Description:
Position announcement:Staff Attorney, Immigrant Youth Advocacy
A Non-Profit Organization is looking for an Attorney with who is passionate about immigrant justice and ready to support other talented, committed lawyers. This is a great opportunity for someone with immigration or child welfare experience who is ready to fight for justice, safety, and stability for immigrant youth.
A Non-Profit Organization Mission
Driven by the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger, A Non-Profit Organization provides legal, resettlement, and supportive services to immigrants and refugees from all backgrounds to ensure their fair treatment and full integration into American society.
A Non-Profit Organization is the largest non-profit immigration legal service provider in Pennsylvania. We assist low-income immigrants with adjustment of status, removal defense, family unification, citizenship, and other forms of humanitarian relief. A Non-Profit Organization prioritizes providing services to vulnerable populations including survivors of interpersonal violence and unaccompanied youth.
Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program
The Staff Attorney will be a member of A Non-Profit Organization Immigrant Youth Advocacy team, which is the statewide leader in providing legal services to immigrant children and youth. Our work includes legal services for youth facing removal proceedings in Immigration Court, youth involved in the domestic child welfare system, and unaccompanied children in the custody of the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in facilities in Pennsylvania. We seek a Staff Attorney to join our dynamic team of legal professionals dedicated to protecting the rights of immigrant youth.
Primary Responsibilities of the Staff Attorney
The core of this work is direct representation. Other roles depend on the skills and experience of the staff attorney, the team's needs as they evolve, and our commitment to crafting positions that are doable jobs in an environment supportive of work-life balance.
- Direct Representation: The Staff Attorney will represent unaccompanied minors in immigration matters. Using a “universal representation” model, our program provides legal representation to certain children regardless of their eligibility for relief. As such, the Staff Attorney will represent youth seeking humanitarian forms of relief such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), asylum, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U visas, and T visas, as well as children who have no relief options or who may seek voluntary departure or an order of removal. The Staff Attorney will represent children before USCIS, the Newark Asylum Office, the Philadelphia Immigration Court, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. If barred in Pennsylvania, the Staff Attorney may have an opportunity to appear in state court proceedings for matters related to SIJS.
- Know Your Rights Presentations & Intake: The Staff Attorney will provide Know Your Rights presentations regarding immigration procedures and options to immigrant youth in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. The Staff Attorney will provide individualized screenings to evaluate each case and discuss options with youth and will also review intakes completed by non-attorney Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program staff.
- Pro Bono Development: The Staff Attorney may assist periodically with HIAS PA's efforts to recruit, train and mentor pro bono attorneys.
- Administrative Responsibilities: The Staff Attorney will maintain clear and detailed records to facilitate reporting to grantors.
- Additional Duties as Assigned: The Staff Attorney may complete other tasks as assigned in support of the overall work and mission of HIAS PA and the Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program.
Job Qualifications:
Qualifications for the position:
Required Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
- J.D. degree and license to practice law in any state (preference for Pennsylvania license), or ability to obtain licensure within 6 months of beginning employment
- Experience in immigration or child welfare law (this could include law school coursework or clinical experience)
- Passion for HIAS PA's mission and work
- Demonstrated ability to work with diverse colleagues, collaborators and stakeholders
- Ability to work with youth who have experienced trauma
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Excellent organizational skills
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office / Microsoft 365 applications.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in a public interest organization
- Experience working with youth
- Experience working with people who have experienced trauma
- Spanish proficiency, or desire to learn Spanish. (Spanish proficiency is not required. The Staff Attorney will have access to virtual interpreters for work with non-English speaking clients. Candidates who are not proficient in Spanish should have a desire to learn. This position includes funding for Spanish language instruction with built-in time for language study.)
