Independent Contractor | Hybrid, Pittsburgh | Approximately 5 to 25 hours per week based on available work

The Opportunity

Building Block Legal is seeking an experienced paralegal to serve as the firm’s front door, client-experience coordinator, and community connector.

This role combines legal support with relationship-building and systems development. You will often be the first person a prospective client meets and the person who helps clients understand what happens next. You should be able to make people feel welcome, gather useful information sensitively, and recognize when a question, concern, or deadline requires attorney attention.

You will also help the firm remain connected to the communities it serves. That may mean attending a gallery opening, maintaining relationships with a startup incubator, identifying a workshop opportunity, or recognizing a community need that the firm could address through education, partnership, or reduced-cost legal services.

What You May Work On

Intake and Client Experience

• Respond to prospective-client inquiries promptly and warmly.

• Conduct preliminary intake conversations using firm-approved processes.

• Gather information needed for conflicts checks and attorney review.

• Identify deadlines, urgency, accessibility needs, and sensitive circumstances.

• Prepare concise, organized intake summaries for counsel.

• Explain the firm’s process, services, pricing structure, and next steps within approved parameters.

• Coordinate consultations, engagement documents, onboarding, and document collection.

• Track unanswered questions, missing information, and client concerns.

• Maintain client communication preferences and accommodation requests.

• Support thoughtful matter closure, feedback collection, and continuing client relationships.

• Communicate declines and referrals with care and useful direction.

Community Engagement

• Maintain a calendar of relevant arts, startup, nonprofit, and community events.

• Attend selected gallery openings, performances, workshops, fundraisers, conferences, and professional programs.

• Develop relationships with artists’ organizations, incubators, funders, nonprofits, referral partners, and community groups.

• Identify opportunities for workshops, coffee hours, sponsorships, speaking engagements, and collaborations.

• Surface potential Community Impact Fund matters and partnerships for attorney review.

• Monitor recurring community needs that could inform new services or educational resources.

• Maintain organized records of contacts, referrals, partnerships, and follow-up commitments.

Paralegal and Systems Support

• Organize and maintain client and matter files.

• Track filing, renewal, response, and contractual deadlines.

• Support copyright, trademark, entity, nonprofit, and governance filings.

• Prepare routine forms, filing documents, and correspondence for attorney review.

• Maintain intake forms, client guides, referral resources, templates, and checklists.

• Improve workflows for intake, conflicts, onboarding, communication, billing, and matter closure.

• Track lead sources, consultations, referrals, client feedback, and community activity.

• Assist with workshops, presentations, articles, newsletters, and social-media materials.

All substantive legal work will be performed under attorney supervision. The paralegal will not provide independent legal advice, determine whether the firm will accept a matter, or establish an attorney-client relationship on the firm’s behalf.

What We Are Looking For

• Two to five years of paralegal, legal-intake, client-services, or comparable experience.

• Excellent interpersonal judgment, listening, and written communication skills.

• Ability to speak with people experiencing financial stress, conflict, uncertainty, or emotional difficulty.

• Warmth, patience, and professionalism without forced familiarity.

• Strong organization, documentation, and follow-through.

• Ability to recognize when an issue requires attorney attention.

• Comfort improving systems and creating structure where processes are still developing.

• Careful handling of confidential and sensitive information.

• Ability to work independently while maintaining clear records and communication.

• Genuine interest in the firm’s clients and communities.

Especially Helpful

• Experience in arts administration, hospitality, customer success, community organizing, nonprofit operations, social services, or client intake.

• Familiarity with intellectual property, corporate governance, contracts, nonprofits, startups, or small businesses.

• Experience with practice-management, client-relationship, document-management, or docketing systems.

• Human-centered design or trauma-informed communication experience.

• An active creative practice, entrepreneurial project, or meaningful community involvement.

• Existing relationships within Pittsburgh’s arts, nonprofit, startup, or neighborhood communities.

• Experience organizing events, workshops, partnerships, or educational programs.

Engagement Details

• Independent-contractor engagement.

• Hybrid work, combining remote services with mutually scheduled work at the firm’s downtown Pittsburgh office.

• Occasional attendance at client meetings, community programs, gallery openings, and professional events.

• Work offered based on client demand, firm projects, and contractor availability.

• No guaranteed minimum number of hours.

