Supervising Staff Attorney

Job Description

Job Description

JOB POSTING – Supervising Staff Attorney

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986. CHIRLA is a California leader with national impact made of diverse immigrant families and individuals who act as agents of social change to achieve a world with freedom of mobility, full human rights, and true participatory democracy. CHIRLA organizes and serves individuals, institutions, and coalitions to build power, transform public opinions, and change policies to achieve full human, civil, and labor rights. Guided by power, love, and vision of our community, CHIRLA embraces and drives progressive social change.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is seeking a Supervising Staff Attorney in the legal department who may be assigned to work primarily with one or more of the legal teams as needed. Accordingly, the types and numbers of cases assigned to a staff member will reflect the needs of the clients served by the team(s) they are assigned to, or the needs of clients across the legal department as a whole. The Supervising Staff Attorney will assist clients in pursuing immigration benefits and represent clients in applications, hearings, or proceedings before a variety of courts, tribunals, and agencies, as needed, to safeguard and/or improve their immigration status within the United States.

Further, the Supervising Staff Attorney is responsible for pursuing community-based systemic reform and advocacy to reform unforgiving federal immigration laws. The Supervising Staff Attorney will provide consultations to potential new clients regularly, particularly at Legal Triage and other events. The Supervising Staff Attorney will provide clients and ensure that all subordinate staff provide clients with effective, responsive, compassionate, efficient, and zealous representation. The Supervising Staff Attorney supervises and directs the efforts of attorneys, OLAP Accredited Representatives, paralegals, or other support staff assigned to help clients’ cases. The Supervising Staff Attorney enforces protocols, requirements, and deadlines as needed.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Immigration Legal Assistance:

• Provide representation to clients with cases involving issues such as criminal history, immigration law violations, family law issues, current or previous removal proceedings, appeals, or other issues related to their immigration matters as needed.
• Responsible for the preparation, review, revision, and submission of any documents needed to address a client’s immigration issues, including but not limited to applications, motions, legal memos or briefs, petitions, or requests, before USCIS and/or immigration court proceedings.
• Represent individuals before federal, state, or local courts, agencies, or tribunals at all levels as needed to properly address and resolve issues for clients in their cases. Such representation should follow both ethical and professional responsibility obligations as well as funder requirements.
• Responsible for creating and communicating timelines and tasks to supervisors, colleagues, and subordinate staff that will properly and efficiently resolve issues in order to achieve the best possible outcome for clients. Also responsible for communicating this information to clients.
• Research and analyze complex and straightforward legal matters pertaining to own caseload and that of staff under position’s supervision, assuming responsibility and risk for outcomes of program’s client cases.
• Screen potential clients for all potential and available immigration benefits that they may qualify for and use that information to assess their ability to successfully pursue and obtain those benefits.
• Communicate to potential clients an assessment or evaluation of their immigration cases or circumstances, including but not limited to any rights these individuals possess, any requirements these individuals must complete, and any deadlines they must comply with.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure with urgent deadlines.
• Stay up to date with changes in immigration law and other immigration related developments in order to be able to provide clients with the best representation possible in their immigration matters.
• Make appropriate referrals as necessary for immigration legal services beyond the scope of the program or one’s own competencies, and for other social service needs.
• Assume caseload of any departing staff member as needed.

Staff Supervision:

• Supervise and review the work product of attorneys, law clerks, OLAP Accredited Representatives, and those seeking accreditation (both staff and volunteers), administrative staff, and legal interns in the unit or office and at occasional community clinics.
• Directly supervise assigned staff by approving completed timecards, time off requests, reimbursements for work-related expenses, evaluating performance, documenting, and addressing performance or conduct issues.
• Provide coaching and mentorship whenever possible to colleagues and subordinate staff to improve their knowledge, skills, accuracy, and efficacy in understanding the practice of the various areas of law related to our clients’ cases and to improve the quality of service provided to clients.
• Provide coaching and mentorship whenever possible to colleagues and subordinate staff to improve their knowledge, skills, accuracy, and efficacy in understanding the practice of the various areas law related to our clients’ cases and to improve the quality of service provided to clients. Mentor attorneys, OLAP Accredited Representatives, and other legal services staff to create a safe space to learn and grow by being a resource for immigration law-related questions and issues.
• Responsible for appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining employees, as well as problem resolution.
• On-site supervision and visits to the branch offices as needed.
• Conduct regular supervision meetings with subordinate staff.
• Conduct open and closed case file review on a quarterly basis.
• Regularly contribute updates to both the program operations manual and legal department manual.

