New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) Managing Attorney - Hybrid work environment (subject to change); 2-3 days in office; other days remote

ABOUT IJC

IJC is the country's first fellowship program cited by The New York Times as an innovator in our field. We are dedicated to meeting the need for high-quality legal assistance for low-income immigrants. Our Justice Fellows and Community Fellows are recent law graduates and college graduates, who are committed to providing immigration legal services to under-served populations and who join a new generation of dedicated advocates working to serve immigrant communities. Creative thinking and the pursuit of new strategies to increase access to justice are essential to our mission.

The United States is facing a growing representation crisis in immigration. Immigrant Justice Corps’ (IJC) Fellowship program offers a blueprint for meeting the ongoing representation crisis.Every year, we recruit, train, and mentor talented lawyers and exceptional college graduates and deploy them with legal services providers and community-based organizations to assist low-income immigrants. IJC’s goal is to substantially close the gap in representation for immigrants and believe an infusion of IJC Fellows can make a transformational difference.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Immigrant Justice Corps (“IJC”) seeks a detained removal defense practitioner with demonstrated field credibility to run the NYIFUP Upstate Coordinator Project along with providing legal training, substantive guidance, and professional mentorship for NY Fellows focused on detention work. This position requires quarterly and annual NYIFUP legal training; management of referrals from NYIFUP providers and the ONA hotline; coordination across providers while elevating trends and best practices for capacity building impact; and all associated contractual program reporting requirements. The NYIFUP Managing Attorney will also play a key role in developing detained removal defense technical support and expansion of universal representation for immigrant New Yorkers in partnership with IJC’s NY Host Organizations. This role will also work with the Training and Legal Technical Assistance team in planning, coordinating, and providing legal support for all Fellows and participate in the recruitment and selection process for Fellows and Host Organizations.

Core responsibilities include:

• Lead and coordinate the NYIFUP Upstate Coordinator Project:
  • Create connections with detained removal defense representation organizations
  • Manage NYIFUP program reporting processes
  • Provide legal training and substantive technical assistance to NYIFUP providers
  • Manage referrals from the ONA hotline
  • Represent IJC in statewide and national detained representation working groups
• Provides supervision, mentorship, and professional guidance to Fellows as needed, particularly where gaps in host organization supervision are identified.
• Hold regular case rounds/office hours for Fellows to workshop difficult detained case issues and make referrals to partners/host orgs/experts where needed.
• Coordinate development of materials/content and present trainings for IJC during Fall training, conferences and monthly meetings. Stay informed of recent caselaw developments as it relates to detained removal defense.
• Develop, maintain, and consistently update legal resources and templates in a resource bank available to Fellows, including samples, unpublished written decisions fellows have received, etc.
• Collaborate with the TLTA team to maintain a system for collecting templates, samples, and unpublished decisions from Fellows and Alumni.
• Draft and circulate legal analysis on key immigration law decisions for TLTA and all Fellows in the biweekly briefings and TLTA teach back programming.
• Participate in process to recruit/select/match Fellows and Host Organizations.
• Attend legal conferences and practice group meetings on behalf of IJC and perform site visits for the ONA contract.
• Liaise with relevant stakeholders to elevate and advance representation issues identified; engage in coalition efforts to promote universal representation.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• J.D. with admission to any U.S. State bar required, New York preferred.
• Significant experience in detained removal defense, including litigation practice in immigration court, is required.
• Tech‑savvy with strong project organization skills, including effective use of Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, SharePoint, and virtual training platforms such as Zoom and Zoom Events
• Proficiency with immigration law research tools and databases relevant to detained removal defense.
• Strong legal drafting skills, including development and use of training materials, legal advisories, and templates.
• Experience managing shared legal resource repositories, including document organization, version control, and standardization.
• Ability to use program tracking and reporting tools to support contract deliverables and grant reporting requirements.

This role requires substantive, field‑based expertise directly connected to detained removal defense and the NYIFUP Upstate coordination function.

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

Detention‑Defense Subject Matter Expertise

• Effective ability to recognize patterns, trends, and practices related to legal policy changes, judicial decision‑making impacting detained immigrants, their legal remedies, and their legal representatives.
• Strong analytical skills related to interior enforcement and detention practices.

Field‑Based Relationships & Coalition Engagement

• Established relationships with detention‑based representation providers and practitioners, particularly within New York State.
• Active connectivity to relevant policy, advocacy, and/or law reform coalitions at the state and/or national level.
• Credibility and trust within detention provider communities, enabling effective coordination, technical support, and capacity‑building.

Legal Training & Technical Assistance Capacity

• Strong, demonstrated experience designing and delivering immigration law trainings related to detained removal defense.
• Ability to provide substantive legal technical assistance to fellows and providers, including case consultation, issue‑spotting, and strategic guidance.
• Experience translating complex legal developments into practical guidance for practitioners.

Programmatic & Coordination Acumen

• Proven ability to coordinate across multiple organizations and stakeholders to support statewide initiatives.
• Experience supporting or managing program deliverables related to training, referrals, reporting, or funder requirements.
• Ability to integrate field‑based insights into program planning, resource development, and continuous improvement.

Excellent benefits package including 401(k), dental and vision insurance, paid time off, and flexible spending account.