What are the responsibilities and job description for the Supervising Attorney, Removal Defense Programs position at Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC)?
The Supervising Attorney represents individuals facing deportation before the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) while delivering critical Know Your Rights (KYR) services to detained immigrants. This role also provides legal, administrative, and strategic supervision to team members, mentoring colleagues and strengthening the quality and impact of PIRC’s legal services.
Job Purpose and Activities:
• Represents non-citizen adults facing deportation and detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center (MVPC) and non-detained immigrants residing in Pennsylvania. Cases include a wide scope of removal defense before immigration courts, the BIA, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Cases selected fall under both a particular vulnerabilities model and a universal representation model.
• Represents unaccompanied minors in south central Pennsylvania, in long-term foster care or released from the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s custody.
• Conducts legal intakes and screenings of prospective clients for representation.
• Provides non-representational legal orientation services under Know Your Rights (KYR) to detained adults seeking to self-represent.
• Works with program coordinators to ensure all client data is properly recorded and entered into appropriate case management programs and databases.
• Works with Managing Attorney to maintain and navigate relationships with governmental agencies, nonprofit legal service providers, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Works with the Managing Attorney and Executive Director to ensure compliance with contractual and grant requirements for PIRC’s Removal Defense Programs.
• Supervises a few direct reports and/or interns as assigned by the Managing Attorney, including providing mentorship, legal supervision of work product and legal strategy, and related administrative duties.
Qualifications & Experience
• Law degree and licensed to practice law or pending application before the bar of any state in the U.S.
• Excellent research, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate with people of different racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Ethic of serving clients with compassion.
• Sense of personal initiative and ability to work independently with appropriate guidance and supervision.
• Ability to balance competing priorities and communicate as priorities shift. Ability to meet deadlines.
• Must be flexible and adaptable.
• Commitment to PIRC’s mission, immigration advocacy, and legal services.
• 3 years of relevant immigration removal defense experience.
• Preferred: Fluency (reading/writing/speaking) in Spanish and/or other language.
Salary Range:
From $71,892/year
Benefits:
Benefits include health, vision and dental insurance, short term disability insurance, life insurance, professional liability insurance, retirement with employer contribution, and generous paid time off.
Status:
Full-time; exempt
Location & Work Arrangement:
Hybrid remote in York, PA or Pittsburgh, PA.
To Apply:
Please send a cover letter, résumé and 2-3 professional references to Andrew Baranoski, Executive Director, at employment@pirclaw.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The Hiring Committee will begin screening resumes upon receipt. Note: Applicants will be notified prior to contacting references.
PIRC is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. PIRC encourages applications from all qualified individuals, without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, citizenship or any other consideration prohibited by law.
Commitment to Inclusion: The Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center provides support and services to communities across PA and is committed to a workplace that reflects the diversity of those we serve. All applicants and employees of different backgrounds and perspectives, regardless of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status, or any other quality that makes them exceptional, are valued and treated as equals.