Staff Attorney - Immigration and Anti-Human Trafficking

Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

403(b) retirement plan with employer-m

Paid holidays (14)

PTO and sick leave

Employer-paid medical, dental, and VIS

Flexible Spending Accounts

Job summary

API Legal Outreach seeks a Staff Attorney to provide comprehensive immigration-related legal representation for low-income clients across U.S. immigration remedies. The role involves outreach, community engagement, and assisting in organizational operations from San Francisco or East Bay offices.

Strong commitment to serving API/immigrant communities is essential. The attorney will handle removal defense, asylum, naturalization, U visas, and may supervise volunteers and interns while

Qualifications

• Minimum of two years of litigation experience in low-income communities or with recent immigrants.
• Strong commitment to social justice and serving underserved clients.
• Proven advocacy and courtroom skills, especially for LEP clients.
• California bar membership or eligibility and ability to practice in the region.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal representation in immigration matters including removal defense, asylum, naturalization, and U visas.
• Assess clients to screen for possible remedies and legal needs.
• Represent clients at USCIS interviews and EOIR hearings.
• Participate in community education and outreach activities.
• Staff clinics and workshops accessible to clients.
• Provide training to community partners and agencies.
• Attend meetings with funders and participating organizations.
• Supervise volunteers and pro bono attorneys as needed.
• Assist with administrative and fundraising tasks.

Skills

Litigation

Public interest law

Advocacy

Multicultural teamwork

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Bar admission in California or eligible

Tools

Legal Server

Job description

About Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach

API Legal Outreach is the largest social justice legal organization focused on the Asian/Pacific Islander, Latinx, and immigrant communities of the Greater Bay Area and the Central Valley. A growing community-based organization founded in 1975, our mission is to provide culturally competent and linguistically appropriate direct services to the most marginalized segments of our community including low-income women, seniors, immigrants, and youth. With offices in Oakland and San Francisco, our work is focused in the areas of Gender-based Violence, Immigration and Immigrant Rights, Disability Rights, Senior Law and Elder Abuse, Anti-Human Trafficking, Youth Violence Prevention, Anti API Hate Violence, the preservation of affordable housing and small businesses, and other social justice issues.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Supervising Attorney for Immigrant Rights, the Staff Attorney in Immigrant Rights/Anti-Human Trafficking will offer legal representation to low-income clients across various immigration-related remedies. They will actively participate in community outreach, represent the organization at various forums, and assist in the broader administrative tasks of the organization. This role will be instrumental in our mission to serve underserved Asian, Pacific Islander, and BIPOC communities in the Greater Bay Area and is based in our San Francisco or East Bay office depending on space and program need.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive legal representation and consultations in areas including removal defense, asylum, naturalization services, and various petitions such as U, T, and VAWA.
• Conduct thorough legal assessments with clients to screen for potential immigration remedies and other legal needs.
• Represent clients at interviews before USCIS and hearings before EOIR Immigration Judges
• Engage in community education and outreach activities.
• Staff clinics and workshops at locations accessible to clients.
• Offer technical assistance and training to both community and public agencies.
• Represent API Legal Outreach at meetings with community partners, funders and collaboratives.
• Supervise volunteers, interns, and pro bono attorneys when required.
• Assist with the organizational administrative and fundraising tasks.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of two years of litigation and/or work experience in low-income communities, particularly serving recent immigrants.
• Strong commitment to social justice and serving the underserved.
• Proven advocacy and courtroom skills, especially for LEP clients.
• Membership in good standing of the California or another US Bar; provisional bar candidates will also be considered.
• Ability to work independently; detail-oriented; aptitude to function well in a multicultural team environment.
• Reside within 75 miles of the API Legal Outreach office.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with legal software like Legal Server.
• Possession of a California driver's license and personal vehicle.
• Proficiency in a second language, preferably Spanish, Cantonese, or another API language.

Compensation And Benefits

• Pre-tax 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching funds
• 14 paid holidays, including floating holiday
• PTO, sick leave
• 100% employer-paid options for medical, dental, and vision plans
• pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts

Equal Employment Opportunity

API Legal Outreach is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.