Litigation Assistant

Prison Law Office; Berkeley (CA); Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental reimbursement

Wellness bonus

Professional development budget

Life insurance

Disability insurance

403(b) retirement plan

Student loan repayment

Paid vacation and sick leave

Holidays off

Year-end office closure

Job summary

The Prison Law Office (PLO) in Berkeley, CA, seeks a Spanish-speaking Litigation Assistant to support attorneys with correspondence review, drafting in Spanish, and interviews. The role emphasizes accuracy, organization, and clear communication within a collaborative legal team.

Hybrid work requires on-site presence at least two days per full week with remote work possible on other days; first 20 days in Berkeley.

Qualifications

• Professional proficiency in spoken and written Spanish is required.
• BA, AA, or equivalent college degree.
• Experience working full-time in an office or other setting.
• Excellent analytical, reading, and writing skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to efficiently manage and process high volumes of correspondence accurately.

Responsibilities

• Review incoming correspondence from people in prisons and jails, their families, and other third-parties.
• Enter accurate correspondence and class member information into Salesforce database.
• Identify in the correspondence any areas related to PLO class action cases and areas of concern.
• Suggest responses to correspondence, and under the supervision of an attorney, draft outgoing correspondence.
• Route correspondence to the appropriate person in the office.
• Identify systemic issues that appear in correspondence.
• Translate incoming correspondence written in Spanish, draft letters in Spanish, and conduct interviews in Spanish.
• Occasionally participate in multi-day monitoring tours at prisons and jails under the supervision of an attorney as needed.
• Conduct telephone interviews with class members to gather information regarding conditions of confinement at the direction of an attorney.
• Assist in reviewing legal and factual documents and preparing materials for prison and jail monitoring visits.
• Manage the office’s voicemail system.
• Attend and participate in some case meetings, including to take notes as needed.
• Provide administrative support as needed, such as scanning, printing, and uploading documents; preparing binders of relevant information for participants on site visits; reviewing, filing, and organizing documents; scheduling legal calls on behalf of staff members as needed; etc.
• Assist with processing outgoing mail and surveys, which includes placing surveys and relevant materials in envelopes, generating labels for mail and placing it on the envelopes; sending mail through the postal service
• Assist the Mailroom Coordinator with surveys, mail, and phones as needed
• Provide training and onboarding support for employees as needed
• Develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge of case details
• Accurately record time spent on substantive and administrative work, as well as work- related expenses, in the office’s billing system
• Accurately record hours worked each day on a daily time-card
• Complete all assigned tasks within required deadlines
• Comply with office’s policies regarding confidentiality

Skills

Spanish proficiency

Analytical skills

Written communication

Interpersonal skills

MS Office

Education

BA/AA or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

Gmail

Job description

Position Title: Spanish-speaking Litigation Assistant

Reports To: Director of HR and Operations

Location: Berkeley, CA (hybrid workplace requiring all employees to work on site at least two days per full week, including Wednesdays, with flexibility for remote work on the remaining days, depending on work travel requirements). For this role specifically, the first 20 work days are required to be in office in Berkeley, CA.

Classification: Non-Exempt, Full-Time, Bargaining Unit position

Compensation: $77,159, plus benefits*

*The compensation for this position is based upon a collective bargaining agreement and reflects the 206-2027 salary scale.

Application Deadline: September 13, 2026, at 11:59pm PT

About Prison Law Office

The Prison Law Office (PLO) is a nonprofit public interest law firm based in Berkeley, California, that strives to reduce incarceration and demands fair and humane treatment for people who remain in prisons, jails, detention facilities, and juvenile facilities, and those who are on parole. PLO engages in class action and other impact litigation, advocates for policy and law changes, assists individuals in administrative actions and lawsuits, educates the public, creates and distributes self-help information, and lends technical assistance to other attorneys.

Position Summary

The Litigation Assistant (LA) works at the direction of and under the supervision of attorneys to support Prison Law Office’s litigation and advocacy efforts. The LA primarily reviews, summarizes, organizes, and suggests responses to correspondence from incarcerated people and their families. Under the supervision of attorneys, LAs also interview class members by phone and review documents to prepare for prison and jail monitoring visits. On occasion, they may attend multi-day tours of prisons and jails. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, writes with concision, and views this role as an important stepping stone toward a career in the legal, justice, or other impact field.

