Coordinating Attorney

About NYLAG:

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combating economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. NYLAG’s staff of 410 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.

Job description

NYLAG’s Pro Bono and Volunteer Unit and Community Access Programs Unit have an immediate opening for a Coordinating Attorney to join our team! The Coordinating Attorney will bolster NYLAG’s pro bono program by bridging the gap between immigration matters referred through community partnerships and NYLAG’s pro bono attorney network. The Coordinating Attorney will serve as the subject matter expert and point of contact for all immigration cases that come to NYLAG through the Community Access Programs Unit (CAPU), specifically the Mobile Legal Help Center, LegalHand and UJA Safety and Stability Project. The Coordinating Attorney will conduct intake, provide advice and counsel, and other brief services, coordinate clinics and mentor volunteers and attorneys in limited and full scope clinics, as well as refer pro bono matters to placement where appropriate.

The Coordinating Attorney will assess cases intaked through our community partnerships, build Know Your Rights presentations and other information resources, plan and supervise screening and intake clinics, plan and supervise single day application assistance clinics staffed by volunteers, refer full scope eligible cases to placement through NYLAG’s pro bono unit, supervise immigration cases that come through CAPU and are placed with CAPU attorneys, and manage a limited case load of their own as needed. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced immigration attorney to increase our capacity to meet the vast informational and legal needs of New York’s immigrant community. The Coordinating Attorney will be supervised by the Director of the Pro Bono and Volunteer Unit and also report to the Director of the Community Access Programs Unit.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as an immigration subject matter expert for CAPU on immigration matters, working collaboratively with CAPU to plan events and meet the needs of immigration clients, and coordinate legal support for these matters with PBVU resources.
• Provide mentorship for CAPU attorneys representing clients on cases that come through NYLAG’s Mobile Legal Help Center, LegalHand, and UJA Safety and Stability Project
• Review and assess cases referred through NYLAG’s Mobile Legal Help Center, LegalHand, the UJA Safety and Stability Project, and CAPU screening and intake events. Provide legal consultations, offer brief services, and facilitate pro bono referrals when appropriate.
• Provide expert substantive training, supervision, and mentorship to pro bono attorneys and non-attorney volunteers at screenings and legal clinics.
• Plan, train, and supervise volunteers at single day legal clinics to serve clients.
• Develop and deliver know your rights trainings, guides, toolkits and other materials for Know Your Rights presentations, community education, and legal clinics
• Draft case descriptions for pro bono monthly circular.
• Assist with relationship building with pro bono partners, community-based organizations, and the pro bono community.
• Participate in and assist with pro bono events.
• Provide legal guidance and respond to inquiries from partner organizations, clients, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
• Other related tasks that support the growth of our pro bono practice.

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school and admission to the New York State Bar
• Spanish language fluency.
• A minimum of 6 years' experience as an immigration attorney, at least 2 of which includes removal defense work.
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience providing mentorship or support to pro bono attorneys, interns or volunteers.
• Ability to screen, identify eligibility for relief, train and mentor on these substantive areas.
• Experience conducting community outreach, including but not limited to Know Your Rights events, in-community screenings and clinics, and working in partnership with CBO’s.
• Experience advocating for clients who have interacted with the criminal legal system preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a high volume of cases.
• Demonstrated strong oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated strong analytical and organization skills with keen attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to respond promptly to high volume communications.
• Demonstrated ability to provide mentorship and supervision, including developing toolkits, practice guides, and creating and leading substantive CLE trainings.
• Demonstrated ability to work both collaboratively with a team and completely independently.
• Ability to track data fully and accurately with an eye toward analytics.
• Comfort with outreach, networking and professional relationship building.

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Employment type:

☒ Full-time

Professional Level:

☒ Professional

Salary Range: NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $101,009-$111,561.

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.

Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf.

Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.

NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.