Supervising Attorney

Job Overview:

The IRC seeks a Supervising Attorney to join the IRC in Dallas. The Supervising Attorney is an experienced immigration lawyer who will focus on supervision, direct representation, and providing legal services for detained and released unaccompanied children, including representation in immigration court, before USCIS, and in state court proceedings. The Supervising Attorney will bring several years’ experience representing asylum seekers, preferably including youth and unaccompanied minors, superb legal judgment and legal ethics, an ability to work independently while recognizing the value of collaboration and cross-referencing with other experts, and a passion for this area of work. The position will work in collaboration with community partners and will be part of the Children’s Legal Services Community of Practice, led by IRC’s Legal Services Technical Unit (TU) at IRC’s headquarters, which supports IRC’s 24 legal service programs across the US.

Major Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Supervise attorneys, legal assistants, and DOJ Accredited representatives serving detained and released unaccompanied child clients, focusing on state court representation for SIJS, asylum, and removal defense.
• Conduct and oversee intakes with child clients, identify immigration relief such as SIJS, asylum, cancellation of removal, VAWA, U-visa, T-visa, etc., and provide direct representation for unaccompanied children released to sponsors in the Atlanta Metro area before USCIS and the immigration court.
• Initiate state court proceedings for children who are eligible for special immigrant juvenile status.
• Provide legal trainings and technical case assistance to in-house staff, pro bono attorneys, ORR facility staff and other stakeholders and community partners as needed to maximize effective legal services to immigrant children.
• Coordinate closely within IRC’s multidisciplinary teams to identify needs and facilitate referrals to services offered in-house and through partnerships with external providers.
• Ensure client and program data is collected consistently, managed appropriately, and reported accurately in accordance with program reporting requirements set by IRC and the funder.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise of changing asylum and immigration policies as they relate to children through regular trainings and peer-to-peer consultation.
• Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.
• Participate in community-based coalitions related to immigrant rights.
• Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Education: Law degree (JD or LLM) from an ABA-accredited U.S. institution and member in good standing of the Texas bar

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience strongly preferred providing direct representation in immigration court and/or before USCIS to asylum applicants and other immigrants seeking humanitarian relief.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience providing direct representation before state courts in furtherance of SIJS petitions.
• Experience providing legal services unaccompanied children and/or working with children preferred.

Demonstrated Skills & Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to promote an organizational culture that reflects IRC’s core values of service, accountability, integrity, and equality. Ability to lead in a way that recognizes that IRC’s work is best accomplished through the true collaboration of individuals from many cultures with a great variety of skills and perspectives.
• Excellent research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills, and excellent legal judgment.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally in a courtroom setting and in writing.
• Evidence of capacity to be a strong team member in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary environment.
• Deep commitment to immigrant rights and working with humanitarian immigrants.
• Trauma-informed and sensitive listening and communication skills.
• Personal integrity in handling ethically complex and confidential situations
• Fluent in English, both spoken and written; proficiency in Spanish is desired.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook); ability to use the internet and other digital tools for data entry, research, and problem-solving purposes.
• Must be willing and able to travel frequently in and around the service area to attend hearings and interviews and engage with clients and community partners.
• Must be willing to submit to an extensive background check including FBI, statewide child welfare and sex offender registry checks.

Working Environment:

• A combination of standard office environment, remote work, and ‘field’ time within the service delivery area to perform the above outlined responsibilities.
• Occasional domestic travel required.
• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Compensation: ($71,415.00). Posted rates apply to US-based candidates. Rates are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirement.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Benefits: We offer the following benefits to short term employees in the US: 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, sick leave, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.