Legal Assistant

Position Summary:

Democracy Forward Foundation seeks a motivated, organized, and detail-oriented person to support our Litigation team as a legal assistant. Democracy Forward is a fast-paced and highly collaborative environment. The ideal candidate will have an organizational mindset and thrive when engaging in both rapid response and long term projects, and working across the organization to produce excellent work.

The candidate will also be resourceful, demonstrate strategic thinking, and have a demonstrated commitment to inclusion, equity, and justice. Democracy Forward is in an exciting period of growth, which will present opportunities to develop new skills and work on nationally-relevant projects and own and manage projects in a highly collaborative environment.  Candidates who are seeking to hone and expand their skills and grow professionally alongside the organization are highly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Assist Paralegals and Case Managers in preparing, cite-checking, reviewing, filing, and organizing litigation and regulatory documents such as pleadings, briefs, motions, declarations, and comments on rulemakings. 
• Assist Paralegals and Case Managers in providing substantive and logistical support for case teams and the legal department at large, such as maintaining case files, updating database entries, and more. 
• Assist Paralegals, Case Managers, and Case Teams in conducting, analyzing, and organizing legal, factual, and other non-legal research for use in litigation. 
• Assist in handling attorney appearances, admissions, and PACER/ECF accounts.
• Assist Paralegals and Case Managers in tracking public and internal deadlines and updating the legal calendar. 
• Assist Democracy Forward with general administrative support, including in-office support. 
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:

We recognize that strong candidates may not meet 100% of the qualifications listed. If you believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team, we encourage you to apply.

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent skills or experience in a legal, government, or nonprofit setting. 
• Strong written, verbal, analytical, problem-solving, and/or research skills. 
• Ability to work independently, within a team, and under deadlines. 
• Demonstrated organizational skills and attention to detail. 
• Willingness and ability to quickly learn skills necessary to support the Litigation team, e.g. cite-checking, legal research. 
• Highly motivated, able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and see them through to completion. 
• Prepared and willing to meet litigation deadlines which are often late-breaking and quick turn around. 
• Organizational mindset and willingness to be flexible and support organizational priorities as they emerge.
• Strong computer skills. Knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly formatting in Word, using and creating spreadsheets in Excel. Experience with Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat, Airtable, SharePoint, and Slack are useful.
• Must be based in the Washington, DC area and be available in Democracy Forward Foundation's Washington, DC offices multiple days a week.

The salary range for this position is $55,000 - $65,000 plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience. The position pays overtime which is sometimes necessary to meet needs.