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 and Regional Project Coordinator (Attorney‐Coordinator) works closely with Immigration Regional Counsel to coordinate and develop the immigration legal services provided to immigrant victims of domestic violence and sexual assault throughout BayLegal's seven‐county service area. The Immigration Team includes the Attorney‐Coordinator, the Immigration Attorney, the Immigration Regional Counsel, and the Pro Bono Department. The Attorney‐Coordinator conducts intakes and prepares cases for pro bono placement, maintains an existing caseload of immigration cases, and provides technical assistance 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‐Coordinator will be based in the Santa Clara County Regional Office, and will provide services throughout the Bay Area.
Responsibilities: With support from the Immigration Regional Counsel, the Attorney‐Coordinator 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‐Coordinator 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; responding to individual technical assistance queries from staff, law clerks, and pro bono attorneys; and working with Managing Attorneys to conduct case review meetings with staff attorneys.
Conduct initial case preparation, including intake interviews in the regional offices 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 representation in immigration‐related cases as necessary, including managing an existing caseload and occasionally substituting‐in on cases for staff or pro bono attorneys.
Serve as in‐house expert on the Legal Service Corporation's regulations regarding provision of legal services to non‐citizens, including program development strategies to the Leadership Team.
Work with the Regional Counsel and the Leadership Team to develop and implement a vision for how best to fight poverty by addressing the immigration‐related legal needs of the Bay Area’s dynamic and diverse low‐income population.
About the Successful Candidate:
Minimum four years of experience with and knowledge of immigration law, and in particular with immigration remedies for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human
trafficking, including SIJS, U and VAWA cases, appellate practice, deportation and removal defense
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Passionate about immigration law and serving vulnerable populations
Experience training attorneys and other professionals, 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 and Project Coordinator in your application.