Staff Attorney

New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children

The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children (NJCIC) is seeking an Attorney to join our team. This is a dynamic, cross-program role in which the Attorney will work across NJCIC’s Legal portfolio, providing direct representation and legal support where it is most needed and responding to evolving program priorities. The position offers a unique opportunity to gain experience across a range of innovative legal programs, work on diverse matters affecting immigrant children and youth, and collaborate closely with attorneys and colleagues across NJCIC’s Legal team. NJCIC’s Legal projects include:

• The Legal Representation for Children and Youth Program (LRP). Administered by the New Jersey Office of New Americans in partnership with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), NJ's LRP is the nation's second state-funded legal program to offer free, high-quality, child-centered direct representation to unaccompanied children. It is the first of its kind to also represent other young immigrants similarly situated to unaccompanied children. NJCIC serves as 1) the central intake and referral hub for this innovative LRP and 2) also provides direct representation as one of eight legal service providers part of this effort.
• Florecer, a medical-legal partnership in collaboration with Zufall Health, a federally qualified health center.
• Beacon, an educational-legal partnership with Jersey City public schools.
• The Rapid Response Initiative providing focused and direct legal representation and advice and counsel to young immigrants at high risk of removal from the U.S. or at high risk of aging out of eligibility for immigration relief.

About NJCIC

The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children (NJCIC) works with New Jersey’s young immigrants and their allies to advance their full, fearless participation in our society. NJCIC seeks lawful status for immigrant youth and advocates for system-wide change in the areas of education, access to justice, and health equity. Our goal is a New Jersey where every young immigrant has lawful status and the opportunity to advance, and where families can stay together and thrive. We want New Jersey to be a welcoming and inclusive state for all children - a place where every young immigrant can feel secure, advance, and achieve success.

Job Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Legal Director, the Attorney will:

• Represent unaccompanied children and similarly
• situated youth in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, affirmative immigration relief applications before USICS, and before New Jersey family courts in immigration matters including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, asylum, U Visas, T Visas and other forms of humanitarian immigration relief.
• Monitor legal and policy changes that affect immigrant youth and integrate them into case strategy.
• Provide supervision and support to paralegals, law student interns, and/or undergraduate interns including onboarding, legal skills training, conducting regular check-ins and performance evaluations, reviewing work product, and providing consistent and effective feedback and oversight to ensure high-quality legal work and support in the professional development of junior staff.
• Support with data management and grant reporting systems, ensuring ethical legal representation and data integrity through regular case audits, reporting on cases and other activities through NJCIC’s case management systems, and oversight of data upkeep and accuracy by supervisees.
• Deliver Know Your Rights presentations or
• participate in other community outreach and education initiatives.
• Contribute to the development of organizational legal policies and processes in a changing legal and policy environment.
• Collaborate with NJCIC’s Policy and Development teams as needed.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree and licensed to practice law, preferably in New Jersey. NJCIC will also consider candidates who are licensed in another state who are willing and eligible to promptly apply for admission to practice in New Jersey.
• A minimum of 1 year of experience practicing immigration law, which should include removal defense and humanitarian immigration claims such as asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U visas, and T visas.
• A minimum of 1 year working with children, preferably immigrant and refugee children, and/or working with survivors of abuse, human trafficking or other trauma and in using culturally sensitive and trauma-informed techniques to work with children or other vulnerable populations.
• Spanish language proficiency is strongly preferred.
• Experience representing individuals in ICE detention in bond and removal proceedings is appreciated but not required. Although this position primarily entails non-detained representation, there may be the occasional need to represent young people who are detained.
• Experience with habeas petitions or appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals is appreciated but not required.
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills, in particular the ability to manage a variety of short- and long-term deadlines and priorities.
• Cultural sensitivity and comfort working in and promoting a diverse workforce.
• Flexibility and interest in working at a small, dynamic and growing organization to expand capacity to serve immigrant youth.

The current salary range for this position is $75,000 - 90,000, dependent upon experience. NJCIC offers excellent benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance, generous leave, and 401(k) match. NJCIC has a hybrid work model—staff work a minimum of two days a week at an amenity-filled co-working space in Jersey City and the remaining days remotely. The position will require some travel to other parts of the state to meet with clients, including court appearances in immigration and family courts statewide, ICE detention visits if clients are detained, to respond to emergencies, to attend Consortium meetings, and other occasional events on non-office days.

The Staff Attorney position is funded for an initial term of two years. Continuation of the position beyond this period will be contingent upon the availability and renewal of grant funding.

Please include in your application:

• Resume, cover letter and writing sample
• Level of fluency in Spanish in cover letter
• 3 Professional References

NJCIC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, LGBTQIA+ people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. NJCIC may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.