Key Responsibilities

• Review incoming correspondence from people in prisons and jails, their families, and other third-parties
• Enter accurate correspondence and class member information into Salesforce database
• Identify in the correspondence any areas related to PLO class action cases and areas of concern
• Suggest responses to correspondence, and under the supervision of an attorney, draft outgoing correspondence
• Route correspondence to the appropriate person in the office
• Identify systemic issues that appear in correspondence
• Translate incoming correspondence written in Spanish, draft letters in Spanish, and conduct interviews in Spanish
• Occasionally participate in multi-day monitoring tours at prisons and jails under the supervision of an attorney as needed
• Conduct telephone interviews with class members to gather information regarding conditions of confinement at the direction of an attorney
• Assist in reviewing legal and factual documents and preparing materials for prison and jail monitoring visits
• Manage the office’s voicemail system
• Attend and participate in some case meetings, including to take notes as needed
• Provide administrative support as needed, such as scanning, printing, and uploading documents; preparing binders of relevant information for participants on site visits; reviewing, filing, and organizing documents; scheduling legal calls on behalf of staff members as needed; etc.
• Assist with processing outgoing mail and surveys, which includes placing surveys and relevant materials in envelopes, generating labels for mail and placing it on the envelopes; sending mail through the postal service
• Assist the Mailroom Coordinator with surveys, mail, and phones as needed
• Provide training and onboarding support for employees as needed
• Develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge of case details
• Accurately record time spent on substantive and administrative work, as well as work- related expenses, in the office’s billing system
• Accurately record hours worked each day on a daily time-card
• Complete all assigned tasks within required deadlines
• Comply with office’s policies regarding confidentiality

Required Qualifications

• Professional proficiency in spoken and written Spanish is required for this position. The selected candidate must be able to review and summarize Spanish-language correspondence, draft written communications in Spanish, and communicate effectively with interviews or professional conversations in Spanish
• BA, AA, or equivalent college degree
• Experience working full-time in an office or other setting
• Excellent analytical, reading, and writing skills
• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to efficiently manage and process high volumes of correspondence accurately
• Writes clearly and informatively; edits work for spelling and grammar; varies writing style to meet needs; able to read and interpret written information
• Effective interpersonal skills when interacting with a diversity of audiences
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Gmail, and other standard computer applications
• Ability to take direction, welcome constructive feedback, and interact professionally with co-workers, co-counsel, opposing counsel, opposing parties, class members, and vendors
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Consistent and reliable attendance
• Willingness to travel occasionally for field assignments (tours typically range from 1 to 3 days)
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism
• Ability to anticipate work needs and follow through with minimum direction while adapting to changing priorities and work demands

Preferred Qualifications (Not Required)

• Lived experience relevant to our mission, including those who have been system-impacted or formerly incarcerated, or professional background related to advocacy for the same
• Prior experience in a legal aid, nonprofit, or public-interest setting

Benefits

• Generous health insurance coverage
• Dental care reimbursement
• Annual wellness bonus
• Annual professional development budget
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• 403(b) retirement account with employer matching up to 5% of annual earnings
• Repayment of qualifying federal educational loans up to $350 monthly
• Paid vacation and sick leave
• All state and federal holidays off
• Office closure the last week of the year

Work Environment

• This position is based in Berkeley, CA, and follows a hybrid schedule that requires all employees to work on site at least two days per full week, including Wednesdays, with flexibility for remote work on the remaining days, depending on work travel requirements.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Affimative Action Statement

Prison Law Office is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization and community. We can only maintain excellence by recruiting and retaining a staff that reflects a wide range of identities, experiences, and perspectives — including all races, ages, citizenships, national origins, disabilities, gender identities, languages, military experiences, sexual orientations, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and historically excluded communities.

We also welcome applications from people with lived experience relevant to our mission, including those who have been formerly incarcerated or system-impacted. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.