Staff Attorney

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Is Hiring!

Staff Attorney 

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney based in California. This is an exempt position that reports to one of ILRC’s Senior Managing Attorneys. The ILRC currently has a hybrid work model that requires two in-office days per week.

The ILRC is a national nonprofit legal support center headquartered in San Francisco with staff in Washington, D.C., Austin, Houston, Laredo, and San Antonio, TX, Southern California, and the San Joaquin Valley of California. The mission of the ILRC is to work with, educate, and enhance the capacity of immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector, in order to build a democratic society that values diversity, dignity, and the rights of all people. Founded in 1979, the ILRC is regarded as one of the foremost experts on engaging immigrants and developing their leadership in the democratic process, providing expertise on complex issues of immigration law, procedure and policy, and engaging in advocacy and educational initiatives on policies that affect immigrants. We are a team-based organization that makes most of its decisions in a collaborative fashion that allows for significant staff input.

Summary of this position: The Staff Attorney will further the ILRC’s technical support, capacity building, and policy work on behalf of immigrants and the practitioners who defend their rights. This position will be approximately 50% policy work on immigration enforcement at the local and state level in California, and 50% legal technical support and capacity building with openness to a range of immigration law expertise. We are open to a range of three to seven years of immigration law expertise. 

Job Responsibilities: The Staff Attorney will participate in several programs, including, but not limited to:

• Representing the ILRC in various local and statewide enforcement coalitions which aim to disentangle law enforcement from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), including as needed leading or co-leading certain coalitions;
• Supporting California decarceration campaigns including through the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice (CAYCJ), among others;
• Providing individualized campaign strategy technical assistance to local campaigns at the intersection of criminal and immigration law (for example, sanctuary policy campaigns, youth and adult jail closure campaigns);
• Connecting criminal and youth justice legal system reform and immigration organizers and attorneys to learn about each other’s local organizing efforts, identifying mutual points of advocacy, and facilitating effective collaboration;
• Analyzing local and state legislation that affects ICE enforcement, due process of immigrants, and related issues. As needed, drafting legislation, advising legislative staff and other parties, and testifying before legislature;
• Supporting on written resources and strategy around national enforcement issues as needed;
• Working with local and state partners to develop a broader narrative around criminalization, prosecution, and deportation in California;
• Interfacing with media, giving press interviews, and supporting the development of media campaign strategy;
• Participating in regional collaboratives and task forces to represent the ILRC and provide relevant information on immigrants’ rights, immigration law, and policy updates;
• Attending legal workshops to screen community members for forms of relief and/or assist with immigration applications;
• Providing in-person and remote legal trainings on immigration law and policy to a range of audiences including immigrant community members, community organizers, public defenders, district attorneys, judges, paralegals, and immigration attorneys;   
• Engaging in intensive writing including updating manuals, practice advisories, and online resources, for attorneys, paralegals, community organizers, and members of the immigrant community, on a range of immigration law topics;
• Writing grant proposals, writing reports, and supporting the execution of foundation grant deliverables, and representing the ILRC in meetings with funders and supporters; and
• Traveling for trainings, meetings, and other events throughout California, and, at times, throughout the United States.

Qualifications: Requirements for the position include:

• We are open to a range of immigration experience from three years to seven years as an attorney doing immigration work on any of the following topics:
• Special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS)
• U visas
• T Visas
• VAWA (Violence Against Women’s Act)
• Asylum
• Family based adjustment of status
• Removal defense
• Experience, exposure to, or interest in, policy work including legislative, administrative, or budgetary advocacy, at the local or state level;
• Experience working with a wide array of groups, including individuals directly impacted by immigration or criminal legal systems;
• Commitment to abolitionist values;
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail;
• Excellent writing, editing, legal analysis, and oral presentation skills;
• Exceptional time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines;
• Excellent public speaking skills;
• Skilled in the ability to convey complex legal and policy issues to diverse audiences;
• Commitment to immigrant rights and understanding of issues related to criminalization;
•  A strong work ethic, including the following qualities: organized, flexible, reliable, and dependable, with the ability to be an independent worker and to manage several projects simultaneously while thriving in a team-based collaborative decision-making environment;
• A willingness to travel throughout California, and at times across the United States;
• A current Bar membership in good standing for any state in the United States or the District of Columbia.

It is a plus if the applicant has additional relevant experience or knowledge about the following:

• Spanish or Asian language proficiency within the range of conversational to fluent;
• Experience in “crim/imm” law (immigration consequences of criminal offenses);
• Media expertise including prior experience being interviewed by media, writing op eds, or developing media strategies in support of policy campaigns;
• Deep experience supporting and moving campaigns at the local, state, or federal level on immigration enforcement or adjacent topics;
• Experience in any area of immigration law policy;
• Knowledge of immigration issues in state court systems, including youth justice, child welfare, probate and family courts (particularly in California or Texas); and
• Experience working in, leading, or forming coalitions.

Salary/Benefits: 

Pay is very competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for Attorneys.  The starting pay for this position is from $89,364.94 to $106,727.52 (for those three to seven years out of law school). An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than seven years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan option upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500 and an annual wellness stipend of $2,500.

Applications: We will be accepting applications until May 10, 2024. 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 law knowledge, and the contact information for three professional references.

Online applications are preferred. As an alternative, you can mail your application to:

Staff Attorney Hiring Committee

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

1458 Howard Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

No phone calls please.

As a condition of employment at the ILRC, you will be required to submit proof of vaccination and at least two booster shots 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.

Salary/Benefits: 

Pay is very competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for Attorneys. The starting pay for this position is from $89,364.94 to $106,727.52 (for those three to seven years out of law school). An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than seven years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan option upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500 and an annual wellness stipend of $2,500.