Immigration Staff Attorney

BROOKLYN LEGAL SERVICES

IMMIGRATION UNIT STAFF ATTORNEY 

Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS) is seeking a dynamic attorney to work as a Staff Attorney in its Immigrants' Rights & Advocacy Project (IRAP). We seek candidates who are excited to work in a client-centered, rapidly evolving practice and to use creative strategies in the pursuit of justice.

Brooklyn Legal Services is part of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) and provides high-quality, innovative representation to address the pressing legal needs of Brooklyn’s diverse low-income population. LSNYC’s mission is to fight poverty and seek racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country. Our staff of over 600 people in neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs helps more than 110,000 New Yorkers annually. BLS focuses on the problems that have the greatest impact on our clients — preserving affordable and decent housing, maintaining income support, redressing abusive lending and consumer practices, promoting family stability and mitigating the effects of domestic violence, and advocating for older adults and people with disabilities.

As a community-centered, social justice organization, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where staff and clients feel welcome. Through our various affinity groups and committees, we actively work to foster collegial relationships among staff and allow staff to explore, grow in our understanding of and challenge barriers to opportunity within our organization and through our legal work. All employees are expected to learn about and seek to understand, identify and overcome barriers to justice, from individual preconceptions to structural obstacles, and work to realize our organizational goals and mission.

The Position:

The IRAP Staff Attorney will provide deportation defense in immigration court before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), including merits hearings, motions practice, and appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), to individuals and families in removal proceedings. They will also handle affirmative immigration matters with USCIS, including asylum applications, family-based petitions, naturalization, VAWA self-petitions, and petitions for U or T nonimmigrant status, among other forms of relief. The Staff Attorney will represent clients in family court proceedings related to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases. They will work closely with our staff social worker to provide trauma-informed representation and holistic advocacy on behalf of clients and their families. The Staff Attorney may also file and litigate habeas petitions alongside LSNYC’s litigation directors. This is a strong opportunity to do substantive immigration law work with a diverse client population in an underserved community.

The attorney will be supervised by the Director of IRAP and will work in a hybrid remote and in-office schedule in accordance with the LSNYC Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Additional duties include:

• Intake, community education, and community outreach

• Collaborating with other LSNYC attorneys and advocates on cross-unit and cross-borough project

• Partnering with community-based organizations on campaigns and projects

• Mentoring and collaborating with pro bono partners

• Administrative tasks, including timekeeping, uploading documents, data reporting, and case closing for compliance

Experience and Qualifications:

We seek an attorney admitted to the New York State Bar with:

• A demonstrated passion for social justice and a commitment to working with low-income communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color to advance equity

• At least 2-3 years of immigration law direct services experience

• Experience representing clients before EOIR, including motions practice and merits hearings, and experience with BIA appeals required

• Experience working with clients who have experienced trauma and other vulnerable populations (particularly domestic violence survivors, LGBTQ+ communities, and youth) required

• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills

• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage a diverse, fast-paced, and high-volume caseload

• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

• Strong cultural or personal ties to the communities we serve are helpful but not required

• Collaborative orientation, ability to work in a team, and solutions-oriented approach

• Fluency in Spanish, including the ability to communicate in Spanish with clients about legal matters and correspond in writing with clients in Spanish strongly preferred

How to Apply

Applicants should upload a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples to the Greenhouse portal. 

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No telephone calls, please.

BLS offers an excellent benefits package and a highly competitive public interest salary. Benefits include health, dental, and vision plans; contributions to a 403(b) plan; and generous leave time. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Brooklyn Legal Services is an equal opportunity employer: people of color; women; people with disabilities; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people; and people over the age of 40 are welcome and encouraged to apply. We are committed to race, gender, and economic justice in our work and within our workplace. Staff members who are not managers are members of the LSSA/NOLSW UAW Local 2320.

Salary Range 88181 - 137347 USD