Senior Staff Attorney or Staff Attorney – Immigration Unit

The-Public-Law-Center; Santa Ana (CA); Hybrid; USD 81,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental, Vision Insurance

Paid holidays

Paid vacation

403b retirement plan

Wi‑Fi/cell phone stipend

Bilingual pay premium

Job summary

Public Law Center in Santa Ana, CA seeks a Senior Staff Attorney or Staff Attorney for the Immigration Unit to manage a full caseload, conduct screenings, and provide removal defense and affirmative relief. The role involves community outreach, collaboration with partners, and supervision of volunteers.

We value attorneys with California Bar membership, 1–5 years of immigration experience, and strong communication in English and Spanish.

Qualifications

• Active California State Bar membership or eligibility to practice under State Bar Multijurisdictional Practice Program
• 1–5 years of immigration law experience
• Experience representing clients before USCIS and/or EOIR
• Commitment to working with immigrant communities

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal screenings and consultations.
• Maintain full caseload of immigration cases, including removal defense and affirmative relief.
• Participate in collaborative advocacy with other legal service providers and community partners.
• Oversee volunteer pro bono attorneys and law students through training and supervision.
• Participate in immigration legal clinics, workshops, and community education presentations.
• Represent PLC at legal networking and community outreach events.

Skills

Immigration law

Bilingual English/Spanish

Client representation before USCIS/EOI

Education

California Bar membership eligibility

Job description

Senior Staff Attorney or Staff Attorney – Immigration Unit

About Public Law Center

Founded in 1981, The Public Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free legal services to low-income residents and other nonprofits in Orange County. Last year, Public Law Center staff and volunteers provided over 65,000 hours of free legal services in handling over 4,500 cases benefiting low-income children, adults and seniors. The estimated value of this work is roughly $60 million in just the past three years. Our services include counseling, individual representation, community education and strategic policy advocacy and impact litigation to challenge societal injustices.

About the role

• Full-time, exempt position.
• Reports to co-supervising attorney.
• Subject to probationary period during first 6 months of continuous employment.
• Hybrid position. Minimum of two in-office days during probationary period, and minimum of one in-office day after probationary period.
• Travel throughout Orange County and neighboring counties for USCIS/EOIR appearances, and community presentations/events will be necessary. Participation in community presentations/events may include occasional evening or weekend work.

What you'll do

• Conduct legal screenings and consultations.
• Maintain full caseload of immigration cases, including removal defense and affirmative relief.
• Participate in collaborative advocacy efforts in coalition with other legal service providers and community partners.
• Oversee volunteer pro bono attorneys and law students through training, technical support, and general supervision.
• Participate in immigration legal clinics, workshops, and community education presentations.
• Represent PLC at legal networking and community outreach events.

Qualifications

• Active membership in the California State Bar or eligibility to practice under State Bar Multijurisdictional Practice Program.
• 1-5 years of immigration law experience, including client representation before USCIS and/or EOIR.
• Demonstrated commitment to working with immigrant communities.

Strongly Preferred:

• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to communicate with a variety of audiences.
• Strong legal research and writing skills.
• Ability to effectively manage high volume of cases and multitask concurrent responsibilities.
• Bilingual English/Spanish or other language.

Salary & Benefits

• Compensation dependent on experience; range of $81,000 to $91,000
• Competitive benefits provided, and for this position include:
• Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance (100% of employee premium costs for most plans paid by PLC, and 50% of dependent health insurance premium costs paid by PLC)
• Flexible Spending Account Program to help pay for medical expenses and childcare costs
• 18-20 paid holidays including the office shutdown between December 24 and early January
• 21 paid sick/wellness days per year to promote mental wellness and general wellbeing
• 15 paid vacation days per year(with more added for each year at PLC)
• Birthday paid time off (2 hours of paid time off during birthday month)
• 403b retirement plan (after 6 months of employment PLC provides a matching contribution equaling 100% of salary deferral up to a maximum of 3-4%, depending on length of employment)
• Monthly stipend to offset Wi‑Fi and cell phone costs
• Monthly Bilingual Pay Premium upon scoring a sufficiently high level of an oral and/or written test ($50 for oral premium and $50 for written premium)
• Opportunities for growth and advancement
• Paid CA Bar fees, 1 section membership, and MCLE

Public Law Center is dedicated to building a diverse team and fostering a fair and welcoming work environment. To view our complete DEI statement, please click here.

Public Law Center is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, please contact Public Law Center.

PLC will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with all legal requirements.

PLC regrets that it is unable to sponsor employment Visas or consider individuals on time-limited Visa status for this position.