• Join a dynamic cutting edge organisation with a social justice agenda
• Use your people skills to make a difference to vulnerable people  
• Work with a highly respected close-knit team

An opportunity has arisen to join one of Australia’s most innovative law practices. Ellis Legal Lawyers & Advocates (ELLA) is a small specialist practice with a vision of a community where survivors of child abuse in Australia’s institutions are able to speak their truth and obtain meaningful responses from institutions which enables them to live their lives with dignity, respect, security and freedom from the burden of their past traumatic experiences.

ELLA is based in the Sydney CBD. Our aim is to provide a specialist legal service for abuse survivors nationally at no cost to the survivor. We seek to achieve this by either providing advice on a pro bono basis or securing that the costs of representation are fully met by the relevant institution so that survivors have access to equal and fair representation to redress the balance against powerful institutions.

Our work is premised on a commitment to justice as a fundamental human right and a recognition that this vulnerable client group face many barriers to obtaining justice, largely due to the impacts caused by the abuse they have suffered as children. We demonstrate this commitment through our professional advice, a contribution to education within the legal and related professions, public advocacy, participation in and support to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and collaborative partnerships with other organisations.

ELLA is at the cutting edge of innovative and ethical legal representation of our client group and has developed collaborative claims resolution processes which seek to minimise the re-traumatisation which is an inherent risk in legal processes. This is supported by the integrity, kindness and generosity of our staff, a belief in continuous learning through listening to our clients, a dedication to environmentally sustainable products and practices, a respect for the traditional custodians of our land and waters, fidelity to effective and collaborative custodianship of respect and integrity as pivotal values of our society and a pledge to fair and flexible conditions for staff which recognise the risk of vicarious trauma.

We are currently seeking an experienced Legal Administrative Assistant and Receptionist to support the legal team and our clients.

If you have good interpersonal skills, experience in legal practice or the not-for-profit legal sector, great attention to detail, are flexible and collaborative and possess a strong desire to make a difference for human rights and social justice, we look forward to hearing from you.

The role is integral to our team and the primary purpose is to provide administrative and paralegal support to team members. The key accountabilities are telephone reception, document management, preparing correspondence and legal documents and legal paralegal duties. The role will also include a range of general office duties.

key selection criteria

1. A commitment to working to support victims of abuse.
2. A demonstrated personal commitment to social justice, integrity, respect, confidentiality and sustainable practices.
3. High level verbal and written communication skills and a demonstrated capacity to prioritise high volume tasks.
4. Advanced computer skills including the use of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
5. A demonstrated ability to communicate patiently and empathetically with a range of people including vulnerable clients.
6. A basic understanding of and willingness to learn more about the common impacts of childhood trauma and the key elements of resilient management of vicarious trauma.
7. A demonstrated ability to work flexibly and collaboratively including identifying and resolving emerging practice/workplace challenges.
8. Highly Desirable: Experience working in a similar role in a legal practice or not-for profit legal centre.
9. Desirable: familiarity with LEAP cloud legal software.

A Position Description can be supplied to interested applicants.

Salary will be commensurate with experience. ELLA is committed to fair above-market remuneration and to properly rewarding each person's contribution to our work.