You are viewing a preview of this job. Log in or register to view more details about this job.

Attorney-in-Charge, Immigration Law Unit

Job Description
The Immigration Law Unit (ILU) in The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is a recognized leader in providing high-quality representation to non-citizens in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties. Our staff of almost 100 attorneys, social workers, and paralegals across six different projects and initiatives works collaboratively to provide client-centered, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive legal services.
The ILU seeks an experienced and talented leader with a deep commitment to immigrant rights to join our team as the Attorney-in-Charge. The Attorney-in-Charge will be involved in day-to-day operations of the ILU, and will work closely with two Deputy Attorneys-in-Charge and with the Supervising Attorneys, Social Work Director, and Assistant Social Work Supervisor to train, supervise and mentor staff. The Attorney-in-Charge participates in Civil Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making, and is responsible for maintaining relationships with other stakeholders in the legal, court, and service communities. The Attorney-in-Charge also coordinates city-wide efforts to improve immigration legal services with other non-profit community-based organizations. In addition, the Attorney-in-Charge works closely with private and government funders to ensure the viability of all the Unit’s programs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
• Lead The Legal Aid Society in immigration matters before the community and with key stakeholders, including but not limited to funders, community-based organizations, advocates, government agencies, elected officials and the courts
• Lead and provide direction to the Deputy Attorneys-in-Charge, Supervising Attorneys, Social Work Director, and Assistant Social Work Supervisor in their direct supervision of staff attorneys, paralegals, social workers, fellows, interns, externs, and volunteers, ensuring a high standard of representation and client service 
• Identify systemic problems faced by The Legal Aid Society’s immigrant clients that could be addressed through affirmative litigation 
• Collaborate with practitioners throughout the city, state, and country to develop and participate in litigation and law reform projects 
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy and supervise implementation of legal strategies 
• Foster and encourage teamwork and communication 
• Mentor, and develop skills and knowledge of, ILU managers 
• Reinforce and maintain staff and manager accountability 
• Assist with the development, and implementation of programs, including fundraising and reporting 
• Provide oversight of pro bono initiatives within the office 
• Work collaboratively with the ILU to carry out the mission of the Unit 
• Conduct community education, training and outreach and promote the work of the office and the Civil Practice
• Other duties as assigned

Required Documents
Resume, cover letter and a writing sample.

Location
Manhattan - Legal Aid Society Headquarters

Requirements
TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS/ REQUIRED DOCUMENTS 
• Admission to NYS Bar, or eligibility for admission 
• Minimum of six years legal practice preferred 
• Experience litigating in immigration court 
• Knowledge of immigration law 
• Demonstrated leadership ability 
• Comfort with working in an environment governed by collective bargaining agreements 
• Grant-writing and fundraising experience preferred 
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in public interest law and civil legal services 
• Demonstrated commitment to policy advocacy and administrative reform 
• Commitment to exploring alternative approaches for legal practice 
• Experience supervising and mentoring others 
• Excellent oral, research, writing, analytical and organizational skills 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 
• Ability to work in and value a collaborative team model 
• Ability to work with pro bono lawyers 
• Pro bono, government, public service and/or academic experience is desirable, but not required 
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

Required Documents: Resume, cover letter and a writing sample. The documents should be combined into a single PDF. 

SALARY AND BENEFITS
The leadership of The Legal Aid Society believes in attracting and retaining exceptional talent committed to serving our clients. We offer a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability and life insurance, and more. Salaries for our unionized jobs are governed by our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please visit our Careers page for additional information. Salary and benefits information will be available to applicants, when and if, an offer is made.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
The leadership of The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients, to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us.
 
COVID VACCINATION INFORMATION
 
The Legal Aid Society is taking precautions and implementing safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to comply with New York City's requirements concerning Covid-19. All members of the Legal Aid community have a shared responsibility to support and comply with policies and protocols to protect the health and safety of our community. Learn more about our COVID-19 policy by visiting our website.

HOW TO APPLY
All applications must be completed online. We do not accept paper submissions. Please visit our Careers Page to review all current job postings, and instructions on the application process. For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth; one’s gender identity may be male, female, neither or both, e.g., non-binary), gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not be distinctively male or female and may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.