Managing Attorney I/II

Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, a program of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc., is a non-profit law firm which provides community education and legal representation to immigrant adults, families, unaccompanied minors, individuals with mental health issues, and in cases involving crimmigration. Esperanza has proudly provided legal services to immigrants and their families in Southern California for over 15 years. More information is available at www.esperanza-la.org.

The Managing Attorney I/II will work under the supervision of the Directing Attorney for Representation to provide supervision of legal representation to immigrants in removal proceedings and related state court proceedings, focusing particularly on cases involving detained adults, detained unaccompanied minors and minors released to sponsors in the LA Immigration Court jurisdiction. The Managing Attorney II will also be expected to carry a caseload of their own, consisting of a variety of affirmative and defensive immigration cases for both adults and children. The Managing Attorney II will directly supervise staff attorneys and support staff. The Managing Attorney will additionally assist with quality control, contract compliance, and data gathering and reporting. The Managing Attorney II will further help develop and maintain uniform internal policies and procedures for representation of Esperanza’s clients. The Managing Attorney II will take on the responsibility of overseeing one or more contracts and/or funding sources. The Managing Attorney II will also assume primary responsibility for one or more key aspects of the representation program, such as internal operations, fiscal and budget management, data management, training and education. The Managing Attorney II will report directly to the Directing Attorney for Representation Program. May supervise the work of employees and/or volunteers.

Responsibilities:

• Supervise staff attorneys and support staff in providing zealous representation to all of Esperanza’s clients in front of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals, Citizenship & Immigration Services, and various California state courts as needed.
• Represent clients zealously before all courts cited above
• Work with Directing Attorney for Representation to fairly and adequately assign new cases to staff attorneys.
• Work with Directing Attorney to ensure contract compliance, data management, and reporting.
• Oversee one or more contracts and/or funding source.
• Assume primary responsibility for one of more key aspects of the representation program, such as internal operations, fiscal and budget management, data management, training and education.

Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate degree;
• Active, California State Bar License, or license from another jurisdiction;
• Minimum 5 years of experience in the practice of immigration law; (4) Immigration court litigation experience;
• Experience litigating cases in state dependency, family, criminal or probate courts;
• Strong case management, legal research, and legal writing skills required;
• Interest in working with and strong ability to relate to young, newly arrived immigrants and those suffering from mental illness is required;
• Interest in working with and strong ability to relate to clients with long criminal histories or past gang affiliation required;
• Experience supervising lawyers and/or law students preferred;
• Spanish fluency preferred;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work under pressure with limited supervision required.

To apply go to: https://catholiccharitiesla.org/employment-opportunities/