Senior Staff Attorney

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center is Hiring!

Senior Staff Attorney — San Francisco, CA (Preferred); Central Valley of California or Southern California (Considered)

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is seeking a full-time Senior Staff Attorney based in our San Francisco, CA office or working remotely from the Central Valley or Los Angeles, CA. This is an exempt position that reports to one of ILRC’s Senior Managing Attorneys. This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), Local 2320. This is a two-year position with the possibility for renewal contingent on project-related funding.

The ILRC currently has a hybrid work model that requires two in-office days per week for employees based in our San Francisco office. Employees not based in the San Francisco office are exempt from this requirement, but will be required to travel to the San Francisco office for key events and meetings in accordance with ILRC’s Remote Work Policy, which includes coming to the San Francisco office at least every quarter. Additionally, this position requires the employee to spend approximately 10-15% of their time traveling.

Who We Are: 

The ILRC is a leading immigrant rights organization headquartered in San Francisco with staff in Washington, D.C., Texas, Southern California, the Central Valley of California, and Washington state. Since 1979, our mission has been to educate, support, and empower immigrants, community organizations, and legal practitioners to build a more just, inclusive, and democratic society. Our team is passionate, collaborative, and committed to equity and innovation in all we do. Additional information about our organizational values is available here.

The Opportunity:

This position will focus on strengthening the legal capacity of legal service providers in California to further the ILRC’s technical support, capacity building, and policy work on behalf of immigrants and the practitioners who defend their rights, particularly advocates who represent noncitizens in immigration court proceedings and those in detention. This position requires advanced expertise in removal defense.

Job Responsibilities:

The Senior Staff Attorney will be responsible for contributing to several concurrent programs including:

• Serving as legal expert to provide input and guidance on complex legal scenarios.
• Responding to requests for technical legal assistance from attorneys and nonprofit agency staff who work with low-income immigrants on issues relating to family-based immigration, removal and deportation defense, release from detention, VAWA, U visa, asylum, SIJS, naturalization and citizenship, and other immigration law issues.
• Writing manuals, practice advisories, and outreach and educational materials for attorneys, paralegals, community organizers, members of the immigrant community, and other sectors.
• Preparing and leading webinars and in-person seminars on a variety of topics in immigration law.
• Working with networks of other immigrant rights organizations, attending coalition meetings, and presenting to groups on immigration law, policy, and immigrant rights issues.
• Coordinating and tracking project deliverables to ensure responsive materials and trainings provided to project partners and practitioners.
• Writing reports to foundations and representing the ILRC in meetings with funders and supporters.
• Traveling for trainings, funder visits, and other events throughout California and occasionally other states.

Required Qualifications:

The successful applicant is required to have:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience representing clients in the practice of general immigration law including representation in immigration court and appeals.
• Broad knowledge of immigration law, including the grounds of inadmissibility and deportability and eligibility for relief.
• Strong foundation in removal defense practice, federal court litigation, and legal responses to immigration enforcement.
• Excellent writing, editing, and legal analysis skills;
• Excellent training and presentation skills;
• Ability to lead meetings and communicate with a range of people, including attorneys, community members, advocates, policy-makers, funders, and others;
• Strong time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines;
• Willing to work closely with and learn from colleagues, including being willing to take direction and editing from others and to incorporate feedback;
• A strong work ethic, including the following qualities: organized, flexible, reliable, and dependable, able to work independently, and able to handle several projects simultaneously;
• Willing to participate in team-based efforts and a collaborative decision-making environment;
• A willingness to travel approximately 10-15% of their time across California and at times, nationally; and
• A current California Bar membership in good standing.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 10 or more years of experience representing low-income clients in the practice of general immigration law, especially removal defense experience, the intersection of criminal and immigration law, and representing clients in detention.
• Experience with federal court practice, in particular habeas practice.
• Engagement with rapid response networks and urgent legal response strategies.
• Writing and securing grants from foundations and corporations.
• Technical writing for immigration or other purposes.
• Training, teaching, or other public speaking experience.
• Working in, leading, or forming coalitions.
• Collaborating with organizers, advocates, and immigrant communities.
• Second language proficiency, within the range of conversational to fluent.

Compensation/Benefits:

Pay is extremely competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for attorneys. The starting pay for this position is $116,008.70 for those who are ten years out of law school. An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than ten years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. For instance, an attorney who has been out of law school for 15 years would have a salary of $138,116.89. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) sessions, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan contribution upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500 and, from 2024 – 2027, an annual wellness stipend of $2,500. ILRC also offers a sabbatical program: employees are eligible to apply for an 8-week sabbatical after five years of service and a 12-week sabbatical after ten years of service.

Applications:

This position will remain open until it is filled and is currently available. We will consider applications on an ongoing basis beginning immediately. To ensure consideration of your application, please submit a cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position, your salary requirements, a current resume, a writing sample that demonstrates immigration and criminal law knowledge, and the contact information for three professional references, one of which must be a supervisor.

No phone calls, please.

As a condition of employment at the ILRC, you will be required to submit proof of vaccination and the most recent booster shot available against COVID-19.*

The ILRC is an equal opportunity employer and does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious beliefs, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal laws. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and other similar state laws and local ordinances, ILRC will also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records.

The ILRC provides reasonable accommodations as required by law. Employees may request an exception from vaccination requirements (if applicable), if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for them or medical necessity requires a delay in vaccination. Employees also may be legally entitled to a reasonable accommodation if they cannot be vaccinated because of a disability, or if receiving a COVID-19 vaccination conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. There may be other recognized exceptions under applicable state and/or local laws.

Pay is extremely competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for attorneys. The starting pay for this position is $116,008.70 for those who are ten years out of law school. An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than ten years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. For instance, an attorney who has been out of law school for 15 years would have a salary of $138,116.89. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) sessions, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan contribution upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500 and, from 2024 – 2027, an annual wellness stipend of $2,500. ILRC also offers a sabbatical program: employees are eligible to apply for an 8-week sabbatical after five years of service and a 12-week sabbatical after ten years of service.