ProBAR- Senior Staff Attorney TX-CA

An integral part of our team, Senior Staff Attorneys make a difference for immigrants who face significant obstacles to gaining access to counsel and representation for their removal proceedings. Senior Staff Attorneys also amplify their impact by providing advice and direction to pro bono attorneys, legal staff, and interns to develop legal strategies in a constantly changing landscape of immigration law and policy at the border. The team's legal advocacy and representation are complemented by ProBAR's holistic approach that integrates connections to services for people released from immigration detention.

The Organization

ProBAR empowers immigrants through high-quality legal information, representation, and connections to services. ProBAR serves immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley and Houston regions with a particular focus on the legal needs of adults and unaccompanied children in federal custody. Founded in 1989 as a project of the American Bar Association, ProBAR’s primary office is located in Harlingen, TX with a field office in Houston, TX. For more information about ProBAR, please visit our website: https://abaprobar.org/

Job Summary / General Purpose of Job

Accountable for providing legal services to detained immigrants in immigration removal proceedings, in the South Texas region border. Serves as mentor and leader to staff attorneys, legal support staff, legal interns, and volunteers, including by maintaining current materials and trainings on legal matters. This position will require regular involvement with individuals' living in difficult circumstances and who may have experienced trauma. This position duration is for a period of three months. It is contingent upon funding availability, and ProBAR anticipates funding to extend through Fall of 2026. This position may report out the Harlingen or Houston offices. A remote position for an applicant in Texas is also an option. The primary work travel will be to Nueces County.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities (listed in order of importance and/or time spent)

• Mentors Staff Attorneys providing advice and direction on their cases. Assists in the training and mentoring of pro bono attorneys, legal support staff and other legal volunteers.
• Develops and maintains legal competency relating to immigration detention work, specifically as applied to unaccompanied minors. Builds and maintains relations with local stakeholders. Observes ethical practices relating to client confidentiality and all other applicable legal ethics standards. Maintains case files, documentation and data integrity using division’s case management system.
• Regularly appears in immigration court. Represents clients seeking immigration relief such as asylum, T visas, U visas, cancellation of removal and other relief as appropriate.
• Provides group and individual legal orientations to detained immigrants in immigration removal proceedings.
• Provides legal services including, direct representation, to detained or locally released immigrants.
• Frequent travel to Nueces County (approximately one to three days per week between two to three hours each way) is required, unless the applicant is based in the service area.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Possession of a Juris Doctorate or Master of Law (LLM) from an ABA-accredited law school and be in good standing, and one or more years’ experience in representing clients preferably on immigration matters.
• Licensed to practice law in a U.S. state or territory.
• Fluent in English and Spanish in written and spoken forms. Spanish language fluency evaluation will be conducted as part of the application process.
• Intermediate proficiency with Adobe and Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, OneDrive, teams)
• Must be familiar with conducting virtual meetings, training, and observations on software such as Zoom, Teams, etc.
• Must be able to pick on client visual and verbal cues.
• Must have reliable internet and phone connection.
• Must have reliable transportation to travel between office and off-site work locations. Frequent travel to off-site locations (approximately three days per week for a few hours each way) is required. If the applicant is based in the service area, long periods of travel may not be necessary.
• This position requires the ability to travel to and enter care provider facilities funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services which provide housing and services to unaccompanied children. This position will require the provision of legal services to unaccompanied children in such care provider facilities. In accordance with federal regulations, a background check is required for this position.

Preferred Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Licensed to practice law and member in the State Bar of Texas, and two years’ experience in representing clients on immigration matters.
• Prior work experience with clients, particularly from Central America and including indigenous language speaking populations.
• Prior volunteer, community, or work experience regarding immigration or detention.
• Prior non-profit experience, particularly involving immigration detention.

Physical Requirements

Typical office setting with frequent visits at immigration detention facilities and immigration court. Continuously operates a computer and other office machinery, such as telephone, copy machine, and computer printer.

Travel

As a normal course of business, this job will typically require travel 40% of the time (occasional overnight travel).