Senior Legal Representative

Senior Legal Representative, Immigration

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The Senior Legal Representative, Immigration, who is accredited or will seek accreditation within 3 months of hire by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) through IRC to represent clients in immigration matters before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is an experienced legal professional providing immigration legal services and, supervising legal services provided by other DOJ accredited representatives as well as interns.

Major Responsibilities:

• Represent immigration clients before USCIS. May handle more complex or sensitive cases, or otherwise utilize expertise to increase the capacity to serve clients.
• Conduct client intake, provide eligibility determinations and advise clients accordingly, and communicate clearly with clients to gather documents and evidence.
• Respond to inquiries from clients regarding case status and submit inquiries on case status to USCIS and Department of State (DOS).
• Process correspondence from USCIS and DOS including notifying clients, assisting clients to prepare responses to notices or evidence requests as appropriate, and following up with relevant parties.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date physical and electronic files and detailed case notes, enter required data in a timely manner, meet all case reporting requirements within established timelines and standards, and contribute to completion of funding proposals and statistical, narrative, and financial reports.
• Assess and make client referrals for other legal and/or social services as appropriate.
• Stay apprised of immigration law as it pertains to IRC's scope of services and maintain DOJ accreditation by attending and keeping records of continuing legal education training and credits.
• Maintain strict client confidentiality and observe all ethical practices/obligations as outlined in IRC's Immigration Program Policies Manual.
• Provide daily direct supervision to Legal Representatives and/or Legal Assistants employing adaptive management techniques to provide regular individual supervision and support; mentor staff, set clear performance expectations and goals, give regular performance feedback, help prioritize workloads, help troubleshoot challenges, and maintain appropriate professional development plans.
• Work with the Managing Attorney to ensure cases have high-quality legal review and that clients are counseled appropriately on their immigration options and potential risks and consequences of applying for certain immigration benefits.
• Along with the Managing Attorney, ensure immigration staff adhere to the IRC Immigration Program Policies Manual, including through regular mentorship, direct observations of key client service activities (e.g., client intakes).
• Ensure staff, interns and volunteers reporting to this position have a clear understanding of what activities constitute the unauthorized practice of law and how these boundaries should be applied in IRC's legal service model.
• Promote a high functioning, collaborative team with effective integration of volunteers within programs; collaborate with other IRC program areas as appropriate to ensure client-centered service.
• In coordination with the Managing Attorney, conduct regular internal case file reviews (paper files and electronic case files) to ensure compliance with IRC Immigration Program Policies as well as any donor requirements.
• As a senior staff member, support effective quality assurance systems and processes for course correction.
• Support accurate and timely completion of all program reports as required by funding sources, headquarters, and other partners.
• Track monthly and quarterly performance using Lolly Law and ensure all client work is documented in Lolly Law.

Job Requirements:

Education: Undergraduate degree required.

Work Experience:

• At least 2 to 3 years of professional experience representing individuals before USCIS as a partially accredited DOJ Representative
• At least 1 year of experience supervising staff highly desirable; experience supervising interns may be considered.
• Proven expertise in IRC's scope of practice including, but not limited to, adjustments of status applications for refugees and asylees; citizenship applications and related ancillary applications.
• Excellent English written and oral communication skills, including presentation skills.
• Proficiency in another language spoken by client group is strongly preferred (such as Arabic, Swahili, French, Haitian-Creole).
• Ability and passion to train staff with less experience on immigration legal issues.
• Proven understanding of legal ethics standards and ability to instruct others on core principles of legal professional conduct.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced team environment.
• Previous multi-cultural experience and proven ability to communicate well with people from diverse backgrounds strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Skills & Competencies:

Certificates or Licenses:

• Department of Justice accreditation with the IRC required for internal candidates. For external candidates, must have previous accreditation and seek accreditation through the IRC within 3 months of hire.

Working Environment:

• Standard office environment with occasional participation in community outreach and legal assistance events.
• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.