Overview

ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.

Public Counsel operates seven legal projects: Child, Youth & Family Advocacy, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Gender Justice, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law.

Public Counsel has a full-time staff of approximately 160. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, and people of all gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities. We recognize the essential role of staff in achieving our goals, and we have set a long-term intention to provide competitive compensation, benefits, training, mentorship, and overall workplace wellness, making Public Counsel a leader among nonprofit law firms.

ABOUT IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS PROJECT

Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project (IRP), envisions a world where all (im)migrants live with dignity, power, and opportunity. Staffed by approximately 30 attorneys, administrative staff, and social workers, IRP provides direct legal representation to detained immigrants and non-citizens seeking asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), VAWA, T and U visas, and other relief in immigration court. In addition to direct representation, IRP engages in advocacy at the local and national levels, recruits, trains, and mentors hundreds of pro bono attorneys each year, handles appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and California Court of Appeal, and conducts impact litigation. For 35 years, IRP has been at the forefront of protecting the rights of immigrants in Los Angeles.

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Senior Supervising Attorney of the Unaccompanied Children’s Team, the Staff Attorney will:

  • Providezealous and trauma-informed direct representation to unaccompanied children in removal proceedings before the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Van Nuys Immigration Courts
  • Represent children in state courts throughout Southern California to obtain predicate orders related to SIJS
  • Represent children before US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in asylum applications, SIJS petitions, and other applications for relief
  • Work collaboratively with social workers, administrative staff, and other attorneys to provide client-centered, holistic, trauma-informed, and interdisciplinary services for clients
  • Collect case data and contribute to grant reports
  • Perform other duties as assigned

ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS AND ABILITIES

  • 0-4 years of experience in legal advocacy
  • Juris Doctor degree and a member in good standing of the California Bar
  • Fluency in Spanish strongly preferred
  • Experience practicing immigration law preferred, with particular preference for experience in removal defense and representation of children seeking asylum and/or SIJS (will consider law school clinic experience and internships)
  • Strong legal research and writing skills, and attention to detail
  • Ability to manage a large caseload and capacity to juggle and prioritize multiple competing tasks
  • Comfort and experience working with clients from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, including those with complex trauma and those who have been criminalized
  • Willingness and ability to travel to/from the asylum office, superior courts, and immigration courts in Southern California region
  • Ability to think strategically and creatively, and problem-solve effectively
  • Commitment to working well as a member of a collaborative team that includes administrative staff, social workers, and attorneys
  • Communicate clearly, respectfully, and effectively with colleagues across departments and representing Public Counsel with professionalism in all external interactions, including with clients, partners, and vendors
  • Desire to learn and grow as an advocate, and openness to feedback
  • Commitment to immigrants’ rights and the mission of Public Counsel
  • A commitment to economic and racial justice, including participating in and advancing the equity and inclusion work at Public Counsel
  • Exempt employees are expected to work a minimum of 37.5 hours per week and must work all additional time necessary to accomplish job duties in a timely and professional manner. They must be flexible in work hours so as to provide superior quality and timely service to clients consistent with the position and professional responsibility obligations.
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