• Current workload is expected to remain below 30 hours per week.

• Contractor may maintain other professional engagements, subject to confidentiality and conflict requirements.

• All approved intake, event, travel, community, systems, and paralegal work is compensated.

• Anticipated rate: $42 to $52 per hour, based on experience, community relationships, and ability to manage client-experience systems independently.

Independent Contractor | Hybrid, Pittsburgh | Approximately 5 to 15 hours per week during the academic year

The Opportunity

Building Block Legal is seeking a current law student who wants substantive experience serving artists, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, startups, and small businesses.

This role is designed for a student who wants to learn how legal work moves from an initial client question to a practical solution. You will conduct research and prepare first drafts under attorney supervision while helping the firm improve its internal resources and systems.

We expect interns to ask thoughtful questions, receive feedback constructively, and take increasing ownership as their skills develop.

What You May Work On

• Research legal issues involving contracts, intellectual property, business formation, nonprofit governance, employment, and dispute resolution.

• Prepare research memoranda, client-facing summaries, contract comparisons, and first drafts for attorney review.

• Assist with copyright, trademark, entity, and nonprofit filings.

• Review factual records and organize chronologies, exhibits, and supporting materials.

• Help maintain templates, checklists, citation libraries, filing guides, and practice-area resources.

• Research legal and business developments affecting the firm’s clients.

• Assist with client intake, matter planning, and follow-up materials.

• Support articles, presentations, workshops, newsletters, and social-media content.

• Attend community, arts, startup, and nonprofit events with firm attorneys.

• Help identify potential referral relationships and community partnerships without providing legal advice or independently soliciting clients.

What We Are Looking For

• Current enrollment and good standing at an accredited law school.

• Completion of at least one semester of legal research and writing.

• Demonstrated interest in serving artists, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, startups, or small businesses.

• Strong research, writing, organization, and citation skills.

• Ability to communicate uncertainty and distinguish between confirmed conclusions and open questions.

• Careful handling of confidential information.

• Reliable follow-through and responsiveness.

• Willingness to learn unfamiliar areas of law and business.

• Respectful treatment of clients and colleagues at every level.

Especially Helpful

• Coursework or clinic experience in intellectual property, business associations, contracts, nonprofit law, employment, securities, or alternative dispute resolution.

• Experience with creative communities, entrepreneurship, nonprofit work, or community organizing.

• Journal, moot court, transactional competition, clinic, research-assistant, extracurricular, or prior professional experience.

• Familiarity with legal research platforms, Microsoft Word, document comparison, spreadsheets, or practice-management software.

• Human-centered design or trauma-informed communication experience.

• A creative practice, entrepreneurial project, portfolio, or sustained community commitment.

Engagement Details

• Paid independent-contractor engagement.

• Work offered through discrete research, drafting, filing, content, and systems projects.

• Hybrid work, with remote services and mutually scheduled time at the firm’s downtown Pittsburgh office.

• Occasional attendance at client meetings, workshops, and community events.

• No guaranteed minimum number of hours.

• Anticipated availability of approximately 5 to 15 hours per week during the academic year, with the possibility of additional projects during school breaks.

• All legal work performed under direct attorney supervision.

• Anticipated rate: $26 to $32 per hour, based on law-school year, relevant experience, and demonstrated research and writing ability.

Independent Contractor | Hybrid, Pittsburgh | Approximately 5 to 25 hours per week based on available work

The Opportunity

Building Block Legal is seeking Pennsylvania-licensed counsel to help nonprofits, social enterprises, community organizations, and individual founders build sound legal foundations and secure funding for their work.

This role combines nonprofit legal services with grant research, strategy, writing, and post-award support. The strongest candidate will understand how governance, financial controls, intellectual property, organizational records, and program design affect both legal compliance and funder confidence.

You should be able to move between board advice, legal drafting, funder research, project narratives, and implementation planning while keeping the organization’s mission at the center.

What You May Work On

Formation and Tax-Exempt Status

• Advise clients on nonprofit, for-profit, benefit, fiscal-sponsorship, and hybrid structural options.

• Form Pennsylvania nonprofit corporations and other mission-driven entities.

• Draft articles of incorporation, bylaws, organizational resolutions, and conflict-of-interest policies.

• Prepare federal tax-exemption applications and related state filings.

