Staff Attorney, Immigrant Justice Team

The Legal Aid Society has two immediate openings for an attorney in the Immigrant Justice Team, part of the Criminal Defense Practice. One position will be for the Queens CDP office and the other is TBD.

The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice is the primary public defender in New York City providing holistic, client-centered representation to people facing misdemeanor, felony, and homicide charges.

The Immigrant Justice Team advises clients of the Criminal Defense Practice on the immigration consequences of criminal arrests and works to mitigate those consequences. Our clients are doubly stigmatized by intersection of the immigration and criminal-legal systems. We work to help each client understand their situation and make an informed decision among the options available to them. For many of our clients, their conversation with us will be the first immigration consult they ever have, and we see this as a unique opportunity to help them understand their immigration status and identify possible relief. We also take on a limited number of immigration cases for direct representation.  While each IJT attorney is assigned to a particular borough, the members of the IJT work together in pursuit of a common goal.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be part of the defense team representing non-citizen clients in criminal court. Advocate on behalf of clients in state criminal proceedings and in related matters involving the application of federal, New York State, and New York City law
• Consult with and advise non-citizen clients and criminal defense attorneys on the potential immigration consequences of their criminal cases and seek, consistent with our 6th Amendment duty, to mitigate those consequences where possible
• Train and educate LAS staff and community members on criminal-immigration issues and emergent trends.
• Engage in policy advocacy on behalf of clients
• Depending on interest and availability, represent Criminal Defense Practice clients on immigration matters including removal defense and affirmative applications
• Other duties as assigned
• This position may require evening and weekend hours

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• New York State Bar admission
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience as a criminal defense attorney, immigration attorney, or Crim-Imm Specialist attorney (or a combination of these). Applicants should ideally have at least one year of Crim-Imm experience. Crim-Imm experience includes serving as an immigration specialist at a public defender organization or practicing removal defense or criminal defense with a substantive Crim-Imm component. Law school clinics, internships, volunteer work, and work as a Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representative may count toward this requirement. Other comparable Crim-Imm experience will also be considered
• Excellent research, writing, analytical, oral advocacy, and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team and to manage challenging, varied, and complex cases

Preferred qualifications:  

• The ability to speak a language other than English is not required but is strongly preferred

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range represents a good faith estimate of the range we expect to pay for this role. The actual salary offered may vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as collectively bargained salary steps for unionized roles.

Salary Range: $86,520 - $157,075

The Legal Aid Society offers a generous benefits package including health insurance, paid vacation, disability, and life insurance, and more. Click here to read more about benefits.

Higher Education and Loan Forgiveness

The Legal Aid Society is a qualified employer for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This position allows an employee to take advantage of PSLF and other State and Federal loan forgiveness programs. Additionally, employees who are New York residents may be eligible for assistance from New York state to assist with loan repayments, depending on years of practice. To learn more, click the links below.  

studentaid.gov

hesc.ny.gov/loan-forgiveness-programs

WORK AUTHORIZATION

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship for a work visa or permit. We are currently unable to sponsor employment visas or permits. (However, for citizens of Canada and Mexico, LAS will provide a letter documenting employment status that is needed to obtain a TN visa.)

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be completed online via the career portal. We do not accept emailed applications. Submit the following documents as a combined PDF:

• Cover Letter
• Resume 
• Writing Sample

For technical difficulties or questions regarding this posting, please email TalentAcquisition@legal-aid.org.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

As an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer, The Legal Aid Society prohibits discriminatory employment actions against and treatment of its employees and applicants for employment based on actual or perceived race or color, size (including bone structure, body size, height, shape, and weight), religion or creed, alienage or citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity (one’s internal deeply-held sense of one’s gender which may be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth); gender expression (the representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one’s name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics; gender expression may not conform to traditional gender-based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities), disability, marital status, relationship and family structure (including domestic partnerships, polyamorous families and individuals, chosen family, platonic co-parents, and multigenerational families), genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or pre-employment conviction record, credit history, unemployment status, caregiver status, salary history, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The Legal Aid Society is committed to a work culture of zealous advocacy, respect, diversity and inclusion, client-oriented defense, access to justice and excellent representation. We are dedicated to building a strong professional relationship with each of our clients (people), to understanding their diverse circumstances, and to meeting their needs. Our ability to achieve these goals depends on the efforts of all of us and our ability to build strong relationships with our colleagues. Every member of our community is expected to continuously learn about the dynamic, evolving, and emerging field of knowledge of identity, bias, and systemic forms of oppression and participate in productive efforts to dismantling bias in all forms.