Temporary Staff Attorney, Immigration Law Unit – Federal Litigation Team

The Immigration Law Unit (ILU) in The Legal Aid Society’s Civil Practice has one Temporary Staff Attorney position available. This one-year assignment will help ILU’s Federal Litigation team build capacity to represent low-income clients before the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals to safeguard immigrants’ constitutional rights and ensure that immigration laws are accurately interpreted and fairly applied. In particular, the attorney will assist in expanding our capacity to assist non-citizens in habeas matters, including utilizing advanced technology to integrate emerging legal arguments and create sharable litigation resources.

The Staff Attorney will work closely with colleagues, as well as the clients they represent, to identify federal court interventions to address our clients’ needs. The Staff Attorney’s essential duties will include undertaking affirmative and other litigation challenging unlawful policies and practices, including habeas petitions, petitions for review, and Administrative Procedure Act complaints.

ILU is a recognized leader in providing high-quality representation to non-citizens in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties. Our staff of almost 100 attorneys, social workers, and paralegals across six different projects and initiatives works collaboratively to provide client-centered, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive legal services.

This position is funded through a temporary grant, and the continuation of the position is dependent on funding availability. The position is funded for an initial period of 12 months, with the possibility of extension based on continued funding and project needs. If funding is not continued, the temporary attorney will be eligible to apply for other internal positions or be transferred into a comparable position.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and conduct litigation before federal district courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, including habeas petitions, petitions for review, and Administrative Procedure Act actions
• Assist with class action lawsuits and other affirmative litigation on behalf of non-citizen New Yorkers
• Provide individualized consultation to staff attorneys
• Develop skills and knowledge of ILU staff on federal litigation matters through trainings
• Work with pro bono counsel
• Develop pro se and pro bono lawyer resource materials and trainings on federal court issues
• Maintain, organize, and update case files and case management database (LawManager)
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

Required qualifications:

• Admission to the New York State Bar. Must be eligible to immediately seek admission to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits and U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Admission to other federal district courts desirable
• Minimum of two years of federal litigation or comparable litigation experience, preferably in immigration law
• Demonstrated commitment to representing or working with individuals from marginalized communities
• Excellent writing, analytical, oral advocacy, and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on an interdisciplinary team and manage a high volume of cases
Ability to work with pro bono attorneys, law student interns, and volunteers

Preferred qualifications:

• Proficiency in languages other than English is desirable, but not required
At least two years of Immigration law is strongly preferred

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Transcript
• Writing Sample
  

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.