Staff Attorney

Full Time Exempt Position, Based in Nashville. Reports to the Legal Services Director.

About TIRRC

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led

collaboration. Our mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights. Our vision is a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration

statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. TIRRC’s legal team engages in community legal

education, direct representation, and advocacy to protect the rights of immigrant community members and

support the power-building mission of the organization. Over the past year and a half, TIRRC’s legal team has adapted its legal strategies to respond to the human rights crisis facing immigrant communities in our state. We expanded our detention and removal work, developed a habeas practice, and have pursued state and federal litigation to support our members and advance the rights of immigrants and refugees in Tennessee. This position will focus primarily on individual direct representation of immigrants in affirmative and defensive cases, as well as in bond and custody matters.

Position Description

TIRRC seeks a Staff Attorney to join its dynamic legal team and help advance immigrant justice in Tennessee.

The Staff Attorney will primarily focus on direct individual representation of immigrant community members before USCIS and EOIR, and the position may also include habeas practice in federal district courts. The composition of the Staff Attorney’s caseload will depend to some extent on the attorney’s interests and experience as well as community needs, but will include bond representation and applications for humanitarian and family-based relief. Responsibilities may also include community legal education and supporting immigrants’ rights-related litigation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Client Representation and Counseling

• Provide accurate and comprehensive legal advice and counsel to clients on immigration matters;
• Determine eligibility for legal relief and develop legal strategy case plans;
• Provide high-quality extended representation to clients in affirmative and defensive immigration cases;
• Provide high quality representation to clients in DHS custody on custody-related matters, including bond hearings and possibly habeas petitions;
• Maintain accurate and complete records regarding representation including client communications, casework, and deadlines and otherwise comply with professional and ethical obligations;
• Assist in supervising other legal staff involved in the provision of immigration legal assistance, including legal fellows and coordinators;
• Maintain a thorough and up-to-date understanding of U.S. immigration law, regulations, and policy through legal research, continuing legal education, and other professional development.

Supervision of Community Legal Education and Resource Line Programs

• Work collaboratively with colleagues and participate in weekly group case review, on-site trainings, and provide supervision for support staff’s legal work;
• Assist in the development and maintenance of accurate and up-to-date legal content for TIRRC’s community legal education materials and legal information resources;
• In conjunction with other staff, plan and implement TIRRC’s community legal education and self-help sessions and workshops;
• Train other staff and community leaders on legal and legal ethics topics.

Organizational Support and Responsibilities:

• Provide technical assistance, including legal research and analysis, on state and federal topics affecting immigrant communities to TIRRC’s organizing and policy teams;
• Assist with tracking and gathering data and records for funders as needed;
• All TIRRC staff, including the Staff Attorney, are expected to participate in and help support certain organization-wide trainings and events, such as Day on the Hill and the Membership Convention.

Job responsibilities include but are not limited to those listed above. As with every position at TIRRC, every person in the organization will assist their colleagues to ensure a cooperative environment and respond to the needs of the moment. This job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.

Skills and Qualifications

• Active attorney license in Tennessee or active attorney license in another state and willingness and ability to gain admission in Tennessee;
• Experience with immigration law, preferably in a nonprofit setting, is required; this requirement may be met through participation in a law school clinic or summer internship, though post-graduate immigration practice experience is strongly preferred;
• Belief in TIRRC’s mission and demonstrated commitment to social justice, progressive social change, empowering communities’ rights and justice;
• Excellent judgment, a high level of integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality;
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
• Ability to be very organized, work on deadlines, and juggle multiple priorities and cases;
• Ability to work effectively with low-income immigrant clients who have diverse personalities, lifestyles, cultures, and faiths;
• Ability to coordinate and advance strategies within a coalition and internal team in a rapidly moving environment;
• Fluency or high proficiency in languages spoken by our clients (particularly Spanish or Arabic) is preferred but not required;
• Ability to work flexible hours, including some nights and weekends;
• Must have reliable transportation.

SALARY AND BENEFITS PACKAGE:

Salary Range: $70,000 - $80,000 depending on experience with relocation support available.

Benefits: Full-time TIRRC employees are eligible to receive medical, dental, and vision insurance with 100% of the medical employee premium covered by TIRRC, participate in a 401K retirement plan with an employer

match, and receive 24/7 access to an Employee Assistance Program. In addition, TIRRC provides paid leave

including up to 15 vacation days, 13 paid holidays, and 3 weeks paid sick leave in an employee’s first year and 6 weeks of paid parental leave.

To apply for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@tnimmigrant.org

Fluency in English required, fluency or high proficiency in languages spoken by our clients (particularly Spanish or Arabic) is preferred