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.

As part of an initiative called the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the ILU is seeking Staff Attorneys to join its city-wide Immigration Law Unit Detention Project. The Staff Attorneys must have a deep commitment to public interest and immigration law. The Staff Attorneys will represent detained clients in removal and bond proceedings before the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, related proceedings before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and, when appropriate, in Family Court proceedings. The Staff Attorneys will also represent The Legal Aid Society’s NYIFUP clients who are released from custody and continue to meet income eligibility requirements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Casehandling Duties

• Represent detained noncitizens in removal proceedings before the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS, and when appropriate, New York Family Courts
• Represent non-detained clients released on bond in their ongoing proceedings before the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS and, when appropriate, New York Family Courts
• Provide individualized consultations to detained noncitizens at detention centers in upstate New York and surrounding areas. Travel may be required in the early morning, evenings, and weekends
• Train and work with law students, pro bono attorneys, and volunteers to work on removal defense and other cases
• Maintain, organize, and update case files and case management database (LawManager)

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

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Admission to any state bar or admission pending
• Excellent writing, analytical, oral advocacy, and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team and manage a high volume of cases

Preferred qualifications:  

• Immigration law experience, including law school clinics and/or internships, or at least two years representing indigent clients generally
• Demonstrated commitment to representing or working with individuals from marginalized communities
• Proficiency in language(s) other than English
• Experience working with law students, pro bono attorneys, and volunteers

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

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
• May or will require travel within NYC, as well as detention facilities and/or federal Immigration Court locations in Orange County, New York and Elizabeth, New Jersey

* For positions noted as essential, this will require either remote or in-person work during times of closure or otherwise non-typical business hours which may include evenings and weekends and during unforeseen events such as inclement weather or poor air quality conditions.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please submit these documents as a single combined PDF when you apply via the LAS (Legal Aid Society) Recruitment Portal.

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Writing Sample
  

SALARY TRANSPARENCY

The posting reflects the range of potential salaries for the role. The specific salary offers will be dependent on candidate qualifications, including collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range/ Salary: $80,619 to $142,218

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.

Click here to read more about the benefits of working at The Legal Aid Society 

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 

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.

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. 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 jo**************@le*******.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); 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.