Paralegal Casehandler, Immigration Law Unit - Detained Removal Defense

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking a Paralegal Casehandler to join the citywide Immigration Law Unit’s New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), focusing on detained removal defense. The Paralegal Casehandler will assist the Project Coordinator with data collection, data entry, and generating reports, as well as assist project attorneys with case management and litigation support in removal proceedings before immigration courts at Varick, Newark, and Elizabeth. The Paralegal Casehandler will be part of an inter-disciplinary legal team that includes attorneys and social workers working closely to address the needs of detained and non-detained clients. 

The Unit is a recognized leader in the delivery of high-quality legal services to immigrants in New York City and surrounding counties. The NYIFUP program provides low-income New Yorkers who are detained by ICE at the time of our intake with free, comprehensive immigration services ranging from removal defense, bond hearings, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals, habeas corpus petitions in federal district court and Petitions for Review in the federal circuit courts, as well as seeking relief through affirmative applications before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and in family court proceedings on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) motions. The Unit specializes in the intersection between immigration and criminal law and works collaboratively with all practice areas to serve the Society’s diverse immigrant clients through a comprehensive service model. 

A minimum two-year commitment is required to enable a Paralegal Casehandler to become a Board of Immigration Appeals Partially Accredited Representative with privileges to practice before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This position may require off-site work and evening hours. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide basic case file and case management (Law Manager) database maintenance and  organization 
• Enter and search data on various databases 
• Generate daily, weekly, and monthly reports from various databases as needed 
• Provide direct assistance to clients  
• Assist project attorneys with litigation tasks 
• Prepare appropriate relief applications and draft affidavits on behalf of clients 
• Work with clients to gather information and documentation 
• Assist with provision of client representation before USCIS, as needed 
• Other duties as assigned 

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Eligible candidates must have at least one of the following:
  • A bachelor’s degree (strongly preferred)
  • A paralegal certificate from an ABA accredited paralegal program
  • At minimum a high school diploma / GED and 4+ years of legal work experience
  • 4+ years of combined higher education and legal work experience
• Excellent writing, verbal, and computer skills 
• Excellent organizational skills 
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team 
• Ability to work efficiently and under time constraints to meet deadlines 
• Ability to manage a reasonable volume of work and solve problems creatively 
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate successfully with other groups and organizations 
• Commitment to protecting the rights of low-income clients 

Preferred qualifications:  

• Knowledge of immigration law is strongly desired 
• Experience in and/or commitment to advocacy on behalf of low-income people and immigrants is strongly desired 
• Experience assisting people in crisis is desirable 
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable 

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: $66,843 - $102,358

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 [email protected].

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.