Job Board Submissions Title:
Full-Time Bilingual Legal Advocate

Post Date
3/12/2024

Expiration Date
4/1/2024

Details:
Responsible to: Victim Services Program Coordinator

Salary: $50,000 per year, 40 hrs/wk

The Bilingual Legal Advocate will provide comprehensive legal services and support to Spanish-speaking victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. This role involves hosting legal clinics, accompanying victims to court proceedings, and offering language and cultural accessibility to ensure survivors\' rights are upheld and their safety is prioritized.

Organize legal clinics for Spanish-speaking victims with consultations on immigration remedies, protective orders, custody disputes, and other civil legal needs related to abuse.
-- Event Planning and Coordination: Organize and manage monthly legal clinics, ensuring the smooth execution of logistics, resources, and scheduling.
-- Recruitment of Pro Bono Attorneys: Collaborate with legal professionals to secure pro bono attorneys for clinic consultations.
-- Advertising and Outreach: Develop strategies to promote legal clinic events, reaching out to potential attendees.
-- Appointment Scheduling: Facilitate client appointments, ensuring effective utilization of clinic time.
-- Client Intake and Registration: Conduct thorough intake interviews to understand clients\' legal needs and backgrounds.
-- Legal Information: Provide expert legal information during clinics, addressing immigration remedies, protective orders, custody disputes, and related matters.
-- Language and Cultural Accessibility: Offer linguistic and culturally sensitive support to clients, ensuring their understanding of legal proceedings.
-- Feedback and Improvement: Collect feedback from clients and continuously improve clinic processes based on client experiences.

Provide court/magistrate/police station accompaniment to Spanish-speaking victims seeking protective orders, separation, divorce, and child custody and immigration proceedings, ensuring availability of proper interpretation services, and explaining court processes.
-- Identify victims requiring accompaniment: Collaborate with internal teams to identify victims in need of this support.
-- Explaining Procedures: Guide victims through court processes, ensuring they understand the steps involved in obtaining protective orders, separation, divorce, and child custody and immigration proceedings
-- Provide Emotional Support: Offer empathetic support to alleviate stress and anxiety during proceedings.
-- Interpreter Arrangements: Coordinate interpretation services to facilitate effective communication with officials.
-- Accompanying: Physically accompany victims to court, offering a calming presence and assistance.
-- Assisting with Documentation: Help victims prepare necessary documentation for protective order hearings.
-- Safety Measures: Ensure the safety and comfort of victims during court appearances.
-- Post-Hearing Debrief: Provide post-hearing debriefing and support, addressing any concerns.
-- Feedback: Gather feedback from accompanied victims to improve the support process.
-- Support clients in their process to apply for U-Visas, T-Visas, and VAWA Self petitions for victims.

Other duties include:
-- Respond quickly and appropriately to hotline calls from victims, family members and friends, and other service provider.
-- Ensure accurate and timely documentation and reports, including Documenting Our Work, client satisfaction surveys and VAdata.
-- Exhibit congruency between the mission and values of The LIVE Center and her/his interactions with the community/clients
-- Thoroughly understand and abide by The LIVE Center’s policies and correctly implement all procedures.
-- Perform general office duties including, but not limited to, preparation of reports, data entry, typing, filing, maintaining schedules, answering telephones greeting guests and housekeeping.

Responsibilities outlined above are neither intended to be all inclusive, nor to list all of the tasks to be performed. Responsibilities herein listed are intended to be representative of the tasks performed within this classification. The omission of an essential responsibility does not preclude the Board of Directors from assigning duties not listed herein, if such duties are a logical assignment to the position.

The LIVE Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and is a drug-free, smoke-free workplace. People traditionally marginalized in the workplace are strongly encouraged to apply.

TO APPLY: please apply through Indeed (https://www.indeed.com/job/full-time-bilingual-legal-advocate-d4f32659825e653a)

Qualifications:
Requirements:

Associate Degree or relevant experience
Bilingual English-Spanish (spoken and written) and Bicultural
Must have knowledge of criminal justice system and advocate for the rights of the victim
Must have experience supporting the preparation of U-Visas, T-Visas and VAWA Self petitions
Knowledge/skills in the provision of services to victims in stress
Ability to maintain a compassionate and professional approach while working with people in crisis situations.
Excellent organizational and time management skills, including the ability to multitask
Strong computer skills. Experience with Google Suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint preferred
Reliable transportation and a valid VA state driver’s license
Successful background check
The position requires some local and statewide travel, early morning, night and weekend hours.

Employer:
Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center
Contact:
Lorena Toscano

Email:
hola@latinosenvirginia.org

Website:
https://www.latinosenvirginia.org/