Immigration Staff Attorney (Temporary, 6-Month Term)

East Bay Community Law Center; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 88,000 - 111,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully paid health insurance (employees

Life and disability insurance

Generous paid leave (vacation, sick, &

Flexible spending accounts

Retirement options

Job summary

East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) seeks an Immigration Program Temporary Staff Attorney for a six-month term to serve low-income immigrants in varied matters, including asylum, U visas, and SIJS. The attorney works on a holistic legal team in the East Bay, collaborating with paralegals, social workers, and other attorneys.

The role requires a JD, active California Bar membership, and strong advocacy, writing, and organizational skills.

Qualifications

• J.D. required and admitted to the California Bar in good standing.
• Minimum one year of immigration law experience; three years preferred.
• Experience with asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status preferred.
• Ability to manage a demanding caseload with strong time-management and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and oral advocacy; Spanish ability preferred.

Responsibilities

• Represent low-income immigrants before the Immigration Court, USCIS, family court, and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
• Provide consultations and direct representation for immigrants in the East Bay, including students and local residents.
• Collaborate with social work staff to address holistic needs and access to services.
• Co-supervise paralegals with unit directors.
• Conduct community outreach, workshops, and presentations.
• Engage in partnerships with other organizations and assist with grant-related tasks.

Skills

Advocacy skills

Time management

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Spanish language

Diversity engagement

Education

J.D. required

California Bar in good standing

Job description

IMMIGRATION PROGRAM – TEMPORARY STAFF ATTORNEY

SIX-MONTH TERM, ANTICIPATED START DATE ASAP

East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is a non-profit legal services organization, the community-based clinical program for U.C. Berkeley Law School, and one of the Bay Area’s largest and most effective system disrupters. With a dual service and teaching mission, EBCLC is a racial justice organization committed to building a culturally diverse workplace, centered on equity. With about 50 staff, 100 clinical law students a year, and a $7 million annual budget, EBCLC is the largest provider of free legal services in Alameda County, providing multimodal, collaborative, and holistic legal services to over 4,000 clients annually and engaging in legislative and policy advocacy at the state and local level.

EBCLC’s Immigration Program includes 8 attorneys, 3 paralegals/BIA Accredited Representatives, and 1 social worker. The team provides a full range of legal and social work services to low-income immigrants with a focus on the most vulnerable populations—people with disabilities and chronic illness, members of the LGBTQ community, youth, and existing EBCLC clients with other legal issues. Attorneys and advocates counsel and represent individuals in matters including adjustment of status, removal defense, DACA, naturalization, asylum, public benefits eligibility, waivers, U/T visas and special immigrant juvenile status. The practice represents clients before the asylum office, the United States Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration Court, and on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals and Ninth Circuit.

The Immigration Temporary Staff Attorney represents immigrants with a wide variety of immigration matters. The position requires an excellent advocate with strong writing, interpersonal, and organizational skills who works well in a fast-paced collaborative environment, has experience providing immigration services to low-income people, and is committed to furthering EBCLC’s racial justice mission. The Immigration Temporary Staff Attorney is supervised by an Immigration Program Co-Director.

Primary Responsibilities

• Represent low-income immigrants on wide variety of immigration matters before the Immigration Court, USCIS, family court, and the Board of Immigration Appeals, including removal defense, asylum, U visas, VAWA, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, adjustment of status, waivers, naturalization, DACA and more.
• Work on a holistic-oriented legal team providing consultations and direct representation to the immigrant community in the East Bay, including students at UC Berkeley and local community colleges, and Alameda County residents in removal proceedings.
• Work collaboratively with our social work team and other attorneys at EBCLC to provide holistic wrap-around services addressing the criminalization of immigrants and efforts to deny them access to critical supports and services.
• Co-supervise paralegals with unit’s Co-Directors
• Conduct outreach, workshops, and presentations in the community.
• Participate in collaborative partnerships with other community and legal services organizations providing similar services.
• Complete administrative tasks, such as those related to grant management and reporting.
• Additional tasks as assigned by Supervisor.

Salary and Benefits

Starting salary for this exempt position is $87,763 - $110,763 based on law school graduation date, as dictated by the EBCLC salary scale. This is not a bargaining unit position. This is a temporary contract for six months to cover a staff member’s parental leave.

Benefits include fully paid health insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for employees and their dependents, life and disability insurance, and generous paid leave (vacation, sick, and holidays); EBCLC also offers flexible spending accounts for qualified health, dependent care, and commute expenditures; and retirement options.

Workplace Expectations

EBCLC is a hybrid workplace. Most staff may work from home or in the office, subject to safety protocols. Please note that the Immigration Temporary Staff Attorney is expected to work in the office at least 3 days each week to attend in-person meetings, teach seminar, and/or engage in in-person fieldwork to support our clients, policy work and the clinical education program. EBCLC will provide the necessary equipment to fulfill the job responsibilities of working from home.

Working at EBCLC

EBCLC is a unionized workplace and members of the bargaining unit are represented by the Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20, IFPTE. This position is not part of the bargaining unit. EBCLC is strongly committed to advancing justice through education and advocacy, and the need to transform legal services and legal education. Please take time to review EBCLC’s mission, vision, programs, and website, and ensure that your cover letter reflects how your background, experience, and expertise have prepared you to be successful in performing the responsibilities of the position.

Additionally, EBCLC is committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity and providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. To achieve this goal, EBCLC works actively to improve our office climate, systems and structures, communications, and community engagement to create an inclusive and respectful workplace where differences are acknowledged and valued.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. EBCLC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior contact with the criminal legal system, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. required, member of the California State Bar in good standing
• Minimum one (1) year experience providing immigration legal services with strong preference for at least three (3) years of experience
• Previous experience with asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases strongly preferred
• Ability to manage a demanding caseload; excellent time-management, priority-setting, and organizational skills
• Excellent written and oral advocacy skills
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse range of groups, including people of color, people experiencing housing insecurity, non-English speakers, people with mental disabilities, people experiencing domestic violence, law students, service providers, government employees, community partners, and law school faculty
• Passion for the principles of racial justice, equity and for advancing the mission and work of EBCLC to increase justice through education and advocacy
• Strong interpersonal skills, flexibility, and demonstrated ability to work well independently and as part of a team
• Proficiency in Spanish strongly preferred