Paralegal Coordinator (Immigration Removal Defense)

Immigrant Defenders Law Center; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 41,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Health insurance and other benefits

401(k) with employer matching

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Parking stipend

Public transportation stipend

Cell phone stipend

Job summary

Immigrant Defenders Law Center is seeking a full-time Paralegal Coordinator for our downtown Los Angeles office. The role focuses on onboarding, training and supporting paralegals within a universal representation model that defends immigrants facing removal.

The ideal candidate has a BA or ABA-paralegal certificate, at least one year of legal-support experience in California, and five years in immigration law. We value strong writing, research, and organizational skills with a nonprofit mindset.

Qualifications

• Must have a BA or paralegal certificate from an ABA-accredited program.
• Must have at least one year of experience as legal support staff working under the supervision of a California licensed attorney.
• Must have at least 5 years of experience in a law office in immigration or a related field.
• At least 2 years of experience providing supervision or training preferred.
• Experience working in a non-profit and/or at a public interest law firm is helpful.
• Strong writing, research, and organizational skills required.
• DACA Recipients encouraged to apply!

Responsibilities

• Primarily responsible for onboarding and training support to ImmDef's paralegals.
• Create, update and improve internal guidance and samples for paralegal use.
• Assist with recruiting and interviewing for paralegal openings.
• Develop protocols and standards for onboarding and offboarding procedures.
• Evaluate staff progress during onboarding period.
• Provide substantive training and professional development on topics relevant to paralegal staff.
• Facilitate regular team meetings for policy updates and trainings.
• Provide paralegal support to Supervisory Attorneys as needed.
• Assist attorneys with zealous, high-quality representation in deportation defense.
• Prepare motions, briefs, and court filings under supervision.

Skills

Supervision/Training

Strong writing

Research

Organizational skills

Education

BA or ABA-paralegal certificate

Job description

Brief Description

The Immigrant Defenders Law Center ("ImmDef") is a next-generation, social justice law firm that provides high-quality representation and legal services to immigrants in Southern California. Our staff is comprised of advocates and activists from the immigrant rights community who collectively have decades of experience fighting for the rights of immigrants in Southern California and beyond. Our organization was founded with the belief that no immigrant should be forced to go into court alone, and we see our universal representation programs as a first step towards that goal. Learn more about us at www.immdef.org.

ImmDef represents thousands of adults, children and families annually who have multi-faceted, complex and urgent legal needs as they face our unjust immigration system. ImmDef is currently seeking full-time paralegal coordinators to join our team of fearless advocates providing creative and zealous representation to our clients. Paralegals will be joining the largest non-profit, universal representation model deportation defense team in the state of California. The position will be based at ImmDef's downtown Los Angeles office.

Our staff work collaboratively within our team of managing and directing attorneys, staff attorneys, paralegals, administrative support staff and case managers to provide client-centered, holistic representation. This is a rewarding and exciting position where the successful applicant will be engaged in cutting edge immigration litigation for individual clients with an overarching organizational goal of fighting for a more just immigration system.

