Immigration Attorney/Senior Immigration Attorney,* LGBTQ Law Unit

Job Description

Job Description

About NYLAG:
Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combatting economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center.  NYLAG’s staff of 410 impacted the lives of nearly 129,000 people last year.

Job description
The New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) seeks a highly motivated, experienced Immigration Attorney for a full-time position with the LGBTQ Law Unit. The LGBTQ Law Unit seeks an experienced fulltime attorney to join our team and advocate for our immigrant clients facing removal. 

NYLAG’s LGBTQ Law Unit, founded in 2008, exists to protect and expand the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community and to provide services that meet the unique legal needs of low-income LGBTQ New Yorkers. LGBTQ communities, especially those of color, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and youth, are at greater risk of living in poverty and of being targeted for violence.  

The LGBTQ Law Unit provides free representation and advice on a wide array of civil legal matters, including legal name and gender marker changes, immigration (including removal defense), family law matters (orders of protection, custody and visitation, divorce, and adoption), housing, employment and public accommodation discrimination, wills and advance directives and access to gender affirming healthcare. We engage with community partners to provide legal services and education outreach in community settings throughout the five boroughs and push forward systemic advocacy efforts to advance LGBTQ rights and protections.

The Immigration Attorney will represent LGBTQ+ immigrants on detained and non-detained removal defense and post-order work providing full representation and limited scope assistance. The job requires substantive knowledge and experience with removal defense for asylum-seeking LGBTQ+ immigrants including bond hearings, motions to reopen and motions to stay removal before EOIR and BIA, federal petitions for review, individual merits hearings, BIA appeals, habeas petitions and motions for emergent relief from detention or removal.

Candidates will have a proactive ability to solve problems under time pressure, a strong commitment to providing client-centered services for clients experiencing trauma, and an ability to work collaboratively with a team of attorneys, paralegals, and volunteers working on a broad range of legal matters impacting the LGBTQ+ community.

Duties and Responsibilities
Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Represent LGBTQ+ immigrants in defensive asylum claims before the immigration court, BIA, and federal courts including bond hearings, post order relief and appeals;
• Prepare and file forms, affidavits, other supporting documents, motions, and legal memoranda for submission to USCIS, EOIR, BIA, and federal courts; 
• Represent immigrant clients in other ancillary matters before civil courts; (state and federal) and administrative hearings, in matters such as legal name changes and public benefits advocacy; 
• Conduct legal screenings, track client cases, progress of applications, and follow up for funding purposes;  
• Contribute to the LGBTQ Law Unit’s community outreach and education efforts through presentations and work with the Unit Director to establish and maintain relationships with community partners; 
• Participate in systemic advocacy work on issues that directly impact LGBTQ+ immigrants;  
• Attend regular internal and external stakeholder meetings regarding recently arrived migrants;
• Create and maintain physical and electronic files, including managing correspondence with clients and documenting correspondence with immigration and other agencies;
• Manage data entry in internal and external data management systems and assist with generating reports; and
• Additional duties may be assigned to meet the changing needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree and admission to a State bar required; New York State Bar preferred.
• Two to six years of experience practicing immigration law, including affirmative and removal defense work, required;  
• Fluency in a second language required, Spanish is preferred;
• Demonstrated commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and knowledge of the complex and systemic issues faced by our clients;
• Demonstrated commitment to immigrant rights, criminal justice, and/or social justice issues;
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients, community organizations, attorneys, judiciary and the public; 
• Ability to work in and value a collaborative team model;
• Ability to work independently and under pressure while managing multiple competing deadlines;
• Ability to make creative arguments for complicated cases and cases that do not have a clear path to relief;
• Ability to set expectations for clients who are not eligible for any relief while nonetheless providing competent representation before the Immigration Court;
• Excellent written, oral and analytical skills; and
• Experience working with diverse communities and clients who are survivors of trauma.

*Senior title dependent on having four or more years of relevant experience

NYLAG’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Employment type:
☒ Full-time

Professional Level:
☒ Professional

Salary Range:
NYLAG is a unionized workplace, and salaries are set pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The current salary range for this position is between $91,354 - $107,138.

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, long term disability, commuter benefits, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for Medical and Dependent care.

Application Instructions: Please save resume and cover letter on one pdf.

Covid Vaccination Policy: Please note, to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients, NYLAG requires all employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.

NYLAG is committed to a hybrid work policy for staff whose work does not require their full-time presence in the office. NYLAG’s current policy is that most staff are required to work in NYLAG’s offices or do other in-person work at least two days each week. This policy is subject to change.

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