Staff Attorney (Family Unity Project)

The Staff Attorney will be primarily responsible for providing direct deportation removal defense representation. Clients may include detained adults or unaccompanied minors or both. The Staff Attorney will work under the direct supervision of a Managing Attorney and in collaboration with their fellow attorneys. Support for the Staff Attorney comes from paralegals, administrative assistants and case managers.

The Staff Attorney provides competent immigration legal representation and removal defense in a high-volume varied immigration legal practice that includes limited-scope counsel and advice, bond-only representation, and full-scope representation for all available remedies afforded to a client before the immigration court.

This position will be in our Family Unity Project, a team working to help reunify separated families.

Essential Functions

1. Screening and providing limited counsel and advice to individuals found ineligible for legal representation pursuant to the funding requirements;

2. Representing individuals for initial or prolonged custody redetermination hearings;

3. Prepare and submit various Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) removal defense applications and supporting evidence

4. Prepare and submit various EOIR waivers

5. Providing legal representation to qualified clients in immigration court for all available remedies before the Los Angeles Immigration Court;

6. Prepare materials for bond hearings

Competencies

• Strong grasp on legal concepts, especially as they pertain to immigration;
• Public Speaking Skills;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with staff and clients;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem solving;
• Highly resourceful team player, with the ability to also excel independently;
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of constituent service and response.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide creative representation to immigrants before the Immigration Courts, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and CA state court proceedings related to a client's removal case;
• Stay up to date on rapidly changing immigration laws and policies;
• Comply with data and program reporting requirements.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate;
• Active California State Bar License or licensure from another state and, if required, willingness to "waive into" the CA Bar via the Multi-Jurisdictional Practice Program;
• Spanish language proficiency;
• Strong case management, legal research, and legal writing skills;
• Willingness to zealously pursue new and untested legal theories;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work under pressure;
• Passion for social justice for immigrants.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in public interest, litigation or immigration is a plus, but not required as we are willing to train the right person for the job;
• An interest in working with marginalized populations and survivors of trauma;
• Prior work experience (legal or otherwise) in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment. 
• DACA Recipients encouraged to apply!