Staff Attorney - Direct Representation & Trafficking Response Team

The Organization:

The Florence Project was founded in 1989 to respond to a representation crisis for indigent non-citizens detained at the rural Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Florence, Arizona. Through our programs today, we provide services to thousands of adults, youth, and children detained in Eloy, Florence, Phoenix, and Tucson, Arizona on any given day. In 2001, the Florence Project implemented our Integrated Social Services Program, one of the first of its kind in this field. The Florence Project provides high quality legal and social services and supports initiatives for national changes in immigration law and policy.

Primary Purpose of the Job:

The Staff Attorney will work with the team to provide direct representation and release planning to detained individuals in immigration removal proceedings and custody redetermination hearings in Florence and Eloy, Arizona. The Staff Attorney will additionally provide direct representation to clients applying for T-visas and potentially for other forms of relief from immigration removal.

The Staff Attorney represents individuals with cutting edge asylum issues and provides direct representation to both detained and released individuals in removal proceedings with serious mental health conditions who have been found incompetent to represent themselves. This position will serve a wide range of clients in all major defensive forms of relief. We believe that every person in immigration court should have the right to an attorney, and the growth of our direct representation team embodies a major expansion of our capacity to provide full representation to detained individuals.

The Trafficking Response Team will be imbedded within the Direct Representation Team to support in capacity of direct representation and technical assistance regarding survivors of trafficking. The Trafficking Response Team will identify and screen clients who are victims of trafficking in order to provide appropriately integrated legal and social services.  The Trafficking Response Team will additionally serve as an internal liaison for the training of staff on the provision of legal and social services to victims of trafficking and as an external liaison with community partners and stakeholders involved with the provision of services to victims of trafficking. The Trafficking Response Team will perform community outreach and education on legal and social services available to victims of trafficking.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Direct Representation:

• Provide advocacy and assistance developing and connecting clients to services in the community.
• Adequately identify, screen, and track for trafficking.
• Assess and serve trafficking victims, and screen for T-visa eligibility.
• File T-visa applications for individuals who qualify.
• Develop or coordinate 5-10 legal trainings per year.
• Train legal staff on identifying and screening for trafficking and pursuing T-visa eligibility.
• Federal court representation that may include a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus before the District Court, or a Petition for Review to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Comply with office and program requirements to track data and case progress.
• Provide legal representation in cases accepted through the Adult Program. Legal representation includes representation in immigration proceedings before the Immigration Court, representation before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and other related services reasonably necessary to complete these proceedings.
• Supervise legal assistants assigned to each case.
• Provide pre-court counseling sessions.
• Develop and recommend case strategy consistent with immigration law and procedure to Managing Attorney. Implement agreed upon strategy.
• Prepare cases, draft legal papers, present required evidence, and engage in negotiations, in accord with the Code of Professional Responsibility for the legal profession.
• Conduct assessment of client's social, economic, and psychological functioning.
• Determine appropriate range of services, interventions and referrals needed.
• Attend all team meetings, trainings, and is well versed.
• Remain current in immigration law, and on implications of criminal and civil law.
• Complies with required ethical standards, preserves client confidentiality, and avoids conflict of interest.
• Maintain complete and accurate case notes and client records.
• Prepare timely statistical reports.
• Conduct quarterly case audits for presentation and review.
• Participate in training on immigration procedures and may conduct training sessions as assigned.

Advocacy

• Develop and maintain cooperative relationships with the trafficking units in the community, local and national community partners, including but not limited to private immigration attorneys, public officials, law enforcement officials, and other nonprofits that provide services to the immigrant population, particularly as they relate to victims of trafficking.
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with the Immigration Court (EOIR),
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), government and social service organizations, and community organizations.
• Communicate with the Managing Attorney about possible advocacy initiatives and legal trainings for the community.
• Support Florence Project outreach and development activities as needed.
• Perform other administrative duties as needed.

