Senior Attorney (Temporary Contract), Detained Adult Program

Description:
Who We Are
The Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition is now Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (“Amica Center” for short). Click here to learn more about our new name. Since our founding in 1999, we have grown significantly and added new services to support immigrants in detention. Recently, Amica Center has outgrown our name, expanding beyond our initial services and geographic boundaries.

“Amica” is the Latin word for “friend,” and that echoes the way we approach what we do. Just as friends stand with one another, Amica Center stands with our clients to achieve the safety, stability, and opportunity we all deserve.

We are the only non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. area that is exclusively focused on providing legal assistance to adult and child immigrants detained by the government in the Capital Region and beyond.

Our Work Environment
The Detained Adult Program (DAP) works with hundreds of adults who are detained by ICE each year, providing information, support, and legal representation. We provide trauma-sensitive, person-centered services, and deeply value the autonomy of the people we work with in detention as they navigate the fundamentally inhumane immigration system.

Amica Center's Detained Adult Program is a highly collaborative work environment. Each team lead works directly with a focused team, but all colleagues are interconnected through, for example, case workshops or staff-run committees.

DAP staff is a source of expertise in the highly complex and ever-changing immigration system. They have persisted through administration changes, policy shifts, and attacks on the rights and freedoms of immigrants through project-focused cohorts that arise to address challenges or to brainstorm and implement affirmative strategies.

Position Summary
The Senior Attorney contractor is a temporary role beginning on or after August 22, 2025 until January 5, 2026. The position is designed to cover one of DAP's Senior Attorney's parental leave. The Senior Attorney contractor will take over the Senior Attorney's case docket and take on 2-3 new cases per month, litigating on average about 1-2 merits case per month. They will also be expected to attend two weekly DAP meetings.

A Senior Attorney in the Detained Adult Program focuses on (i) the provision of direct legal services under a universal representation model to immigrant adults held in facilities in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere outside the DMV region, (ii) the supervision of staff attorneys and paralegals (also including supervision of interns and fellows ); and (iii) the mentoring of pro bono attorneys. The Senior Attorney provides legal representation to detained immigrants regardless of their criminal history and immigration procedural postures.
General Duties and Responsibilities [1]
not to exceed 30 hours per week absent supervisory approval

Representation:
Manages caseload of direct legal representation of detained clients in removal proceedings primarily before the Annandale, Hyattsville, and Elizabeth Immigration Courts and other courts as needed. This includes representation in cases such as Asylum, Withholding of Removal, Protection under the Convention against Torture, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Cancellation of Removal.

[1] This list is illustrative and not intended to be a complete classification of all job functions or tasks.

Additional Role-Specific Details:
Position Type
1099 Independent Contractor

Reports To
Program Director and/or Deputy Program Director

Supervisory Responsibility
None

Hiring Timeline
Applications will be accepted and offers made on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Compensation
$100 per hour not to exceed 30 hours per week without prior approval

Location and/or Travel Requirements
This position can be remote anywhere in the United States.

Telework
Amica Center operates a hybrid work environment where staff are required to work at least one day per week in-office. Should the contractor be in the DMV, they are welcome to work from Amica Center's offices.

COVID-19 Vaccination:
All persons working from the Amica Center offices are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. To be fully vaccinated means having completed the full dosages required for the type of vaccine obtained as designated by the CDC.

Competencies Required:
Legal Proficiency
The Senior Attorney demonstrates a solid understanding of legal concepts at a level that allows them to provide services to clients with limited supervision. The Senior Attorney has taken on multiple hearings or interviews for clients with limited supervision. The Senior Attorney demonstrates cultural competency and trauma-informed practices.

Client and Programmatic Proficiency
The Senior Attorney contractor competently handles, and supervises, all required programmatic obligations The Senior Attorney exercises sound judgment and decision-making skills and identifies when issues must be elevated to management.

Administrative
The Senior Attorney ensures that all administrative aspects of their position attendant to the provision of services to clients, are carried out without managerial intervention, including timekeeping, file upkeep, database upkeep, etc.).

Qualifications Required:
• JD/LLM and 3-5 years of direct representation experience in immigration law, experience working with detained clients preferred.
• Must be licensed to practice law and in good standing with a state bar.
• Written and oral Spanish proficiency required, fluency preferred.

At Amica Center, we embrace the fact that talented individuals come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. We believe that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to our success. Amica Center values your unique perspectives, skills, and potential, and we are committed to providing equal opportunities for growth and development. If you are passionate about Amica Center's mission and are excited to contribute your talents to our team, we encourage you to submit your application. Candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. If you are a candidate with a disability and require accommodations to apply for this position, please contact us at [email protected].

EEO Statement
Amica Center for Immigrants' Rights is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with anti-discrimination law, this policy's purpose is to effectuate these principles and mandates. Amica Center prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees, fellows, contractors, interns, volunteers and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Amica Center conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.

Our Anti-Racism Statement:
https://amicacenter.org/becoming-anti-racist/

How to Apply:
Submit your resume, a cover letter that explains your interest in this role, and a writing sample with your Paylocity application. Please refrain from sending application materials separately via email.
Requirements:
Competencies Required:
Legal Proficiency
The Senior Attorney demonstrates a solid understanding of legal concepts at a level that allows them to provide services to clients with limited supervision. The Senior Attorney has taken on multiple hearings or interviews for clients with limited supervision. The Senior Attorney demonstrates cultural competency and trauma-informed practices.

Client and Programmatic Proficiency
The Senior Attorney contractor competently handles, and supervises, all required programmatic obligations The Senior Attorney exercises sound judgment and decision-making skills and identifies when issues must be elevated to management.

Administrative
The Senior Attorney ensures that all administrative aspects of their position attendant to the provision of services to clients, are carried out without managerial intervention, including timekeeping, file upkeep, database upkeep, etc.).

Qualifications Required:
• JD/LLM and 3-5 years of direct representation experience in immigration law, experience working with detained clients preferred.
• Must be licensed to practice law and in good standing with a state bar.
• Written and oral Spanish proficiency required, fluency preferred.

Apply Here: https://www.click2apply.net/xb1j7MU2wXqxAuDAKC5qVW

PI277175768