The Bronx Defenders (BxD)—an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx—seeks someone with a commitment to public defense to serve as a paralegal in the Civil Action Practice (CAP).
Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.
Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.
Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.
We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.
Civil Action Practice
A sweeping array of civil punishments are triggered the moment someone faces arrest, deportation, or family separation. The people we represent risk losing their jobs, homes, income, property, and basic civil rights – struggles that can be more devastating and long-lasting than the charges themselves. Last year, we helped 4000 people obtain concrete benefits like maintaining their jobs, homes, income, property, and rights.
Housing Justice & the Right to Counsel
Recognizing the challenges to accessing affordable, quality and safe housing in New York City, The Bronx Defenders has a team exclusively dedicated to providing tenants at risk of losing their homes with defense attorneys for their Housing Court cases. Our Right to Counsel Housing Team was developed in response to the 2017 New York City Right-to-Counsel initiative, which provides tenants facing eviction in Housing Court, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) administrative proceedings and other civil fora with access to free legal representation. The Bronx Defenders is part of the NYC Right to Counsel Coalition.
Our team works with civil social workers and benefits specialists to supplement their legal defenses and provide additional services, support and resources. We’re committed to a Housing First perspective (an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to unhoused people quickly and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life.) As a provider of the Right to Counsel in the Bronx, we regularly staff in court intake where people appear to challenge evictions.
The CAP Paralegal will be an integral part of CAP’s work and The Bronx Defenders. Reporting to the Managing Director of Administration, the CAP Paralegal will support attorneys and advocates across the practice, in the Housing RTC Team, civil holistic, benefits and social work teams, by coordinating and executing administrative tasks to facilitate and support the services we provide.
Client, Case, and Staff Support
Intake
Appeals
To be eligible, candidates must have:
Candidates must demonstrate:
Preferred but not Required:
This is a hybrid position that will require at least three days/week of in-person work.
Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 2-5 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position would be approximately $69,250 - $71,500. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.
Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is within the bargaining unit.
This position is non-exempt. By law, nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.
To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and cover letter in one document. Your cover letter should share why you want to do this work at our office, as well as some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience and should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.
Applications will be accepted through September 22nd, 2025.
The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.
Software Powered by iCIMS
www.icims.com