• Help unincorporated groups determine whether and when formal organization is appropriate.

Governance and Compliance

• Advise boards and officers on fiduciary duties, governance procedures, and organizational records.

• Draft board policies, committee charters, resolutions, minutes, and governance guides.

• Support annual reporting, charitable-registration, and recordkeeping obligations.

• Conduct governance and grant-readiness assessments.

• Help organizations respond when programs, leadership, funding, or mission priorities change.

• Support nonprofit mergers, conversions, restructurings, and dissolutions.

Fundraising and Grant Agreements

• Review and negotiate grant agreements.

• Draft donor, sponsorship, restricted-gift, and naming-rights agreements.

• Advise on fund restrictions, reporting obligations, audit rights, branding requirements, and ownership of grant-funded work.

• Structure fiscal-sponsorship arrangements and advise sponsors and sponsored projects.

• Support compliance with government, foundation, and corporate funding requirements.

Grant Research and Writing

• Research government, foundation, and corporate funding opportunities.

• Assess eligibility, competitiveness, strategic fit, and application burden.

• Develop grant calendars and funding strategies.

• Draft letters of inquiry, project narratives, organizational descriptions, and full applications.

• Develop or refine budgets and budget narratives with the client and its financial professionals.

• Review and edit client-prepared applications.

• Coordinate supporting documents, organizational records, and application materials.

• Help clients present their governance, financial controls, impact, and legal structure accurately.

• Support post-award reporting, compliance, amendments, and communications with funders.

Firm and Community Development

• Build templates, checklists, questionnaires, grant databases, governance resources, and internal workflows.

• Develop relationships with funders, accountants, grant professionals, nonprofit networks, incubators, and community organizations.

• Represent the firm at nonprofit, arts, social-enterprise, and community events.

• Identify workshop, partnership, referral, and Community Impact Fund opportunities.

• Help convert appropriate firm-generated leads and develop new client relationships.

• Write at least one substantive educational article each month. The firm will credit the author and may adapt the article for newsletters, workshops, and social media.

What We Are Looking For

• Active Pennsylvania bar admission in good standing.

• Up to five years of relevant legal, nonprofit, or grant-development experience.

• Experience or demonstrated training in nonprofit formation, governance, tax exemption, fundraising, or grant compliance.

• Strong legal research, drafting, and client-communication skills.

• Strong narrative writing and ability to explain an organization’s work clearly and accurately.

• Ability to evaluate a funding opportunity against the client’s mission, capacity, and legal structure.

• Working understanding of nonprofit governance, restricted funds, board responsibilities, and organizational records.

• Ability to manage applications, deadlines, and supporting materials across several matters.

• Sound judgment about when to involve tax, accounting, employment, securities, or local counsel.

• Sensitivity to the financial and operational constraints of small and emerging organizations.

• Genuine commitment to helping mission-driven organizations build sustainable systems.

Especially Helpful

• Experience preparing Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ applications.

• Grant-writing credentials or a record of successful government, foundation, or corporate applications.

• Experience with fiscal sponsorships, donor restrictions, charitable solicitation, or government grants.

• Familiarity with arts organizations, social enterprises, community groups, or organizations operating on limited budgets.

• Experience developing budgets, logic models, theories of change, evaluation plans, or funder reports.

• Human-centered design, facilitation, mediation, or trauma-informed practice experience.

• An active creative practice, entrepreneurial project, or meaningful community involvement.

• Existing relationships within Pittsburgh’s nonprofit, arts, funding, or community-development sectors.

• Public speaking, teaching, workshop, or published-writing experience.

Engagement Details

• Independent-contractor engagement.

• Hybrid work, combining remote services with mutually scheduled work at the firm’s downtown Pittsburgh office.

• Occasional travel to client meetings, board meetings, funder programs, workshops, and community events.

• Matters offered based on client needs, conflicts, subject-matter fit, and contractor availability.

• Contractor may accept or decline matters and maintain other professional engagements, subject to conflicts and confidentiality obligations.

• Current workload is expected to remain below 30 hours per week, with no guaranteed minimum.

• Legal and grant-development services will be separately identified in matter scopes and client communications.

• Anticipated rate: $75 to $110 per hour, based on legal experience, grant-development skill, and ability to manage matters independently.

• Additional business-development compensation may be available for originated matters under a separately documented arrangement.