Supervising Attorney, Immigration Law Unit – Non-Detained Removal Defense Team

The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice is seeking a Supervising Attorney to join the citywide Immigration Law Unit’s Non-Detained Removal Defense team.

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 seven different projects and initiatives work collaboratively to provide client-centered, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive legal services.

The Supervising Attorney will assist in coordinating and supervising ILU’s Immigrant Opportunity Initiatives (IOI) Program, which handles both affirmative and defensive immigration matters. The IOI program provides low-income New Yorkers with free comprehensive immigration services ranging from removal defense to asylum to affirmative applications before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and in family court proceedings on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) motions. As federal litigation is a growing need in immigration legal practice, the Supervising Attorney will also provide strategic guidance on immigration matters that may require litigation in federal district and circuit courts, including and not limited to, mandamus actions, writs of habeas corpus, and petitions for review. 

The Supervising Attorney will be involved in day-to-day operations and will work closely with the Attorney-in-Charge, the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge, and other Supervising Attorneys to train, supervise, and mentor staff. The Supervising Attorney will participate in Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Immigration Legal Support and Oversight

• Assist in the direct supervision and mentoring of staff attorneys, paralegal casehandlers, interns, and volunteers who work predominantly with non-detained immigrants in removal proceedings, including but not limited to immigrants with criminal convictions, asylum seekers, adults with children, and unaccompanied minors, as well as with affirmative immigration benefits applications before USCIS and the AAO
• Provide strategic guidance on immigration matters, including appeals and cases that may require litigation in federal district and circuit courts
• Assist in monitoring and maintaining a high standard of representation and client service
• Analyze legal issues, develop legal strategy, and supervise implementation of legal strategies
• Train and mentor staff members
• Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
• Assist with the development and implementation of programs
• Assist with the funding for and reporting on programs
• Respond to client, community and staff concerns
• Provide individualized consultation to other Society staff
• Engage in policy advocacy
• Maintain a reasonable caseload

Team Development and Supervision

• Schedule employee hours, assign work, approve time off and remote work schedule requests following the guidance of LAS policy and procedures
• 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
• Supervise direct reports in setting performance standards, provide routine feedback as well as coaching/counseling, and issue disciplinary action as needed
• Identify and provide training and development opportunities and ensure mandatory trainings are completed

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 New York State Bar. Must be eligible to immediately seek admission to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits and U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Minimum of three years of legal practice

Preferred qualifications:

• Minimum of five years of immigration legal practice preferred
• Knowledge of the intersection of immigration and criminal law preferred
• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Position Based Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent research, writing, analytical, organizational and communication skills
• Comprehensive knowledge of immigration law (including but not limited to criminal immigration law and asylum law)
• Extensive experience litigating cases in immigration court and before the BIA
• Experience with federal litigation
• Demonstrated commitment to and experience in public interest law and civil legal services
• Experience supervising and mentoring others
• Excellent oral and written advocacy skills
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to manage relationships and effectively communicate with ILU management team and other Civil Practice administrative staff
• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently

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

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: $102,120 - $172,675

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 
• Writing Sample 

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.