St. Frances Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance is the legal services arm of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It is one of the largest non-profit immigration legal services programs in the region. They provide free to low-cost immigration legal assistance to immigrants and refugees in Southeast Texas. They seek compassionate, talented individuals with a heart for helping others and making a positive impact on the lives of men, women, and children across our large region. People of faith helping people in need achieve self-sufficiency and live with dignity.

Position:

As a Senior Attorney, you are a member of the supervisory team and will help set strategic priority, formulate policies and procedures for the whole program.  You will be responsible for supervising a legal team in the provision of immigration legal services to clients served by St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance.  Legal services include community outreach and legal education, legal workshops, legal intake, legal research and individual legal representation. You would be expected to have expertise in immigration law and stay up-to-date on immigration law and policies and to provide supervision, guidance and mentorship to attorneys, pro bono counsels, paralegals and/or law student interns. You will identify issues for impact advocacy and litigation to be undertaken by Cabrini Center and/or other partners to advance immigrant rights and to make systemic changes.

Responsibilities:

• Direct Representation—Provide direct representation to immigrant clients before the USCIS, Asylum Office or Immigration Court as well as state courts on a range of immigration matters, including affirmative asylum and removal defense.
• Case Management—Maintain client physical and electronic files according to program requirements, including case notes, correspondence, filings, calendars, and dockets. Participate in case reviews with attorney staff and support staff, and/or Managing Attorney/Legal Director, as applicable. Maintain a minimum of 30-40 active cases.
• Meetings—Attendance and participation in mandatory unit and Cabrini staff meetings, and other agency meetings.
• Contract and Agency Compliance—Comply with all contract requirements. Provide accurate and timely monthly data, time logs, and reports for internal use, funder use, and other entity use.
• Outreach—Participate in program and agency community legal education and outreach efforts by presenting and performing legal consultations.
• Personnel—Provide day-to-day supervision to the legal team comprising staff attorneys, legal fellows, pro bono counsel, paralegal/legal assistants, administrative clerks and interns. Provide periodic evaluation of staff performance.
• Advocacy—Identify policy issues and coordinate with other units within Cabrini Center and the immigration bar in advancing advocacy agenda to promote immigrant rights.
• Shelter Team—Oversee the staffing and operation of the assigned shelter team, to provide back-up support to facilitate detained children work as necessary; conduct regular team meeting to organize shelter schedule, allocate staffing resources and manage stakeholder relationships.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

As a successful candidate you will be detail-oriented and organized, with excellent time management and collaboration skills
2-4 years of experience as a practicing attorney
Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and is in good standing
Minimum 2-3 years of experience practicing immigration law before the USCIS and the EOIR
Minimum 2 years of experience supervising a team of lawyers and paralegals
Excellent legal research and writing skills
Excellent verbal and written communication and negotiation skills
Fluency in Spanish and English, including speaking, writing and reading is required
Ability to handle a high-volume caseload, multiple deadlines, and other tasks simultaneously
Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office
Experience working with immigrant community an asset
Demonstrated multi-cultural understanding and experience

How to Apply:

To apply, submit resume and other requested information here.