Program Support – Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer (MAVL) Program

Pisgah Legal Services is a community-based non-profit corporation governed by a local Board of Directors. PLS has an annual budget of $8 million from a multitude of funding sources.  Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) provides free civil legal assistance to low-income people in western North Carolina. PLS has offices in Asheville, Burnsville, Hendersonville, Rutherfordton, Brevard, Highlands/Cashiers and Marshall. With a dedicated staff of ninety-six, including thirty-four attorneys plus supporting staff, and an active pro bono panel of 300 private attorneys, the program provides free services to more than 20,000 people per year to meet their basic needs, primarily in the poverty law areas of housing, public benefits, domestic violence prevention, health care, immigration, and consumer law. 

The Program Support position for the Mtn. Area Volunteer Lawyer (MAVL) Program would be part of a strong, enthusiastic and collaborative team that coordinates the referral of 1,200+ legal cases per year to volunteer attorneys to assist Pisgah Legal’s clients. Volunteer attorneys are critical and generous partners in Pisgah Legal Services’ work, handling approximately 20% of all the agency’s cases. The MAVL Program Support position is an essential liaison between Pisgah Legal’s staff, clients, and volunteer attorneys.

The primary responsibility of this position is to refer pro bono cases to private attorneys, referring 60 to 80 legal cases per month and developing good working relationships with volunteer attorneys. This position must track the status of approximately 400-500 cases on their caseload, requiring strong organizational skills. This is a full-time position based at Pisgah Legal Services’ Asheville, NC office.

Responsibilities

• Refer cases to volunteer attorneys and facilitate communication between clients and volunteers.
• Communicate with clients about referral of their case, answer questions and trouble shoot problems.
• Schedule appointments for clients with volunteers, arrange for interpretation, as needed.
• Establish strong, working relationships with volunteer attorneys.
• Maintain a system to get regular case status updates from volunteer attorneys.
• Keep updated and appropriate notes in legal case files at all times.
• Provide administrative support to the Director of the MAVL Program.
• Prepare letters, reports, forms and other materials for the MAVL Program.
• Assist with e-newsletters, thank you notes and other communications to volunteer attorneys.
• Coordinate office volunteers (including high school and college students) to assist with administrative work, phone calls to clients, data entry, etc.
• The MAVL Program Coordinator may be asked to work one evening shift (until 7pm or 8pm) per week, as needed to supervise volunteers.
• Occasional evening and weekend work needed to coordinate legal clinics.
• Successfully complete a notary course and obtain your notary license for occasional notary duties.
• Assist coordination and attend volunteer lawyer appreciation events.
• Provide back up as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Commitment to Pisgah Legal Services’ mission, values and vision.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.
• Ability to utilize computer technology, including Microsoft Office.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to communicate with clients, volunteers, and staff.

• Commitment to serving our client population (demonstrated by responsiveness when they contact you).
• Organization, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Comfortable spending hours each day asking attorneys to assist with cases (by email and phone).
• Persistent communication with attorneys and clients required.
• Experience working with people in crisis, a plus.
• Document preparation/word processing skills. 
• Spanish language skills are not required but are a plus.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and flexibility to switch tasks when urgent issues arise.
• Ability to learn and keep track of a lot of information, including familiarizing yourself with many  areas of law practice and with 300+ volunteer attorneys & the types of legal cases they take.

Salary/ Benefits

Salary ranges from $31,120 – $48,339 depending on experience.  Excellent fringe benefits, including generous leave time, 401(k) retirement plan, as well as life, health, and disability insurance.