Investigator (Manhattan) - New York, NY

The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Practice has an opening for an Investigator in the Manhattan trial office. As the primary public defender in New York City, The Legal Aid Society's staff zealously and tirelessly work to protect the rights of the most marginalized and disenfranchised in society. The expansive reach of The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Practice runs from its dynamic advocacy of clients in court to its presence and partnership in the communities.

Investigators work closely with all members of the defense team under the direction of the Supervising Investigator, Attorney-in-Charge, and the Director of Investigative Services. The caseload will include, but will not be limited to misdemeanors, domestic violence, burglaries, robberies, sexual assaults, and other serious felonies. This position requires considerable initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, and drive.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/REPONSIBILITIES

• Locate and interview complainants, witnesses, defendants, and other relevant parties
• Investigate crime scenes and other relevant locations
• Document scenes (photographs, video, diagrams, measurements, etc.)
• Create crime scene sketches/diagrams/maps
• Prepare written summaries of investigation results via our case management system
• Conduct background checks, internet, and social media investigations/research
• Use databases to retrieve relevant case information (e.g., CLEAR, DMV, ACRIS, etc.)
• Testify in court
• Accompany all defense players to crime scenes and relevant locations
• Witness lineups and other police procedures (e.g., Ballistics test, examination of evidence at DA's offices, vehicular inspection at NYPD Auto Yards, etc.)
• Discover and manage physical and digital evidence (e.g., cellphones, surveillance video, social media, etc.)
• Locate and extract surveillance footage from varying locations and buildings
• Communicate with other city agencies as necessary
• Provide accurate, detailed reports on investigations; as well as maintaining other necessary documents (e.g., chain of custody, witness statements, investigation summaries etc.)
• Travel within borough as well as out-of-borough as needed
• Communicate with client and client's family and friends, as needed
• Communicate with other members of staff/team to effectively analyze and discuss cases
• Review detailed and voluminous discovery
• Locate clients in-person, as needed
• Serve subpoenas, motions and other legal documents, as needed
• Perform field work during office hours as well as during irregular hours as directed
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in criminal justice or in a related field or demonstrated work experience
• Prior experience conducting investigations on criminal cases preferred, including investigative internships
• Commitment to obtaining justice for indigent persons and zealous defense representation required
• Additional training/certifications relating to criminal investigations preferred
• Ability to analyze and evaluate facts, as well as integrity and discretion.
• Good listening and questioning skills
• Familiarity with MS Office and social media platforms
• Excellent written skills
• Skillful interpersonal interactions
• Requires field work during office hours as well as at irregular hours
• Ability to travel 95% of time
• Familiarity with borough neighborhoods
• Spanish language fluency strongly preferred
• Notary License preferred

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $59,087 to $84,931

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one's internal deeply-held sense of one's gender which may be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.