Immigration Supervising Attorney, Law Reform Unit

The Legal Aid Society is seeking an experienced and talented lawyer with a deep commitment to public interest practice and policy to join a dedicated team of managers, staff attorneys and paralegals as a Immigration Policy Supervising Attorney of the Civil Practice Law Reform Unit. This individual will serve as a liaison within LRU to support litigation impacting non-citizen clients throughout The Legal Aid Society. The individual will collaborate closely with the Immigration Law Unit.

The Law Reform Unit coordinates and commences affirmative litigation, including class action litigation in federal and state courts; engages in both legislative and administrative policy advocacy on behalf of clients; and provides back-up and support for advocates in the Society's trial offices as well as the citywide units of the Civil Practice. The unit's practice takes on cutting edge issues in a broad array of areas including housing, government benefits, homelessness, disability, health and immigration, leading to landmark decisions, settlements and legislation. Applicants should have a demonstrated commitment to addressing fundamental issues of poverty and justice within a comprehensive civil legal services model of representation and an interest in collaborative and creative approaches to management and staff development. Prior experience in conducting law reform litigation and excellent legal writing and advocacy skills are required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Immigration Supervision Duties

• Monitor immigration legal and policy changes and with the Immigration Law Unit managers provide practice guidance to Immigration Law Unit (ILU) staff
• Assist with affirmative litigation impacting non-citizen clients
• Support policy advocacy impacting non-citizen clients of The Legal Aid Society, including with local and state elected officials
• Draft and coordinate public comments to relevant regulatory and policy changes impacting non-citizen clients of The Legal Aid Society
• Ensure accountability and maintenance of practice standards
• Monitor and maintain a high standard of representation and client service
• Train and present on immigration legal topics, as needed
• Represent the Civil Practice and Legal Aid in the community
• Other duties as assigned

Team Development and Other Management Duties

• Attend management meetings, participate in management trainings, and utilize current employment policies, practices and guidance as provided by management and Human Resources.
• Conduct management and supervision practices that affirmatively support equity and inclusion in the workplace
• Identify, delegate, and document work responsibilities, roles, and procedures to meet the mission of the unit
• Identify and implement unit management and accountability practices to improve performance
• Resolve employee conflict, complaints, and address union concerns, with guidance from Human Resources

Professional Development and other duties as assigned

• Participate in continuous professional development
• Continuously learn about forms of bias in the workplace and demonstrate affirmative behaviors that support an inclusive work environment
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications:

• Admission to NYS Bar
• Minimum of eight years of legal practice

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in Spanish is desirable, but not required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Position Based Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience in a wide variety of immigration legal matters, both affirmative and removal defense-related
• Experience litigating in various legal forums, including state and federal courts
• Excellent litigation and oral advocacy skills and experience litigating individual and group cases
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in public interest law
• Experience supervising and mentoring others
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
• Ability to work in and value a collaborative team model
• Ability to manage relationships and effectively communicate with LRU and ILU management team and other Civil Practice administrative staff
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income immigrants is strongly desired

Supervision Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to schedule, assign, and manage work and resolve problems as needed
• Ability to manage the work including: assessment of work process and outcomes, gathering relevant information about the work, recommending alternatives, or elevate issues as needed
• Ability to clearly identify roles, responsibilities, delegate tasks and hold people accountable
• Ability to create and implement effective communication plans
• Ability to provide meaningful performance feedback for professional development including having difficult conversations and resolving sensitive employee issues
• Pursue continuous learning on forms of systemic oppression of marginalized identities and establish team norms and management practices using an equity mindset and informed by inclusive practices

Organizational Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission to secure equal justice before the law for all New Yorkers
• Interpersonal and communication skills that enable healthy and productive working relationships
• Ability to perform duties with the highest regard for confidentiality, integrity, and respect
• Commitment to Legal Aid Society's mission and values

Physical, environment, travel, and other duties required:

• Mostly sedentary, significant time using a computer and monitor; communicating and meeting using video; travel required for presentations and trainings

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $99,444 - $163,507

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice.To learn more, click the links below.

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email jobpostquestions@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

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); 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 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.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

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 (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues.Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.