Organization: Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) helps clients protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families. We provide free civil legal aid to low‐income residents of the San Francisco Bay Area at our seven county regional offices, mobile advocacy clinics, and through our nationally‐recognized Legal Advice Line. Our services include advice, referrals, limited scope assistance, extended representation, public policy and impact advocacy, trainings, and community education. From Napa Valley to Silicon Valley, BayLegal ensures fairness in the civil justice system for the most vulnerable members of our community. BayLegal’s 120+ staff members provide civil legal aid in housing preservation, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, economic security, consumer protection, and healthcare access.
The Position: The Immigration Attorney (Attorney) is a member of BayLegal's Immigration Team, which provides legal services to immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking throughout BayLegal's seven‐county service area. The Immigration Team includes the Immigration Attorney, the Immigration Attorney/Regional Project Coordinator, the Immigration Regional Counsel, and the Pro Bono Department. The Attorney conducts intakes and prepares cases for pro bono placement, maintains an existing caseload of immigration cases, and provides technical assistance and back‐up coverage to pro bono and staff attorneys. The primary case types are currently U Visas, VAWA Self‐Petitions, and domestic‐ violence‐based Conditional Residence waivers. The Attorney will be based in the Santa Clara County Regional Office, and will provide services throughout the Bay Area.
Responsibilities: As a part of the Immigration Team, the Attorney ensures that BayLegal delivers high‐ quality, effective immigration services to clients in need throughout the Bay Area, and that both pro bono and staff attorneys provide immigration legal services with the highest degree of competence. To meet this goal, the Attorney will:
Provide technical assistance to BayLegal staff and volunteers in the provision of client services including developing and delivering trainings for staff, law clerks, and pro bono attorneys; providing guidance and technical assistance on individual cases for staff, law clerks, and pro bono attorneys; and participating in case review meetings with staff attorneys.
Conduct intake/case Preparation including intake interviews in each regional office to screen cases for eligibility for pro bono placement, requesting U visa certifications for those cases, and preparing memos for pro bono placement of the cases.
Provide direct legal representation on immigration‐related cases as necessary, including work on existing caseload, and substituting in for a pro bono attorney or staff attorney as needed.
About the Successful Candidate:
Two to three years of experience with and knowledge of immigration law, and in particular with U and VAWA cases
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Passionate about immigration law and serving vulnerable populations Experience training, both in group settings and one‐on‐one
Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to teach and mentor students and attorneys at various skill and experience levels
Must be self‐directed and be comfortable working in a fast‐paced, high‐volume environment Membership in good standing in a State Bar Association required (California preferred)
Applications: Bay Area Legal Aid thrives on our diversity and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage women, persons of color, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, persons with disabilities, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, and no later than Friday, September 30, 2016. Please send cover letter, resume, references, and writing sample to: Farshta Alli, Director of Human Resources at [email protected]. Please reference Immigration Attorney in your application.