Customer Service and Community Outreach:

• Communicate and interact with clients with professionalism, respect, compassion, and sensitivity to their life circumstances and potential or actual trauma that they have suffered.
• Maintain regular communication with clients and provide them with updates regarding their cases no later than 90 days after the last case update provided to them.
• Respond to any client communications or inquiries no later than within 48 – 72 hours of receipt of a message from client(s).
• Oversee and supervise staff at in-person legal screening events, community presentations, and other special events as scheduled.
• Participation is required in the Saturday Legal Triage events
• Actively participate or present relevant immigration information to the immigrant and non-immigrant communities periodically as needed.

Reporting Obligations and Program Efficiency:

• Oversee data collection, entry, and updates by subordinate staff. Enforce protocols, requirements, and deadlines as needed.
• Update case notes with any developments or client interactions within 48 - 72 hours to provide accurate and up-to-date information for other staff to rely on in a timely manner.
• Update and maintain all current databases, tracking sheets, or other documents mandated by policies and procedures issued by CHIRLA, the legal department, and any legal team(s) to which they are assigned.
• Work closely and diligently with all other staff to represent clients in their legal matters ethically, efficiently, and properly to maximize client outcomes and deliverable requirements for funders.
• Collaborate with the department leaders, team leaders, and/or grant writer in the writing of grant proposals, reports, and presentations to funders and potential funders, and the preparation of the annual unit budget.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as necessary in order to address urgent issues or priorities either within their assigned team(s), other legal department teams, or for the legal department as a whole.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Required

• Active attorney license and good standing with a State Bar association within the United States.
• Active admission and good standing in the California State Bar is preferred.
• At least three years of experience practicing immigration law and/or relevant litigation experience.
• Fluency or high proficiency in the Spanish language and/or other languages that would allow communication with existing, new, or potential clients is required, as the job requires extensive legal counseling and representation with clients who primarily speak languages other than English.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice, progressive social change, and empowering communities’ rights and justice.
• A high level of integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Must be flexible to work early morning, evenings, and Saturdays during clinical/consultation times as needed.
• Travel in and outside of California to other branch offices, and/or for convenings, conferences, and other events.

Preferred

• Experience in assisting noncitizens apply for a wide variety of immigration benefits and processes before USCIS and/or the Immigration Court.
• Engaging communication skills that can effectively and independently communicate with diverse audiences and network collaboratively among a variety of stakeholder groups.
• Excellent creative problem-solving, strategic thinking, and analytical skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
• Experience with providing direct services to the community, ideally in a nonprofit setting.
• Experience working with survivors of trauma, victims of violence, and human trafficking.

Desired Traits or Characteristics

• Highly self-motivated, creative, takes initiative, able to learn quickly, flexible, and able to work as part of an interdisciplinary team of legal staff.
• Demonstrated experience working effectively as part of a team and with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, both in person and within a remote work environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships within their team, within the legal department, and throughout the organization. Demonstrated ability to be proactive in their approach to assigned responsibilities, completing tasks and/or using technology and systems to maximize efficiencies.
• Strong commitment to CHIRLA’s mission of empowering low-income community groups.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

JOB TITLE: Supervising Staff Attorney

Salary & Benefits: $86,528 -- $95,000
CHIRLA offers a competitive salary based on qualifications and an excellent benefit package. Which includes generous time off benefits, 401K Plan, health, dental, and vision plans

FLSA Classification: Exempt/Hourly, full-time regular

Classification: CHIRLA recognizes a staff bargaining unit affiliated with AFSCME District Council 36. This position is not included in CHIRLA’s bargaining unit and is covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

REPORTS TO: Managing Attorney, Deputy Director, or Director of Legal Services

CLOSING DATE OF THIS POSITION: Position will remain open until filled

LOCATION: Los Angeles, Headquarters, CA

CHIRLA is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit and administers all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, appointment, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfers, training and educational opportunities without regard to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, genetic information as defined by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, race, religion or religious creed, color, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age (40 or older), sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status, pregnancy or pregnancy related disability, military or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation. All such discrimination is unlawful. It also prohibits unlawful discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. All such discrimination is unlawful.

Open Positions are available at: Center use link -
Career Center - The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

All Applicants will be required to complete an Application for Employment prior to any scheduled interview.

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