Staff Attorney

Project Citizenship Full-Time Staff Attorney Job Description

Are you passionate about positively impacting the lives of immigrants in Boston and beyond? Make a lasting impact as a Staff Attorney at Project Citizenship. This role is an opportunity to use your legal expertise to expand access to citizenship for hundreds of immigrants across Boston and beyond. If you’re ready to take on meaningful, client-centered work in a collaborative environment, we want to hear from you!

Project Citizenship is a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase the naturalization rate in New England, with a focus on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. We do that by offering eligibility screening, application assistance, legal referrals, free workshops, and all materials needed to apply for U.S. citizenship, leveraging our impact with the support of hundreds of volunteers and community partners. Project Citizenship envisions a society where all immigrants have the opportunity to participate in American democracy and thrive in their communities fully.

Are you ready to take on a challenging and rewarding role that allows you to make a difference in the lives of others and contribute to the success of Project Citizenship? If so, we invite you to apply for this position today!

Principal Purpose of Job: Reporting to the Senior Staff Attorney, the Staff Attorney works collaboratively within the Legal department to provide direct legal services to clients and support Project Citizenship’s group processing model. This role works closely with the Program team to support cross-functional client services work.

Essential Job Functions:

Legal Services & Client Support (80%)

• Assist with the legal aspects of organizing, implementing, and staffing group processing naturalization workshops, including supporting the oversight and engagement of volunteer attorneys.
• Contribute to direct client representation work, including coordinating completion and filing of numerous USCIS applications, representing clients during naturalization interviews as needed, and assisting clients in responding to Notices of Continuance and Notices of Intent to Deny.
• Support client intake to assess naturalization eligibility, derivation and acquisition, disability waiver application eligibility, and identify any potential legal issues.
• Review criminal, immigration, biographical, and tax records and conduct legal research as needed.
• Conduct the follow-up of pending applications to ensure completion and timely submission of applications.
• Thoroughly review completed naturalization, derivation, and acquisition applications for quality and accuracy prior to submission.
• Support the N-648 program, including volunteer & provider outreach, review and revision requests, and final approval for scheduling.

Legal Program Management & Development (15%)

• Work collaboratively with the Legal team to recruit, interview, and supervise legal interns.
• Develop and deliver training materials for staff, volunteers, pro bono attorneys, healthcare organizations, and other relevant stakeholder groups.
• Contribute to the management of the interview representation volunteer program, including creation of interview representation preparation & support materials for volunteer attorneys.
• Represent the organization to various legal groups, local bar and law school pro bono fairs, and community events to enhance partnerships and recruit volunteers and interns.
• Contribute to the development of standards of practice and/or procedures for the Legal Team.
• Remain current in best practices in immigration legal services, participating in professional development opportunities as appropriate.

Organizational & Administrative Support (5%)

• Maintain DOJ recognition for Project Citizenship and assist staff applying for DOJ accreditation
• Maintain Salesforce database and data integrity, work collaboratively to update, improve, and maintain the database systems and SOPs.
• Work with internal stakeholders to collect data in support of funding applications or reports when needed.

Qualifications Desired:

1. Admission to, or in the process of being admitted to, a U.S. State bar. Admission to the Massachusetts bar is a plus.
2. 6 months to 1 year of transferable experiences through internships, volunteering, or previous work experience.
3. Expert attention to detail and organizational skills.
4. Ability to work effectively as part of a team and with people from all levels of the organization.
5. Commitment to providing high-quality services to clients with a respectful, culturally competent, non-judgmental approach.
6. Demonstrated independence, self-direction, ability to take initiative, and balance conflicting priorities
7. Excellent writing and communication skills.
8. Knowledge of Salesforce and Microsoft Suite is highly preferred.
9. Proficiency in another language, such as Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Cape Verdean Creole, or Arabic, a plus.

We know that many people (especially people of color, women, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities) are less likely to apply if they do not check off all the boxes. If you think you’re a good fit for this role, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all our desired expectations.

Details

• This is a full-time, hybrid position.
• At least 3 days in
• office per week will be required, after fully in-person onboarding.
• This position intermittently requires weeknight and weekend hours.
• Salary Range: $70,000-$75,000, commensurate with experience.
• Benefits include 4 weeks of paid vacation, 11 paid holidays, 5 days of wellness leave; health and dental insurance (w/ 20% employee contribution); and 401K retirement plan access (with 2% match of employee's contribution) after 6 months of employment.

How to apply:

To apply, please fill out this Google Form. In lieu of a cover letter, this form will ask a few screening and short-answer questions and will request your resume.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Start date is as soon as possible.

If you have any trouble viewing or accessing the Google forms, or have any accessibility needs, please email careers@projectcitizenship.org for support.

Benefits include 4 weeks of paid vacation, 11 paid holidays, 5 days of wellness leave; health and dental insurance (w/ 20% employee contribution); and 401K retirement plan access (with 2% match of employee's contribution) after 6 months of employment.

Proficiency in another language other than English, such as Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Cape Verdean Creole, or Arabic, a plus.