ABOUT PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is the nation’s largest provider of pro bono legal services. Founded in 1970, it is dedicated to advancing equal justice under law and addressing economic, racial, social, and other inequities by delivering free legal and social services to the most vulnerable members of our community. Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Rights, The Audrey Irmas Project for Women & Girls’ Rights, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law. 

Public Counsel has a full-time staff of over 130. 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.

ABOUT OUR 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 25 attorneys, administrative staff, and social workers, IRP provides direct legal representation to non-citizens seeking asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, 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, represents detained immigrants, 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 more than 30 years, IRP has been at the forefront of protecting the rights of immigrants in Los Angeles

IRP’s Unaccompanied Children (UC) Team represents approximately 200 children who have come without parents to the United States, often after fleeing extreme violence. We defend our clients from deportation and represent them in immigration court, state court and before the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). We also empower the children we serve by assessing their non-legal needs and helping them access essential services, including education and health care. The vast majority of our clients are eligible for and secure asylum or special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), and ultimately become permanent residents.

JOB SUMMARY

The Supervising Staff Attorney will report directly to the Directing Attorney, and will:

• Manage a large team of attorneys, social workers and administrative staff that provides holistic services to Unaccompanied Children (UC);
• Provide direct legal services to a select caseload of UC’s, including representing them in immigration and state court;
• File applications for immigration relief, including, but not limited to, asylum and special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS);
• Recruit and directly supervise, train, and mentor junior attorneys, administrative staff, and pro bono attorneys/volunteers in providing legal services to UC’s;
• Identify systemic barriers that impact UC’s and work to develop strategies to remove such barriers; 
• Engage in policy advocacy, legislative advocacy and impact litigation, as needed, to promote the rights of UC’s;
• Create and deliver educational programming and substantive legal trainings to clients, community-based organizations, and pro bono attorneys;
• Represent the Immigrants’ Rights Project on panels and engage in other public facing dialogue to elevate issues of concern to IRP and our clients; 
• Engage in media interviews to promote the work of IRP and elevate issues of concern to our clients;
• Plan and facilitate team supervision meetings;
• Manage existing grants, lead and support efforts to meet grant deliverables, and ensure grant deliverables are accurately accounted for and reported;
• Assist the Directing Attorney in pursuing grant opportunities and assist in grant writing as needed;
• Contribute to the team and organization as a whole by taking part in organization-wide activities, including integrating diversity, equity and inclusion policies into our work and workplace; and
• Other duties as assigned

ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The following experience and skills are required for this position:

• At least four years of substantive legal experience relevant to the practice of representing immigrant children in their applications for humanitarian immigration relief;
• Experience representing Unaccompanied Children (UC’s) in merits hearings, and before the Asylum Office (AO), the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), and state court;
• Spanish language fluency;
• Member in good standing of the CA State Bar; 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well as part of a team;
• Strong conflict resolution skills;
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize responsibilities and multi-task;
• Willingness to engage in transparent communication and decision-making, including providing direct and honest feedback about performance; 
• Experience serving children who have been exposed to severe trauma;
• Experience working with non-English speaking clients;
• Strong commitment to trauma-informed advocacy, including promoting and modeling self-care and building a supportive team environment;
• Demonstrated commitment to economic, racial, and social justice.

The following experience and skills are preferred, but not required:

• Experience filing appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and/or the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals;
• Experience supervising a large team of multi-disciplinary professionals;
• Prior training and/or experience in conflict resolution and team building.

JOB TYPE AND BENEFITS

• Full-Time, Exempt position
• Non-Bargaining
• Salary Range: The salary range for this position, $70,725 - $89,000, is commensurate with 4 to 10 years of experience plus a Supervisor supplement of $10,000.
• Public Counsel offers a competitive benefits package including:
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage with both HMO and PPO options, 
• The option to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account,         
• A 403(b) retirement plan with elective contribution and a discretionary employer contribution after a year of employment, and 
• Employer-paid life insurance and disability plans.
• Generous paid time off and compensatory time up to 40 hours per calendar year
• Parking and transit benefits

HOW TO APPLY

We value lived experiences and experiences working with clients across a range of settings. Please consider discussing such experiences in your cover letter, especially if they are not reflected in your resume. 

PUBLIC COUNSEL VACCINATION POLICY AND COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Public Counsel requires vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees, including new hires. Pursuant to federal and state laws, Public Counsel will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.

 

At this time, Public Counsel offers a hybrid work model. All employees with Public Counsel are required to work in the office at least one day per week, at the discretion of the head of department. This policy is subject to redesign by leadership. Public Counsel will work in a manner consistent with public health and local and state emergency orders.

PUBLIC COUNSEL EEO POLICY

Public Counsel is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against employees or prospective employees on the basis of union membership or activity, race, religious creed, religious observance, ethnicity, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or predisposition, military service, military and veteran status, pregnancy, child birth and related medical conditions, marital and family status, national origin, ancestry, age, medical conditions as defined by state or federal law, or disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

All qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

Our leadership team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities discipline, discharge and general treatment during employment.