Associate Director of Litigation, NIJC

About NIJC: The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) advances human rights and due process for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers through direct legal services, impact litigation, advocacy, and public education. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Washington, DC, Indiana, and San Diego, NIJC's team of 100 attorneys, paralegals, and professionals, along with 2,000 pro bono attorneys, is at the forefront of immigration reform.

About the Role

The Associate Director of Litigation reports to the Director of Litigation and assists in overseeing NIJC's federal court litigation docket. The Associate Director will maintain a substantive docket of litigation while assisting with management and leadership functions on a team of 20. NIJC's current litigation portfolio includes:

• Affirmative district court work and appeals of individual cases to the circuit courts, focusing on:
• Interior enforcement and challenges to DHS's arrest practices
• Access to asylum and other substantive immigration remedies
• Challenges to the detention of immigrants (habeas) and conditions faced while detained
• Challenges to regulations and policies undermining procedural fairness in the immigration system
• Appellate docket informed by agency-level clients, primarily focusing on asylum, protection-related appeals, and crimmigration challenges

The Associate Director is expected to work closely with NIJC's direct services teams to identify litigation priorities.

Responsibilities

• Ensure effective and efficient delivery of high-quality legal services across the team
• Identify emerging issues for litigation, provide input to the team and Director, and assist with appropriate staffing across cases
• Supervise teams' work across cases in accordance with organizational policies and applicable laws; establish and oversee professional development plans for litigation team members
• Build and maintain relationships with national litigation partners and immigration legal service providers; represent NIJC in these networks
• Contribute to and oversee team's work with pro bono and nonprofit partners to maximize NIJC's litigation impact
• Maintain a substantive case load consistent with team needs, conduct final review of significant briefs and filings, and argue cases before all levels of federal court where appropriate
• Participate in grant writing, funder reporting, and budget development for the litigation team and NIJC
• Ensure ongoing compliance with grant requirements and programmatic goals, including data collection regarding NIJC's litigation practice
• Collaborate on policy, communication, and advocacy strategy, impact, and messaging

Requirements

• Juris Doctor and a minimum of eight years of litigation experience since being barred
• Minimum of three years' experience in a supervisory role
• Minimum of three years of immigration-specific litigation experience
• Experience in the nonprofit sector preferred
• Bilingual in Spanish preferred

Skills

• Computer Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Legal Skills: Ability to read, write, analyze, and interpret immigration laws and regulations, professional journals, and technical procedures. Ability to draft legal briefs, memos, reports, correspondence, and procedural manuals. Ability to orally advocate with courts and present information to funders, media, managers, clients, and the public
• Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical and complex problems, especially in situations with limited precedents or standardization models. Ability to interpret various instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
• Team Leadership: Ability to guide, influence, mentor, and lead others toward a shared goal

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time
• Occasionally needs to move about the office to access filing cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a copy machine

Pay

$112,000 - $146,000 per year