Root & Rebound seeks a social-justice minded paralegal or legal assistant to support our South Carolina reentry work.

Root & Rebound (R&R) is a national reentry advocacy nonprofit, whose mission is to help people navigate reentry and reduce the harms perpetuated by mass incarceration. We provide holistic reentry legal services across all of South Carolina, with a physical office at Soteria Community Development Corporation in Greenville, SC. R&R works in the following areas:

● Public Education – This includes educational opportunities for system-impacted individuals, their families, social service providers, as well as other legal personnel.  Additionally, we do offer these opportunities to incarcerated individuals through reentry programs and our Reentry Guide publications.

● Policy – We promote and support various reforms in the criminal justice system, both legislatively and administratively, by working with lawmakers, government agencies, advocacy groups, and other non-profits with similar missions.

● Impact Litigation – We track issues that are common among our clients, investigate possible legal avenues and remedies, and if appropriate, file litigation seeking larger-scale change for system-impacted individuals.

● Direct Services – We define “reentry” broadly and by doing so, we offer pro bono legal support and representation to clients with legal issues directly related to their system involvement, reentry, or criminal record.

Employment Status: This is a part-time (20 hours per week), non-exempt role, reporting to the South Carolina Managing Attorney.

Location: Greenville, South Carolina, in-office.

Paralegal Position: Record cleaning–a relatively uniform process for removing prior convictions fromview on certain records in South Carolina–can have huge impacts on the collateral consequences of a conviction, from housing to employment, occupational licensing, and more. This is a high caseload position, where the paralegal will be working as a vital team member in a team of staff and volunteers to achieve high impact outcomes for a large number of clients primarily in the area of record cleaning. The paralegal will also assist with responding to inquiries from the South Carolina email and telephone hotlines.

Responsibilities:
● Completing court forms for cleaning records.
● Mailing documents and applications.
● Filing legal documents and ensuring local practices and procedures are followed.
● Direct services follow-up, including communicating with clients as appropriate.
● Communicating with attorneys on client matters including flagging urgent legal concerns for the appropriate attorney.
● Communicating with courts about filed petitions and county filing processes.
● Proactively communicating with clients regarding upcoming hearing dates and other case-related matters.
● Inputting client data into our online client management system and contact logs.
● Participating with the record cleaning team to fine-tune tools and resources to streamline
legal/programs work.

Qualifications & Qualities Sought:

● Paralegal experience, preferably working in a fast-paced nonprofit or community legal aid
environment. Experience with the South Carolina Court system is preferred.
● Proficiency in Microsoft Office software as well as Google products (Gmail, Google Calendar,
Google Drive, Google Docs).
● Proficiency with legal client management systems, including client data-base systems (Clio).
● Demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and criminal justice.
● Strong project management, organization, and coordination skills.
● Flexible, adaptable, and able to prioritize multiple projects given organizational and client
needs.
● Team-based and collaborative approach to work. Excellent communication skills.
● Excellent problem-solving skills. Proactive in thinking of and designing creative solutions to
advance our mission and work. Enthusiastic, and willing to learn and try new things.
● A certified paralegal, A.A., B.A., B.S., or paralegal certificate is a plus.

Compensation & Benefits: This role is a part-time, non-exempt position, with an hourly wage of between $20 – $25 per hour, commensurate with experience.

● Holiday closures, which includes additional office closure around the December holidays and seven (7) federal holidays, Juneteenth, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day;

● 60 hours paid vacation and 40 hours paid sick leave, per year; and

● Internal and external professional development opportunities.

Application Instructions: To apply for this position, please upload a resume, cover letter, and at least three references (explaining your professional relationship and including their contact information) here. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. No phone calls, please.

Conflict of Interest Notice: R&R encourages current and former clients to apply to join our team. However, it is a conflict of interest for R&R to provide legal services to our own employees. We will do our best to ensure that any current clients who are hired by R&R have other legal representation prior to beginning employment.

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Root & Rebound is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including formerly incarcerated and/or system-involved individuals. We look at each applicant’s full experience and consider each applicant. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. Individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system and its impacts are strongly encouraged to apply. We depend on a diverse team to accomplish our mission!