Supervising Immigration Attorney, Part-Time

The Part-Time Supervising Attorney will supervise the Free to Be Youth (FYP) Project immigration practice. The Supervising Attorney will work with the director and legal staff in order to ensure high quality immigration legal services for FYP clients. The Supervising Attorney strives to foster a trauma informed culture and service provision model rooted in harm reduction, anti-oppression, and human rights. This role will require an average of 20-25 hours per week.

About the Free to Be Youth Project of the Urban Justice Center

FYP is an independent project that is part of the Urban Justice Center. FYP is a legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education project that focuses on the legal needs of homeless and street-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people (up to age 24) in New York City. FYP advocates for LGBTQ+ young people living in poverty on a wide range of issues, including safe and affirming access to shelter, benefits, accurate identification documents, employment, and legal immigration status.

Role Within Legal Team

• Supervises staff attorneys, legal volunteers and legal interns, and helps with professional development, including identifying and sharing about appropriate trainings and CLEs.
• Manages a case load of clients seeking immigration relief: including T/U nonimmigrant status, asylum/withholding/CAT, adjustment of status, naturalization, and other applications depending on client needs.
• Represents clients in removal proceedings and interviews before U.S, Citizenship and Immigration Services., Conducts in-depth interviews with clients to assess potential immigration relief as well as other legal needs, including eligibility for T-visas, U-visas, asylum, and other forms of relief.
• Accompanies clients to interviews with law enforcement agents, and provides other criminal justice advocacy as needed.
• Keeps up to date with immigration policy changes, including Board of Immigration Appeal case law decisions, Circuit Court, and Supreme Court precedent decisions, and keeps SWP staff informed of relevant developments.
• Actively participates in FYP staff and legal team meetings and interdisciplinary meetings.
• Additional duties as allowed by capacity and dictated by project and client needs, in consultation with supervisor.
• Provides Spanish language interpretation and translation as needed.

Required Skills

• 5-8 years of experience handling immigration cases with a focus on humanitarian applications (T visas, U visas, VAWA, SIJS, asylum) and defensive immigration work
• Admitted New York State (preferred)
• Experience working with survivors of crime and a commitment to trauma-informed lawyering and client-centered practices.
• Ability to analyze the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, write Padilla letters and provide plea recommendations to criminal defense attorneys and clients.
• Knowledge of dynamics of domestic violence, LGBTQ+ issues, and human trafficking
• Organizational skills to track and report required data about the work in a timely and accurate manner.
• Strong oral and written advocacy skills.
• Willingness to work independently while also taking direction and operating as part of a team.
• Organizational ability is required to juggle many cases efficiently.
• Experience with computers and technology, including Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and electronic case management systems.

Skills – Preferred:

• Fluency in Spanish
• Demonstrated commitment to representing low-income immigrants
• Knowledge of social service and victim service agencies in the NYC area