Staff Attorney, Children's Legal Services

Staff Attorney, Children's Legal Services

IRC seeks a Staff Attorney to join its Maryland Children's Legal Services (CLS) team to provide immigration legal services to unaccompanied children who have been released from the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The attorney will conduct legal relief eligibility determinations, meet with and advise child clients, and provide direct legal representation to children. Relief will include filing for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), asylum, T Visas and U Visas, requiring the attorney to appear in Maryland family court, immigration court, and before the Asylum office.

The Staff Attorney will bring a passion for working with children, previous experience in humanitarian immigration law such as asylum, and previous experience before the Maryland family court presenting SIJS related custody or guardianship cases. Working closely with IRC Silver Spring leadership and immigration staff, as well as IRC's HQ Immigration Technical Unit and a host of external partners, the Staff Attorney will assist with developing this new program area for IRC in Silver Spring. This position will report to the CLS Managing Attorney or Senior Staff Attorney.

Major responsibilities:

• Conduct intakes with child clients, identify relief, and provide direct representation for unaccompanied children released to sponsors in Montgomery County and Prince George's County.
• Handle moderate to heavy caseload of children's cases before the immigration court and USCIS.
• Represent the child's sponsor/parent or caretaker in state court custody or guardianship proceedings related to the child's potential special immigrant juvenile status.
• Prepare, file, monitor, and represent child clients with applications for immigration relief including, but not limited to, applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, asylum, U nonimmigrant status, and T nonimmigrant status.
• Represent child clients before the Immigration Court including attending Master Calendar and Merits Hearings; filing motions, notices of appearance, change of address forms, and briefings; and communicating with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Chief Counsel regarding clients' matters before the Court.
• 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.
• Position may supervise legal assistants and/or interns.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise of changing asylum and immigration policies as they relate to children through regular training and peer-to-peer consultation.
• Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.

Job requirements:

• Law degree (JD or LLM) from an ABA-accredited U.S. institution and admission to the Maryland bar;
• One year of experience providing direct representation in immigration court and/or before USCIS to asylum applicants and other immigrants seeking humanitarian relief is strongly preferred; law school graduates with clinical or equivalent legal experience may be considered;
• One year of experience before the Maryland family court representing SIJS related custody or guardianship cases is strongly preferred;
• Experience providing legal services to children and/or working with children preferred;
• Excellent legal research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills;
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally in a courtroom setting and in writing;
• Bilingual in Spanish/English highly preferred, but not required (Spanish language training opportunities may be available);
• Deep commitment to immigrant rights and working with humanitarian immigrants;
• Trauma-informed and sensitive listening and communication skills;
• Evidence of capacity to be a strong team member in a highly collaborative and fast-paced multidisciplinary environment;
• Must have a valid driver's license, reliable vehicle, active insurance policy and/or the ability to travel frequently in and around the service area to attend hearings and interviews and engage with clients and community partners.

Working Environment:

• Standard office environment with occasional participation in community outreach and legal assistance events.
• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges 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 requirements.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, 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.