Immigration Supervising Attorney (Temporary/Remote) 

Overview

The Bronx Defenders (BxD) – an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx – seeks a passionate immigration attorney with a commitment to public defense to fill a position as a Temporary/Remote Supervising Attorney in our Immigration Practice.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Immigration Practice

Nearly a third of the residents of the Bronx were born outside the United States, and many face the unprecedented threat of detention and deportation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Our attorneys help people facing criminal, family, and civil proceedings make informed and strategic decisions to protect their rights. We are also one of the three public defender organizations leading the nation’s first-ever universal representation program for detained immigrants facing deportation. 

Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the Deputy Director of the Immigration Practice, the Supervising Attorney will have the following responsibilities:

Client Representation

• Represent a reduced number of noncitizens on complex immigration matters, including detained and non-detained removal proceedings, applications before USCIS, and advisals regarding the consequences of pending criminal or family court proceedings.
• Collaborate with colleagues and external partners in developing and implementing defense strategies involving federal litigation, collateral appeals, policy advocacy, media engagement, and participatory defense

Attorney Supervision

• Conference cases with attorney supervisees on a weekly basis
• Review and provide substantive feedback on supervisees’ written work
• Provide in-court supervision for all unadmitted law graduates and for admitted attorneys, as needed
• Assist supervisees with preparation for individual hearings in immigration court and other legal appearances
• Monitor supervisee caseloads to ensure equitable distribution of work
• Oversee entries into our case management system to ensure that data and outcomes are accurately recorded
• Monitor and provide guidance to staff attorneys regarding docket management
• Encourage and support the professional development of supervisees

Performance Evaluations

• Formally conduct annual performance evaluations of attorneys and advocates
• Provide continual year-round feedback to attorneys to promote the continual development of their practice and skills, particularly after trials and the submission of written work

Practice Leadership

• Attend immigration practice leadership team meetings to discuss ongoing issues impacting the practice and create and enact solutions
• Collaborate with the practice directors and other supervisors to meet practice goals
• Represent the practice at cross-practice and external meetings
• Lead and/or assist with external and internal trainings and presentations
• Train and mentor interns

Qualifications

To be eligible, candidates must have:

• At least three (3) years of immigration law experience, preferably in a criminal-immigration practice
• License to practice law in the United States

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Commitment to directly defending people with limited financial resources placed in removal proceedings or facing immigration consequences based on contact with the family regulation and/or criminal legal system 
• Passion for holistic, client-centered representation
• Experience working in and with immigrant and/or low-income communities targeted by carceral systems
• Ability to effectively and respectfully communicate, collaborate and connect with people with various backgrounds, identities and experiences 
• Ability to work well independently as well as collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers
• Commitment to fierce advocacy, and willingness to strategically challenge authority in defense of clients
• Strong research, writing and courtroom advocacy skills
• Strong communication, interpersonal and active listening skills
• Strong legal analytical skills and capacity to employ non-legal resources in cases
• Supervisory and mentoring skills, including
• A passion for teaching immigration legal issues to advocates with less experience
• Skilled in developing and mentoring supervisees
• Skilled in compiling and delivering intentional and constructive feedback
• Flexibility in balancing needs of supervisees against their own caseload
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment 
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings, finding innovative solutions to unique obstacles
• Ability to receive constructive feedback, demonstrate introspection and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality with sensitive matters

This is a temporary, remote position that will last three months.

Salary is commensurate with experience and will be prorated to the annualized salary for the duration of time of this position. For candidates with 3-6 years of directly relevant experience, the annual salary range for this position would be approximately $108,717-$117,838. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is not within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, non-exempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.

To apply, upload your resume and cover letter in one document, label with your first and last name, and upload to Idealist.org. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience and should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.

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