Closing Date: 20th June, 2024

Description:

A 501 Non-Profit Legal Aid Provider Based in New York City Criminal Defense Practice (CDP) and Immigration Law Unit are hiring a Supervising Attorney for the citywide Criminal Immigration Project. The Criminal Immigration Project works alongside our Criminal Defense Practice attorneys to advise non-citizen clients about the immigration consequences of their criminal court proceedings.

As enshrined in Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), criminal defense attorneys have the constitutional duty to advise non-citizens of the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. At Legal Aid, the Criminal Immigration Project provides this immigration legal expertise to the criminal defense work we do.

The Criminal Immigration Project also works closely with clients of Legal Aid's Immigration Law Unit, which represents immigrant New Yorkers before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), before immigration judges in removal proceedings, the Board of Immigration Appeals and in federal court on habeas corpus petitions and petitions for review.

The Supervising Attorney will be involved in day-to-day operations, supervision and mentoring of the team and will work closely with the leaders from both the CDP and the Immigration Law Unit in Practice-wide management discussions and decision-making.

This position will be primarily located in one of Legal Aid's CDP borough offices, based on the Supervising Attorney's preference, but will be hybrid when possible.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

Create and implement best practices and operational systems to ensure that requirements under Padilla v. Kentucky are met and clients are served
Directly supervise, mentor and professionally develop the Criminal Immigration Project
Partner with CDP leadership, administrative, and IT teams to ensure case management system accurately identifies clients based on citizenship or immigration status
Develop dynamic new approaches to representing clients with immigration issues in criminal court and in agency proceedings
Create reporting systems for caseloads and workloads and, when needed, develop plan to address issues as they arise
Keep current with emerging trends in criminal-immigration law, policies and best practices
Provide Criminal Immigration Project staff attorneys with regular updates on new caselaw develop new trainings on a regular basis
Ensure a high standard of representation and client service
Foster and encourage teamwork and communication
Engage with team and other leaders on funding and reporting
Respond to client, community, and staff concerns
Other duties as assigned

Requirements:

Admission to the New York State Bar or ability to waive into New York State from another jurisdiction
Minimum of five years' experience in the intersection of immigration and New York criminal law
Prior supervisory experience managing teams, projects or other initiatives either as staff or a volunteer is strongly preferred but not required
Comprehensive knowledge of the intersection of criminal and immigration laws.
Experience representing non-citizens in removal proceedings
Experience with affirmative applications before USCIS preferred
Excellent writing and analytical skills
Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
Demonstrated leadership ability
Commitment to working in and valuing collaborative team models
Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required