Executive Director, Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and Associate Board to promote CARPLS in the community.

Supervised By: Director of Development

Supervises: None

Status: Full-time, Exempt

Salary: $45,000-50,000 (commensurate with experience)

Location: Hybrid, with a minimum of two days on-site

Date: 03/27/2023

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Individual and Corporate Giving

Helps develop Annual Fund Campaign messaging to reach individual, law firms and corporate donors
Creates year-round mail, email, direct mail, digital fundraising appeals

Donor Relations

Schedules and call and/or attend donor visits
Assists in planning and executing stewardship programs and events
Staffs the Associate Board and supports their fundraising/social efforts

Gift Processing and Administrative Tasks

Maintains timely gift processing and data management within Salesforce
Ensures database integrity, maintaining a high level of detail-oriented accuracy
Identifies ways to utilize Salesforce to support CARPLS’ development and community outreach work
Composes gift recognition and acknowledgement letters
Generates periodic (scheduled and episodic) fundraising analytic reports

Events

Assists with all fundraising/social event planning and execution (e.g., annual gala, board events and associate board events, etc.)
Assists with securing in-kind donations for annual gala and smaller fundraisers

Communications/Marketing

Addresses organizational messaging and finds creative ways to target audiences
Helps produce e-newsletters, brochures and related materials targeted at client and donor audience under supervision of Director of Communication
Manages CARPLS’ online presence on all social media platforms & blog
Assists with production of Annual Report and campaign video
Assists in writing and distributing press releases
Manages CARPLS’ website content/edits

Prospect Research

Based on donor data, identifies major/mid-level gift prospects, and recommendations for potential moves management
Streamlines reporting on donor prospects and moves management on Salesforce
Strategizes on best ways to communicate with and to target donors

Foundation Grants

Researches and identifies potential grant funding opportunities

Assist with grant proposals and reports, as needed
Staffs site visits in order to educate funding community on organization’s work, as needed

Other

Perform all other duties as assigned by the Director of Development

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree with one-to-three years of experience in fundraising and external communications

Experience:

Fundraising: 1 year (Preferred) and Marketing: 1 year (Preferred)
Creativity and passion for social justice
Strong oral and written communication experience
Good interactive, soft people skills a necessity
Detail oriented
Familiarity with grants process preferred
Event management and implementation experience preferred

COMPUTER & SOFTWARE KNOWLEDGE

Advanced computer abilities (MS Outlook, Word, Power Point, Excel, on-line fundraising tools, databases required
Working knowledge of social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) required
Experience with WordPress, Adobe Acrobat, Canva and marketing software including Constant Contact and Mailchimp highly preferred
Experience in Salesforce preferred

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Regular office hours are required. We are working hybrid, with a minimum of two days of on-site required, and more when needed
Additionally, this position may require some weekend and evening hours
This position operates primarily in an office environment that is accessible. Some work at off-site locations may be required and those may not necessarily be fully accessible
This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, scanners, filing cabinets, and fax machines
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms
As this job entails events work, the ability to lift and carry up to 10 pounds is required
Travel to remote locations may be required
Workplace is a smoke- and drug-free environment.

Please email application with cover letter, resume and list of three professional references to Paroma Mukherjee, Director of Development at: pmukherjee@carpls.org.

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Bilingual (English/Spanish) Paralegal

Job Description

CARPLS legal aid is Cook County’s largest provider of free legal services. We have provided over one million legal consultations to low- and moderate-income residents to help them find solutions to their everyday legal matters. CARPLS operates a legal aid hotline and three court-based advice desks for Cook County. We are also partners with the Cook County Legal Aid for Housing & Debt Early Resolution Program (ERP). And for our statewide projects, we are partners with New Leaf Illinois, COVID HELP Illinois, Eviction Help Illinois, and the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network. https://www.carpls.org/about-carpls/

We are currently seeking a full-time Bilingual (English/Spanish) Paralegal to support the legal work of our legal aid hotline and court-based advice desks. The Paralegal will support the hotline by taking calls from existing clients who are calling back for more direction/information/advice, answering client questions as appropriate, and screening the client’s situation for new legal developments to pass the client on to an attorney, all of which is done under the supervision of a supervising attorney. The Paralegal will also work on other CARPLS projects as assigned assisting with intake, screening for conflicts of interest, talking with returning clients in the same manner described above, as well as doing first drafts of court pleadings for the attorneys’ review. The Paralegal will also assist the program with client publications, social services resources, scheduling, data management, general research, management of client documents, outcome client surveys, legal research and writing, and other administrative tasks. The position operates on a hybrid remote/office schedule with one required weekly day in the office.