Other Duties & Responsibilities:

• Participate in organizational fundraising and outreach efforts as requested.
• Participate in developing and implementing special projects or presentations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements:

• Juris Doctorate Degree from an accredited law school.
• Have taken the bar exam or scheduled to take the bar exam on the next available date.
• Fluency or advanced proficiency in Spanish required.
• Demonstrated commitment to advocating for indigent immigrant clients in a respectful and empowering way, zealous support of the Florence Project's mission, and displays a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• Must be comfortable working with people with criminal convictions.
• Strong legal research.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with diverse populations.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Excellent problem solving, research, and analytical skills.
• Effectively manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrate to be a hardworking, flexible, respectful team player that can work effectively in a collaborative, innovative, and client-centered work environment. Ability to work independently, be adaptable, and reliable in the face of conflict, pressure, crisis, or changing priorities.
• Exhibits high ethical standards and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Must be able to pass federal and state background checks.
• Frequent travel is required for this position.
• Must have a valid driver's license and reliable transportation.
• Proven computer skills. Advanced understanding of basic office applications.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience providing legal representation to victims of trafficking.
• 2+ years of minimum experience providing direct representation to immigrants in removal proceedings, and extensive knowledge of immigration law, specifically related to T-visas, deportation defense, asylum, and criminal-immigration law issues is strongly preferred.
• 2+ years of prior experience practicing before the Arizona Courts, the Immigration Courts, or USCIS is strongly preferred.
• Prior advocacy work in immigrant rights, human rights, trafficking victims, LGBTQ rights, criminal justice, or experience working with trauma survivors is a plus.
• Experience with databases and data tracking (i.e., Legal Server) is a plus.

Working Conditions/Physical Demands:

Operate in a professional office environment and requires the ability to sit for long periods of time with intermittent walking, standing, bending, squatting, pulling, and pushing.

• Require the ability to use standard office equipment such as scanners, computers, keyboards, phones, shredders, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. Requires the ability to lift-up to ten pounds.
• Travel regularly between offices and secondary work locations.
• This position requires travel and frequent time in detention facilities and immigration courts located in Florence and Eloy.
• The position will work either from the Phoenix or Tucson Florence offices, and has the flexibility to work from our Florence office as well.
• Effective September 1, 2021, FIRRP has implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy. To comply with this policy, active employees must be fully vaccinated by October 15, 2021. Employees seeking an exemption due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief should contact our Human Resources Department at humanresources@firrp.org.

Salary & Benefits:

This is a full-time position. Salary is competitive for our field and geographical area. Salaries will be calculated based on relevant experience and our established comprehensive wage scale: $68,848.00 - $ 93,107.71 Annually DOE.

We strive to create and uphold a positive, supportive, and inclusive work environment for all staff. We offer excellent benefits, including:

• Medical plans including health, dental, vision coverage, subject to plan terms

• Short Term Disability

• Eligibility for group benefits such as voluntary life insurance, subject to applicable waiting periods

• Retirement plan, subject to plan terms

• Paid Time Off earned on a biweekly accrual basis- Twenty-five (25) Days of Vacation Time, annually

• Five (5) Days of Medical/Sick Time, annually

• One (1) Day of Personal Time, monthly

• Eight (8) Week Paid Sabbatical, after three years of employment

• Bereavement leave.

• Fifteen (15) Organization-paid holidays, all observed

• Eligible for Parental Leave which includes Twelve (13) paid weeks

• Mileage reimbursement for travel between offices and places of work.

• Relocation Assistance for out of state new hires available for some positions.

Application Process

The position will remain open until we receive enough qualified applicants. To apply, please submit a cover letter detailing your interest in the position as well as your resume, three professional references. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and candidates are encouraged to apply early. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. The Florence Project values diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages applications from people of color, LGBTQ individuals, persons with disabilities, and members of underrepresented communities.

At FIRRP, we recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the requirements of a job.  If your experience is close to what you see listed in our current job opportunities, please still consider applying.  Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and excellence, which is very much valued at FIRRP.  Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.  Please let us know if you require accommodations during the interview process.

This job announcement is for informational purposes only and is subject to change and modification without notice. This job announcement includes a non-exhaustive list of responsibilities, qualifications and requirements of the position, but does not necessarily include all the job functions of the position.  This position is eligible for membership in the union Proyecto Solidaridad-FIRRP affiliated with OPEIU Local 251.

Keywords

Staff AttorneyDirect RepresentationTrafficking Response TeamImmigrationLegal ServicesT-visasAsylumCriminal JusticeAdvocacy