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Investigator, Guardian ad Litem

Children's Law Center
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Who We Are
At Children's Law Center, everything we do is focused on one thing - delivering better client outcomes for kids and families in DC. Our staff are empowered to open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions. We encourage intellectual curiosity, innovation, diversity, and mutual respect.

Our greatest assets are our people. We strive to attract and cultivate a vibrant, creative, and diverse community. We recognize that people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives fuel our ability to provide the best outcomes for our clients. Our staff drive Children's Law Center's mission with their leadership, result-orientated mindset, and commitment to cultural humility and centering the needs of our clients. We are looking for an individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment, likes to be challenged, and values the opportunity to make a difference.

Children's Law Center's success depends on recruiting and retaining individuals who possess and value these attributes.

Job Summary
Children’s Law Center’s unique Investigator position aims to develop high-talent individuals by providing them with a range of experiences in a legal, non-profit setting. The position consists of on-the-job experience, training and career guidance. The position is appropriate for someone considering a legal, counseling, or social work career.

The investigator fellow will work with lawyers who represent at-risk children. The position involves assisting lawyers with all aspects of their representation, including locating and gathering records, serving subpoenas, interviewing witnesses, visiting schools and locating appropriate social services for children. The investigator may prepare written reports and testify in court.
 
Job Responsibilities 
Organization
  • Demonstrates ability to work effectively and efficiently on multiple assignments for multiple attorneys
  • Maintains case information in an orderly manner – electronic and hard copy files
  • Meets deadlines and tracks deadlines and assignments in an organized way
  • Consults attorneys and supervisor when prioritizing assignments and when unexpected delays or scheduling conflicts arise
  • Works well under pressure
  • Manages time efficiently to complete case work, meet assignment deadlines and meet other CLC responsibilities
  • Records all case activity in PIKA in a reasonable amount of time after completing an assignment

 Critical Thinking
  • Asks appropriate questions and seeks guidance from attorneys and/or supervisor about assignments, legal terms, case theory and court procedures when needed
  • Demonstrates the ability to understand basic legal and ethical concepts and jargon.
  • Identifies relevant facts in cases and potential issues/problems
  • Identifies/locates/finds practical ideas and solutions to address issues and problems
  • Synthesizes and summarizes records, reports and evaluations
  • Demonstrates thoughtfulness, care and precision in work
  • Adapts to situations and case emergencies as they arise
  • Identifies training needs and offers ideas for trainings and further education
  • Uses creativity and resourcefulness to solve problems
  • Demonstrates good judgment
 
Investigation
  • Follows all ethical rules of conduct while investigating (i.e. proper identification, confidentiality, etc.)
  • Locates and identifies information and services for clients and case work
  • Prepares written records requests for information maintained by government entities, medical, corporate and other non-governmental records; and then obtains such information/records.
  • Interprets and summarizes information contained in records and research, and identifies relevant facts/information
  • Prepares and serves subpoenas and similar documents
  • Files court papers and requests and obtains court records
  • Observes meetings, hearing, client visits and interviews 
  • Conducts client visits and interacts appropriately with clients to obtain information and respond to specific inquiries
  • Takes detailed notes 
  • Identifies and locates witnesses, potential parties to a case and experts
  • Participates and conducts interviews 
  • Helps prepare exhibits and prep witnesses for court
  • Assists with emergency assignments

 Communication
  • Interacts effectively in person, by telephone and in written correspondence with lawyers, clients, witnesses, court personnel, co-workers and other business professionals.
  • Acts in a respectful, professional manner and is responsive to client and attorney needs.
  • Has self-awareness and is able to perceive, understand and relate well to others
  • Prepares thoughtful, high-quality written documents that exhibit careful preparation and attention to detail
  • Exhibits strong listening skills
  • Asks questions and seeks guidance when needed
  • Responds appropriately and in a timely manner to communications and assignments
 
Interpersonal Skills
  • Works effectively and efficiently with others and supports team members to address client and CLC needs
  • Willingly accepts assignments and demonstrates a high work ethic.
  • Regularly attends and participates in staff-wide meetings, department meetings, relevant trainings and other CLC functions
  • Volunteers and helps with CLC projects and fundraising/donation activities
  • Takes responsibility for mistakes or areas of improvement
  • Demonstrates integrity, dependability and meets commitments

Qualifications 
  • Previous experience working with low-income persons and children and/or teens strongly preferred.
  • Experience as an investigator or working with attorneys and/or in a legal setting a plus.
  • Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills. 
  • Resourcefulness and creativity to solve problems. 
  • Ability to gather information from a wide variety of persons and settings. 
  • Strong independent judgement and decision-making skills 
  • Excellent organizational and time management skills. 
  • Cultural humility as shown through demonstrated openness to self-reflection and commitment to understanding and respecting other cultural experiences and points of view. 
  • Self-reflective, open to feedback and supervision 
  • Strong oral and written communication skills 
  • Initiative and tenacity to complete assignments. 
  • Tact and discretion for handling confidential casework. 
  • Commitment to social, economic, and racial justice. 
  • Demonstrated capacity to work independently and collaboratively. 
  • Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills strongly preferred. 

Required Skills and Experience 
  • Valid driver’s license required.

Salary and Benefits 
The salary for this position $40,000 annually plus a sign-on bonus. Children’s Law Center offers a generous benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and short- and long-term disability insurance; employer-provided retirement contributions; flexible spending plans; and vacation, sick, holiday, family and medical leave. Children’s Law Center is a 501(c)(3) organization. Employees with federal student loan debt can apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. For more information, go to https://myfedloan.org/borrowers/special-programs/pslf.  

Application Instructions
To apply, please submit a resume as a PDF file via CLC's careers page (https://childrenslawcenter.org/get-involved/careers/).  

Children’s Law Center is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. If you believe that you need accommodation to search for, or apply for, one of our positions please send an email to Jobs@ChildrensLawCenter.org. In your email, please include the accommodation you are requesting and the job title you are applying for. It may take up to three business days to receive a response to your request.

Hybrid Working Conditions
Children's Law Center is currently operating on a hybrid work schedule. All employees are expected spend time both working remotely and working in-person from Children's Law Center's office. Hybrid working expectations vary depending upon role and program responsibilities.

Vaccine Mandate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has required that government employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine and all eligible booster shots or be granted medical or religious exemption from the mandate. Due to some of our grant funding and partnerships, Children’s Law Center must follow this mandate. Prior to beginning employment at Children's Law Center, all new employees must be fully vaccinated, including all eligible booster shots, and provide proof thereof as a condition of employment unless the candidate applies and is approved for an exemption as an accommodation due to a medical condition or a religious belief.

Background Checks
Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment will be subject to a background check.

EEO
Children’s Law Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and existing employees. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation. We invite you to visit us here to learn more about our company and our career opportunities (https://childrenslawcenter.org/get-involved/careers/).

DEI Statement
Children’s Law Center is dedicated to building a world that is inclusive in approach and has equal opportunities and equitable outcomes for all. Our organization is committed to developing and supporting a robustly diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist community, where all members can create and feel a sense of belonging. Through our collective deliberate efforts, we work toward racial and social justice for children and families in DC.