Supervising Immigration Attorney

National Legal Aid & Defender Association; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO/Sick Time

11 paid holidays

Free parking

Health/dental/vision insurance

Disability insurance

Paid family leave

Life insurance

Employee assistance program

Retirement plan with IIB contribution

Job summary

International Institute of Buffalo seeks a Supervising Immigration Attorney to lead the legal team, supervise staff, ensure ethical, compliant practice, and guide program development. The role includes mentoring pro bono attorneys on immigration matters and maintaining a limited caseload while providing department leadership.

The position requires experience with affirmative filings before USCIS and defensive work in Immigration Court; it entails on-site work with occasional travel in a

Qualifications

• Oversees and manages the legal department and staff, ensuring ethics and funder compliance.
• Mentors and trains pro bono attorneys on immigration matters.
• Experience representing clients on affirmative matters before USCIS and defensive before Immigration Court.

Responsibilities

• Directly supervise legal department staff including attorneys, paralegals, and other personnel.
• Ensure timeliness and client communication; review case work product and provide edits.
• Lead program development, quality assurance, and cross-department collaboration.
• Provide mentorship and training for pro bono attorneys on immigration law topics.
• Coordinate trainings and walk-in clinics; supervise case screening and deadlines.
• Represent retained clients before USCIS, National Visa Center, and consulates as needed.
• Lead IIB’s Pro Bono Attorney Program, including case screening, training, and materials.

Job description

Position Description

Supervising Immigration Attorney

Mon-Fri / Day Shift / On-Site with occasional travel

Full-Time

Pay Range: $90,000 to $110,000 annually based on experience.

BENEFITS: Generous PTO/Sick Time plan, 11 paid holidays, one-hour paid lunch, free parking, retirement plan with IIB contribution upon eligibility, health/dental/vision insurance, disability insurance, paid family/maternity/paternity leave, life insurance, employee assistance program

Job Summary

IIB’s legal team was started in 2021 to address the pressing need for legal representation of Afghans and Ukrainians. It has since expanded to offer legal representation to other refugees and immigrant groups on a variety of humanitarian legal matters. Our staff possess a deep commitment to serving low-income immigrants and upholding our mission.

The Supervising Attorney oversees and manages the legal department and its staff, ensures compliance with legal practice ethics and funder parameters, program development, quality assurance, and cross-collaboration with internal departments. This individual also provides mentorship and training for pro bono attorneys on immigration matters and maintains a limited individual caseload while providing department leadership and supervision.

Through funding from the NYS Office of New Americans, IIB has begun to recruit and train pro bono attorneys they can represent clients on legal permanent residency, naturalization, employment authorization, asylum, family sponsorship, etc. Our attorneys train pro bonos on various aspects of immigration law and will review the work product of pro bonos before case filing.

IIB’s immigration practice is primarily focused on affirmative petitions filed with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, and the U.S. Department of State. The legal team works within a larger resettlement agency, which engages interdisciplinary teams of attorneys and case managers to provide a wide range of services including housing, employment, education and other integration supports. The Supervising Attorney should have experience representing clients on affirmative matters before USCIS and defensive representation experience before U.S. Immigration Court.

The ideal candidate is comfortable managing an active caseload and will have the patience and approachable demeanor to advise and mentor volunteer attorneys who are not familiar with immigration law. IIB runs a monthly walk-in legal clinic and is holding regular trainings for pro bonos on focused topics of law, to allow them to step in and assist on specific kinds of cases.

Duties And Responsibilities

Leadership

Directly supervises legal department staff including attorneys, paralegal, and other legal personnel by:

• Assigning caseloads and responsibilities based on workload, expertise, and program priorities
• Meeting regularly to review case statuses
• Ensuring timeliness, identifying issues, providing proactive follow-up and exceptional client communication
• Advising and assisting legal team staff in providing high-quality, ethical, and client-centered legal representation from the inception of the case to resolution, including adjudicator interviews, hearings and appeals
• Reviewing written work product; recommending appropriate edits and feedback
• Establishing expectations for case management, documentation, client communication, and professional development
• Evaluating staff performance with regular feedback
• Mentors, teaches and coaches legal staff to promote continuous learning and skill development
• Assists legal team staff in working effectively with social workers/case managers, community members, support staff and other stakeholders
• Supports the Executive Director on legal advocacy issues related to immigration, including trainings and presentations to a wide variety of audiences
• Identifies emerging legal service needs and opportunities
• Recommends changes to legal services, policies, and workflows
• Conducts educational training on immigration topics related to IIB’s scope of service and performs occasional community outreach in conjunction with other IIB staff
• Represents IIB in relevant legal-services coalitions, related community-based meetings, and professional networks

Legal Quality & Compliance

Periodically reviews the legal unit’s case management policies and operating model to ensure compliance with ethics-based law practice models and funder requirements

• Ensures all grant contract obligations are fulfilled by working collaboratively with Fiscal Operations & Grants to write and timely file grant reports (narrative responses and data set runs)
• Assists with grant applications and renewals; participates as needed in program-wide and grant-specific data collection
• Ensures efficient workflows are implemented and followed; establishes SOPs and protocols as necessary
• Monitors case deadlines and identifies potential risks or issues requiring intervention; escalates complex and urgent matters as appropriate to Executive Director
• Adheres to IIB’s organizational policies, legal practice management policies, and case management system
• Audits case files and legal work product to ensure accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and compliance

Program Administration

Participates in strategic planning for the legal program

Represents retained clients on matters before USCIS, the NVC and Consulates on immigration matters including Adjustment of Status, Naturalization, family-based sponsorship petitions, Employment Authorization (EAD), inadmissibility waivers, consular processing, DACA, asylum, VAWA, U & T visa applications and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and related appeals for any USCIS-denials of these applications

Provides representation at Buffalo Immigration Court – performing legal research, establishing case strategy, preparation of applications for relief, attending hearings, writing briefs, and working with expert witnesses

Leads IIB’s Pro Bono Attorney Program, Including

• Case screening, placement, and deadlines
• Providing substantive training, practice resources, mentorship, and ongoing consultation
• Review of legal work product prior to filing
• Providing timely, professional, and clear communications
• Provides consistent communication with clients such as following-up through texts, telephone calls and letters
• Proactively seeks out and maintains subject matter expertise on U.S. immigration law; continuously develops knowledge of case law, statutes, regulations, agency policies; attends conferences and legal education trainings/CLEs
• May prepare training materials to present and/or assign as appropriate
• Other duties as assigned by a member of management within the job scope

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the individual assigned to this role. This is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The International Institute of Buffalo reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs, as necessary.

Working Conditions

Office environment requires, with or without accommodation, employees to consistently use manual dexterity in reaching, writing, navigating around the workspace. This position requires fully functional vision and auditory abilities. This position may include hours standing and walking, including up and down stairs, occasional driving, and moving basic office items of up to 30 pounds.