Qualifications

The candidate must graduate from an ABA-accredited Paralegal program and be fully fluent in Spanish. Candidates with prior legal aid, public interest, and/or family, consumer, or housing law experience are encouraged to apply. Must be adept at using Ms. Word, Adobe, and Zoom platforms. Advanced computer skills are required. The ability to work independently after training is a must.

Compensation

The annual salary is $44,516.13 per year. Excellent benefits include 401K, health, optional vision and dental, life insurance, and pretax transit benefit.

Please submit your resume and cover to info@carpls.org. Include the words “Paralegal Position” in the email’s subject matter and address the cover letter to Patricia Cintron-Bastin Supervising Attorney Spanish Language Services & Paralegals.

CARPLS is an equal-opportunity employer, dedicated to having a diverse workplace.

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Hotline Attorney-Eviction and Consumer Debt-Full or Part time

CARPLS is seeking several full time or part time staff attorneys to work on our special project legal aid hotline focused on eviction and consumer debt cases. The staff attorney’s responsibilities include advising low and moderate income clients over this busy legal aid hotline devoted to these two important areas. The staff attorney will focus on these two subject areas, though over time, expanding to other projects or areas is possible. The staff attorney may also do legal drafting of letters and pleadings for the client’s pro se use. Staff attorneys also do legal research and writing by contributing to CARPLS’ knowledge management library of over 2000 legal issues. Staff attorneys work closely with CARPLS’ supervising attorneys and paralegals. Attorneys who have expertise and experience in residential eviction and consumer debt collection defense are encouraged to apply, but CARPLS will provide training in these areas.

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, all CARPLS staff members are working a hybrid schedule between working at home, and in our brand new downtown Chicago office.

CARPLS is open to full or part time candidates (minimum of 16 hours a week if part time).
All applications are confidential. CARPLS offers a competitive salary for legal aid programs, and a full package of benefits for full time employees, including health insurance, 401K, paid time off, paid holidays, life and disability insurance.

Salary:

$66,545.00 – $77,564.00 per year

Benefits (depends on full or part time employment):

401(k)
Dental insurance
Health insurance
Life insurance
Paid time off
Vision insurance

Qualifications:

-J.D. from an accredited law school

-Current Illinois bar admission

-One year of legal experience, but will consider newly licensed attorneys

-Prior legal experience in either core legal practice areas (consumer debt, landlord tenant/eviction) helpful

-excellent technical skills, easily adapting to new softwares, and comfort with troubleshooting of tech issues required

-Team player and ability to work with other colleagues on all levels, as well as able to work well alone with minimal supervision

-Flexibility, likes to contribute, and creative problem solver

-Strong people skills and ability to work with all types of clients necessary

-Passion for helping low and modest income clients

-Bilingual in Spanish and English in a professional legal setting a plus.

CARPLS is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workplace. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

How to apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume to info@carpls.org.

Staff Attorney

CARPLS is seeking several full-time or part-time staff attorneys to work on our legal aid hotline and other program projects. The staff attorney’s responsibilities include advising low and moderate income clients over our busy legal aid hotline. Some projects involve client consultations by video conferencing. CARPLS gives legal consultations in all legal subject areas, including family, consumer and housing. The staff attorney will also do legal drafting of letters and pleadings for the client’s pro se use. CARPLS also has in person advice desks. Staff attorneys also do legal research and writing by contributing to CARPLS’ knowledge management library of over 200 legal issues. Staff attorneys work closely with CARPLS’ supervising attorneys and paralegals. While all our attorneys are generalists across all subject areas, we are currently looking for attorneys who have expertise and experience in residential eviction, consumer debt collection defense, and/or criminal defense/records/expungement/sealing who can work on some of our special projects.

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, all CARPLS staff members are working a hybrid schedule between working at home (4 days per week), and in our brand new downtown Chicago office (one day per week).

CARPLS is open to full- or part-time candidates (minimum of 16 hours a week if part time).
All applications are confidential.

CARPLS offers a competitive salary for legal aid programs, and a full package of benefits for full time employees, including health insurance, 401K, paid time off, paid holidays, life and disability insurance.

Qualifications:

– J.D. from an accredited law school

– Current Illinois bar admission

-At least five years of legal experience, preferably in a legal aid setting

-Substantial prior legal experience in any of CARPLS’ core legal practice areas (family, consumer, housing) helpful