Paralegal at Prisoners Legal Services Brutality Project

Location
Boston, MA

Salary
Unknown

Link to More Information

Prisoners Legal Services (PLS) is seeking an outstanding full-time paralegal to concentrate on working to combat staff-on-prisoner assault in Massachusetts jails and prisons. PLS has two intersecting projects that focus on this problem, the Prison Brutality Project and Rapid Response to Brutality Project. This paralegal will work through those projects to deter staff-on-prisoner assaults, to advocate for impacted prisoners, and to support PLS’s efforts to provide legal services to these prisoners and increase community awareness of this problem. The paralegal will meet with injured prisoners, usually within 72 hours of report, to interview and photograph them, collect documents and give legal advice about the client’s rights. After the visit, the paralegal will conduct follow-up advocacy, primarily regarding preservation of evidence and any unmet medical needs from the assault. In those cases that meet the criteria to be considered for litigation the paralegal will also investigate the prisoners’ claims by gathering records generated by the prison or jail in relation to the incident, as well as conducting witness interviews. The paralegal and other PLS staff will evaluate completed investigations to determine whether there is sufficient proof to merit litigation. Meritorious cases are litigated, when resources allow, by PLS attorneys or, if possible, the cases are referred to private attorneys.