The Kentucky Equal Justice Center has an immediate opening for a person to work full-time for a new project designed to combat discrimination in healthcare against individuals with Substance Use Disorder, including Opioid Use Disorder. The project is funded and supported by Vital Strategies. The successful candidate will work in partnership with Vital Strategies, Legal Action Center, VOCAL-KY, and Dream.org to protect the rights of people with substance use disorder. This press release about the project describes it and its goals in more detail.
KEJC is a small public interest law firm and advocacy nonprofit. We believe every Kentuckian has the right to health care, housing, fair pay, food, education, and safety. KEJC’s staff of sixteen works in Kentucky’s capital and in courtrooms and communities across Kentucky. Our program at Maxwell Street Legal Clinic in Lexington provides immigration law services.
About the Position
The work we envision for “Outreach and Investigations” in this project can be done by an experienced paralegal, a person with experience supporting a project like this, or an entry-level staff attorney. Formal education as a paralegal is not a requirement.
This staff member will support the work of a full-time Health Justice Attorney (job description). Together with existing KEJC staff, this two-person project team will provide individual and systemic legal representation to enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities. The Outreach and Investigations Paralegal will be responsible for publicizing the project and educating community partners about the discrimination people who use drugs encounter and about their civil rights. As more Kentuckians become aware of and identify discrimination, the paralegal will provide intake and case support for the Health Justice Attorney.
KEJC works in courtrooms, the capitol, and communities to promote and protect the rights of low-income Kentuckians and other marginalized people. The staff members’ work will inevitably touch all of these venues, but will be primarily focused on the “community” aspect of our work. Here are examples of project activities:
Communications, outreach, and coalition building
Prepare written materials and conduct activities for the education and training of consumers, coalition partners, professionals, KEJC staff, members of the public, and others consistent with project parameters
Serve as the point-person for case intake when people report discrimination against Kentuckians who use drugs. This includes answering phone calls and emails, working with other intake staff at KEJC to develop intake templates for these cases, working with the Health Justice Attorney to gather documents and information needed to investigate cases
Coordinate with KEJC communications staff to obtain feedback from and share information with the disability community regarding the rights and experiences of people with SUD/OUD
Cultivate, develop, and maintain relationships with subject area professionals and advocates, including state officials and agency staff, service providers, advocacy organizations, pro bono attorneys, and community advocates
Represent KEJC at coalition meetings, public hearings, stakeholder groups, and/or task forces
Impact Litigation, Direct Services, and Community Lawyering
The Outreach and Investigations staff member will also provide support to the Health Justice Attorney on cases and policy as the team works to:
Represent individual clients consistent with project parameters, including all phases of outreach, training, self-advocacy assistance, direct individual advocacy, systemic advocacy, and litigation
Develop and maintain self-advocacy materials for use by clients and constituents
Provide advice and assistance to KEJC clients, including writing letters and memoranda and drafting pleadings on behalf of clients
Analyze and interpret federal and state laws, rulings, and regulations to stay abreast of legal developments in disability law, and other related law/ethical fields
Analyze statutes, regulations, and agency policies/procedures and draft analyses and comments, as appropriate, in collaboration with KEJC staff
Provide technical assistance to attorneys and advocates regarding the rights of individuals with disabilities, including assistance to pro bono attorneys
Monitor institutions and other service providers, agencies, or settings as required
Maintain complete and accurate records in KEJC’s case management system consistent with agency policies and procedures
Communications, outreach, and coalition building
Prepare written materials and conduct activities for the education and training of consumers, coalition partners, professionals, KEJC staff, members of the public, and others consistent with project parameters
Coordinate with KEJC communications staff to obtain feedback from and share information with the disability community regarding the rights and experiences of people with SUD/OUD
Cultivate, develop, and maintain relationships with subject area professionals and advocates, including state officials and agency staff, service providers, advocacy organizations, pro bono attorneys, and community advocates
Represent KEJC at coalition meetings, public hearings, stakeholder groups, and/or task forces
Requirements (for entry-level attorneys)
JD degree and either admitted to practice law in Kentucky or preparing to sit for the July 2023 bar exam
Demonstrated interest and commitment to public interest law
Desirable qualifications
5+ years of experience working as a paralegal, community health worker, community organizer, social worker, or other role providing direct services to people caught in oppressive, racist, or otherwise unjust systems
Life experience with SUD (strong preference)
Life experience with disability
Legal work experience, with civil litigation experience strongly preferred
Experience in a legal services, nonprofit, or public interest environment
Ability to communicate in ASL, Spanish, or another non-English language
Essential functions
Ability to keyboard
Ability to travel, including overnight
Ability to interact with people with disabilities
Comfort speaking in front of groups
Excellent interpersonal skills; KEJC works internally and externally in teams and coalitions and therefore seeks staff members who will help establish and maintain a healthy culture of collaboration
Comfort working in a multicultural setting, with sensitivity to language and cultural issues
Excellent organizational and problem-solving and skills
Facility with social media and web-based communications tools
Ability to be a self-starter in developing and carrying out activities, to take initiative and work independently, as well as in a team
Knowledge of low-income issues
Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Location
KEJC has offices in Lexington and Louisville, but we seek to hire the most outstanding candidate for this position, regardless of where they live in Kentucky. We consider geographic diversity within Kentucky both a strength and a challenge. We will explore it with candidates invited to interview for the positions.
Salary and Benefits
Salaries for attorneys or paralegals are based on experience and our salary scale. (Paralegals are paid on the “Professional” scale.)
Generous fringe benefits include health and retirement, dental, life, and disability coverage. KEJC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but we provide health and retirement benefits through participation in state employee plans.
Grant Funded Position with Potential Renewal
This position is funded by a grant from Vital Strategies with strong likelihood of renewal through at least mid-2026.
Starting Date: As soon as possible.
Application Instructions
To apply, please use our app (https://bit.ly/work-at-kejc) to upload as a single .pdf document:
a cover letter
your resume
three references (with their phone numbers and email addresses) and, optionally,
2-3 examples of recent work that you feel is generally relevant to this position
Recent work materials might include:
legal briefs
policy papers
videos or slides of presentations you are proud of
one-pagers explaining an issue to laypeople, and/or
op-eds or blog posts
If these materials are available online, you may provide them by linking to them in the cover letter or in a separate document in the single .pdf upload.
If you need an accommodation or assistance to submit your application and materials, please email ben@kyequaljustice.org.
Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
Application Deadline: We are accepting applications and interviewing candidates on a rolling basis until this position is filled. If you are interested, do not delay.
Diversity Statement
KEJC welcomes your application. Employees shall be selected entirely on a nondiscriminatory basis with respect to age, ancestry, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender identity, limited English proficiency, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status and all other categories provided nondiscriminatory treatment by law, statute, or ordinance.