Staff Attorney, Immigration Law Unit

Job Description
The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking a Staff Attorney to join the Legal Clinics team within its Immigration Law Unit (ILU). This position will assist in ILU’s limited scope legal clinic and community education work, including helping legal clinic clients and working with clinic volunteers and other community-based organizational partners. In collaboration with other team members and other ILU and LAS staff, the staff attorney will also help develop training materials and client-focused resources.

The ideal candidate will have wide-ranging immigration legal experience, be a talented leader with a deep commitment to public interest practice and be able to build strong relationships with stakeholders

in the legal, court, and service communities.

The Immigration Law Unit (ILU) is a recognized leader in providing high-quality representation to non-citizens in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties. Our staff of almost 100 attorneys, social workers, and paralegals across seven different projects and initiatives provides low-income New Yorkers with free comprehensive immigration services, including both affirmative and defensive case matters. The Unit specializes in the intersection between immigration and criminal law and works collaboratively with all practice areas to serve the society’s diverse immigrant clients through a comprehensive service model. Unit staff represent immigrants before USCIS, immigration judges in removal proceedings, and the Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as in federal court on habeas corpus petitions, petitions for review, administrative and judicial appeals, and other matters.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Ensure accountability and maintenance of practice standards
Assist with clinic workflows and ensure quality of application submissions
Prepare immigration applications or other submissions for clinic participants
Provide individualized consultations to clinic participants
Conduct presentations to clinic participants and other community-based organizational partners
Assist in training clinic volunteers
Identify legal trends and share relevant findings with ILU and LAS staff
Train and present on immigration legal topics related to legal clinic work, as needed
Help with community outreach events, as needed
Help develop best practices to share with other providers
Work with ILU and other Civil Practice administrative staff to ensure that ILU case matters are timely updated with data required for grants management
Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
Represent the Civil Practice and Legal Aid in the community
Other duties as assigned

Professional Development and other duties as assigned

Participate in continuous professional development
Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

Admission to NYS Bar preferred, but will consider those who are admitted to any state bar and qualified to practice federal immigration law
At least 4 years of experience in immigration law
Experience in a wide variety of immigration legal matters, both affirmative and defensive
Demonstrated commitment to representing or working with individuals from marginalized communities.
Excellent writing, analytical, oral advocacy, and organizational skills
Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team and manage a high volume of cases
Ability to work with pro bono attorneys, law student interns, and volunteers

Preferred qualifications:

Proficiency in Spanish or French is desirable, but not required
Experience working in a legal clinic model is desirable, but not required