STAFF ATTORNEY
Job Description
RESPONSIBILITIES
Justice for Our Neighbors El Paso (“JFON El Paso”) seeks a committed, self-motivated immigration law attorney to work in our site in El Paso, which seeks to serve the West Texas and Southern New Mexico community.
Reporting to the Executive Director (ED), the Staff Attorney is responsible for provision of immigration legal services that JFON El Paso offers the Borderland community. The Staff Attorney is a regular, full time, exempt employee for JFON El Paso.
Position will be based in El Paso, TX, with expectation to travel to various sites, including detention centers and possible clinic sites in West Texas and Southern New Mexico.
DUTIES
- Represent clients in a wide range of immigration matters, including cases involving asylum, citizenship, deportation defense, family petitions, refugee adjustment of status, special immigrant juvenile status, VAWA, and DACA;
- Coordinate and supervise immigration legal clinics held throughout West Texas and Southern New Mexico;
- Provide training and guidance to volunteers on clinic management and educational presentations;
- Conduct educational presentations about immigration laws and policies to the general public and immigrant community;
- Collaborate with other advocates, meet with representatives of other agencies, and engage in similar activities; and
- Manage active caseload and maintain case management system with support and guidance from national staff and network (of Immigration Law and Justice Network, formerly National Justice for Our Neighbors).
QUALIFICATIONS
- Member in good standing of any State Bar;
- Strong commitment to serving immigrant communities and defending rights of non-citizens;
- Willingness to travel and work some weekend hours;
- Able to work with people of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds;
- Strong administrative and computer skills;
- Willingness to work with and supervise volunteers; and
- Fluency in Spanish required.
WORKING CONDITIONS
This job primarily involves office, non-manual administrative work, including the following functional tasks:
- Sitting at desk and/or working at computer up to 8 hours per day and occasional standing;
- Working in a fast-paced environment subject to numerous schedule and priority changes and short notice activity;
- Being available by phone and email for clients and Executive Director;
- Several hours per day may occasionally be spent operating a motor vehicle traveling to and from off-site meetings; and
- Appearance at all times must be professional and promote a positive image of JFON El Paso.
ADDITIONAL DUTIES
This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed. The Staff Attorney will be expected to perform other duties as requested by the Executive Director, such as attending coalition meetings and summarizing work in a written format for reporting.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- Salary is 60k-70k per year, commensurate with experience
- Relocation reimbursement is available for candidates outside of the El Paso/ Las Cruces area
- Health Insurance $5,000 per year towards premium
- Pre-tax Simple IRA retirement plan with employer matching funds
- Employee Assistance Program, including free counseling sessions and personal legal consultations
- Mileage reimbursement for travel
- Paid time off starts at 10 vacation days in the first year
- 10 designated holidays and 3 additional floating holidays per year
- 12 paid sick days per year
MENTORING AND LEGAL SUPPORT
- Consulting Attorney within ILJ Network
- Connection to attorneys at 19 other sites within the ILJ Network for case consultation
- Malpractice insurance coverage
- Memberships to AILA, Practicing Law Institute, CLINIC, and ASISTA, which includes research database subscriptions
NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
JFON El Paso does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
JFON El Paso provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities, unless the accommodation(s) would impose an undue hardship for the organization or pose a direct threat of harm to the health or safety of the applicant, employee, or others.
JFON El Paso participates in E-Verify.
TO APPLY
To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references to [email protected] Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