Essential Functions

• Primarily responsible for providing onboarding and training support to ImmDef's paralegals.
• In coordination with supervisory attorney staff, create, update and improve internal guidance and samples for paralegal use in support of efficient case management.
• Assist with recruiting and interviewing for paralegal and legal support staff openings.
• Develop protocols and standards for paralegal onboarding and offboarding procedures.
• Work with Supervisory Attorneys to evaluate new staff progress and performance during introductory and onboarding period.
• Provide substantive training and professional development on topics relevant to paralegal staff.
• Facilitate regular team meetings with paralegal teams for policy updates, announcements, training and to field technical questions.
• Provide paralegal support to a limited number of Supervisory Attorneys and fill in staffing gaps in paralegal support as needed, including general paralegal tasks such as.
• Assist attorneys with providing zealous, high-quality representation to people facing deportation within a dedicated, universal representation model legal team.
• Serve as point of contact for clients when attorney is not available.
• Conduct intake interviews with new clients and gather information necessary for immigration relief screenings.
• Collaborate with attorneys for effective case planning, development and management.
• Complete immigration forms with a high level of factual accuracy and attention to detail; Complete Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, records requests and other fact and document gathering tasks to support removal defense cases.
• Interview clients and family members in order to prepare declarations, letters of support and other documents to support relief from removal.
• Assist in the administrative and substantive preparation of client application packages for bond, relief from removal, and immigration benefits.
• Under attorney supervision, prepare motions, briefs, cover letters and other substantive court filings.
• Submit electronic and in-person filings.
• Maintain accurate digital and paper files according to ImmDef protocols.
• Consistently and accurately enter all client and case development information into our internal case management system.
• Conduct country conditions, legal, and factual research as directed by attorneys.
• Provide interpretation, translation of documents and communication assistance for clients as needed.
• Accurately and timely submit all case data in order to comply with ImmDef's contractual obligations.
• Serve as the point of contact to ensure task coverage for overflow and paralegal absence.
• Complete other tasks as assigned by attorneys or the ImmDef management team.

Requirements

• Must have a BA or paralegal certificate from an ABA-accredited program.
• Must have at least one year of experience as legal support staff working under the supervision of a California licensed attorney.
• Must have at least 5 years of experience in a law office in immigration or a related field.
• At least 2 years of experience providing supervision or training preferred.
• Experience working in a non-profit and/or at a public interest law firm is helpful.
• Strong writing, research, and organizational skills required.
• Passion for social justice for immigrants required.
• DACA Recipients encouraged to apply!

Preferred Education And Experience

• Experience with deportation defense is a plus.
• Experience working with minors or persons suffering from mental competency issues is a plus.
• Experience with family, dependency and probate court is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to work within a high-volume, busy law office is a plus.

Competencies

• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem solving.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work under pressure required.

Language Requirement

• Spanish language fluency required and will be tested at time of interview.

Summary

• This position is not part of the ImmDef employee union bargaining unit.
• Compensation starts at $30.00 - $38.00 per hour depending on experience (DOE).

Schedule

• ImmDef's standard work schedule is 35 hours per week, or 70 hours per pay period.
• Hybrid Work Schedule: Staff in non-exempt positions at ImmDef are expected to be at an ImmDef worksite a minimum of 4 days per week, with 1 day per week available to work remotely.
• As a member of ImmDef's management team, you are expected to schedule your hours and on-site attendance to maximize your availability to your team, serving as a role model for effective work habits and professional conduct.

Holidays and Paid Time Off

• 13 paid holidays
• 1-Week paid winter break between Christmas Eve and New Years
• 15 vacation days per year
• 15 Sick Days per year

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance & FSA

• At ImmDef, we offer a competitive benefits package designed to support the health and well-being of our employees and their families. Health coverage begins at the first of the month following 30 days of employment. We provide generous contributions toward medical, dental, and vision plans for both employees and their dependents. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Dependent Care FSAs are also available to help manage additional healthcare and childcare expenses.

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan & Employer Matching

• ImmDef staff are eligible to enroll in our 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan after completing three months of employment, allowing employees to contribute pre-tax earnings toward their retirement goals. Upon completion of three months of service, ImmDef will match 100% of contributions up to 4% of the employee’s eligible compensation.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

• As a 501(c)3, full-time ImmDef staff with qualifying student loans are eligible for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Parking and Public Transportation Stipends

• Staff members assigned to an office without free on-site parking are eligible to receive a parking stipend of up to $130 per month in actual accrued parking or transportation costs, paid through a pre-tax commuter benefit account.
• Staff in all offices are eligible to receive a public transportation stipend of up to $100 per month in actual accrued public transportation costs.

Cell Phone Stipends

• ImmDef provides a $15 monthly cell phone stipend to staff members whose job duties require them to consistently work at sites outside of ImmDef offices, or travel between ImmDef worksites, and whose jobs require use of their personal cell phones or communications that cannot be accomplished with ImmDef-issued equipment.