Overview
The Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) seeks a full-time staff attorney or recent law school graduate for our Los Angeles office. ICWC is a non-profit legal organization providing free and affordable immigration services to underrepresented immigrants in California and Nevada. ICWC strives to provide security and stability for children who are abused, abandoned, or neglected and for immigrants who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes. ICWC primarily works with federal immigration laws that allow marginalized immigrants to apply for work authorization and permanent residency. More information about ICWC is available at www.icwclaw.org. Starting salary for a licensed attorney is $70,000 annually. Starting salary for law graduates is $63,000 annually.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The staff attorney will collaborate with other attorneys, social workers, legal and administrative assistants, and volunteers. They will represent unaccompanied immigrant children who fled abuse in their home country and are in or released from, federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody in Los Angeles County. The attorney will work with social work staff who visit ORR facilities to provide Know Your Rights presentations and legal screenings to the children. This is a unique opportunity to join the ICWC team as it launches a new program to serve unaccompanied children.
Duties include conducting client intake, case assessment, ongoing case management, researching and drafting legal documents, and attending court hearings in both immigration court and state court. The attorney will work collaboratively with social services staff to provide comprehensive wrap-around services to this population. The attorney’s caseload will be a combination of defensive (removal) and affirmative cases, with a focus on providing relief under asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases. The attorney may supervise law students and other volunteers.
For law graduates, the role would officially convert to Staff Attorney upon passage of the bar exam and admittance to the bar.
Requirements:
- Juris Doctor degree
- Either (1) California bar admission or (2) Applicants awaiting the July 2022 bar exam results
- Spanish language fluency required
Other Qualifications:
- Experience in immigration law practice preferred
- U visa, VAWA, SIJS, and/or asylum experience (including law school clinic experience and internships) preferred
- Strong writing skills and meticulous attention to detail
- A demonstrated interest in low-income legal services and/or a commitment to immigrants’ rights
- Ability to work effectively with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other forms of trauma
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter addressed to Executive Director, Suzanne McCormick.