Immigration Staff Attorney
Her Justice · New York, NY · 1 mo ago
On-siteLegalFull-time
We need to output HTML fragment with sections: headings using for section headings like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We must include only sections that have real specific content. The posting includes: about the organization (Her Justice description) – could be "About the role"? Actually "Summary Of The Role" is a section. We can treat that as About the role. Then "Detailed Responsibilities" – that's Responsibilities. Then "COMPETENCIES & PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES" – maybe Skills? Or Qualifications? There's also "Required Qualifications" and "Preferred Qualifications". We need to decide headings: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (maybe combine Required and Preferred), Skills (competencies). Benefits, Pay, Schedule not present, so omit.
We must not repeat job title as heading. No Job ID etc.
We must preserve all substantive info, no invention. Use
for section headings like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We must include only sections that have real specific content. The posting includes: about the organization (Her Justice description) – could be "About the role"? Actually "Summary Of The Role" is a section. We can treat that as About the role. Then "Detailed Responsibilities" – that's Responsibilities. Then "COMPETENCIES & PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES" – maybe Skills? Or Qualifications? There's also "Required Qualifications" and "Preferred Qualifications". We need to decide headings: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications (maybe combine Required and Preferred), Skills (competencies). Benefits, Pay, Schedule not present, so omit.
We must not repeat job title as heading. No Job ID etc.
We must preserve all substantive info, no invention. Use - for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Use
for prose.
We need to extract content.
Let's parse:
First paragraph: "Her Justice is a nonprofit legal services organization..." That's about organization. Could be part of About the role? Probably we can include as About the role description.
Then "Summary Of The Role The Immigration Staff Attorney provides comprehensive..." That's description of role.
We can combine into About the role section: include both organization description and role summary.
Then Responsibilities: list under "Detailed Responsibilities". There's a big block with headings like "Client Representation & Services", "Intake & Assessment:", etc. We need to turn each bullet into
- . The text includes many sentences separated by periods. We need to preserve all substantive info; we can break into list items for each duty. The original has headings like "Client Representation & Services" then subitems like "Intake & Assessment:", "Direct Representation:", etc. We could treat each subheading as a list item with its description.
Simplify: create
with - for each duty described. We'll need to extract each duty sentence.
Let's list duties from the text:
- Conduct comprehensive legal intake consultations and evaluate complex legal issues for prospective clients to determine appropriate pathways for brief services, direct representation, or pro bono firm placement.
- Maintain a direct representation caseload of immigration clients, independently analyzing legal options, identifying available forms of humanitarian relief, developing litigation and filing strategies, drafting pleadings, and representing clients before federal and local agencies.
- Provide actionable legal advice and brief legal services to women and gender-diverse individuals seeking assistance with complex immigration matters.
- Deliver empathetic, client-centered, and trauma-informed legal services, maintaining sensitivity to the unique experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, labor/sex trafficking, and other severe traumas.
- For cases selected for pro bono placement, conduct in-person client interviews, gather supporting evidentiary documents, prepare case summaries, draft legal memos, and match cases with partner law firms.
- Provide ongoing, substantive legal mentorship and technical assistance to volunteer attorneys handling pro bono immigration cases, including guiding case strategy, reviewing legal filings and affidavits, and preparing attorneys and clients for interviews with USCIS or proceedings in Immigration Court.
- Serve as an active liaison to participating law firms and corporate legal departments, cultivating relationships with pro bono coordinators and partners to drive case placement and expansion.
- Monitor the progress, quality, and timelines of pro bono matters to ensure rigorous legal standards, maintaining accurate records in the case management system.
- Organize and present substantive legal trainings (including CLE-accredited courses), authoring and updating legal practice manuals, template libraries, step-by-step guides, and training presentations.
- Manage, coordinate, and execute specialized legal clinics in partnership with law firms and community organizations.
- Collaborate with the Immigration Practice team to assess, refine, and modernize departmental workflows, referral systems, and legal service strategies.
- Track real-time changes in immigration statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, USCIS Policy Manual updates, and court precedents, translating those developments into practice advisories and client strategies.
- Conduct community outreach workshops, Know Your Rights events, legal walk-in clinics, public education panels, and media engagements to empower immigrant communities.
- Serve as an internal substantive legal resource across Her Justice divisions, providing technical insight on immigration law to family law staff, social workers, and administrative leadership.
- Maintain meticulous, complete, and timely client and case records, tracking outcomes and grant deliverables to support internal evaluation and fundraising reporting requirements.
- Recruit, train, mentor, and supervise law student interns, clinical students, legal fellows, and non-attorney volunteers.
- Participate in regional and national coalitions, working groups, task forces, and advocacy campaigns focused on improving systemic outcomes for immigrant survivors.
That seems comprehensive.
Now Qualifications: Required Qualifications list:
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school and active admission to practice law in New York State (in good standing), or eligibility for prompt admission.
- Minimum of 4 years of dedicated experience practicing immigration law, including substantial experience providing direct representation to low-income immigrant clients before USCIS, Immigration Court (EOIR), or other government entities.
- Extensive substantive knowledge of humanitarian immigration relief, including VAWA Self-Petitions, U Visas, T Visas, I-751 Abuse Waivers, Adjustment of Status, and related fee waiver and work authorization applications.
- Proven track record of delivering legal services using a client-centered, trauma-informed framework with survivors of intimate partner violence or gender-based violence.
- Professional fluency or high proficiency in Spanish (or another non-English language commonly spoken by Her Justice clients) is strongly preferred/required for direct client engagement and document translation review.
- Demonstrated experience mentoring, training, or advising volunteer attorneys, pro bono lawyers, law students, or junior legal staff.
- Exceptional legal research, writing, editing, and oral advocacy skills.
- Strong technological proficiency, including experience with cloud-based office tools, secure file-sharing systems, and legal case management software (e.g., LegalServer).
- Ability and willingness to work in person at the NYC office as required for client meetings, court/agency appearances, legal clinics, trainings, and departmental collaboration.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 5+ years of specialized experience in humanitarian immigration law within a legal services, public defender, or civil legal aid organization.
- Direct experience working within a pro bono law firm model, managing legal clinics, or partnering with corporate legal departments.
- Prior experience designing and delivering Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs and authoring detailed legal manuals or practice advisories.
- Experience engaging in policy reform, coalition leadership, or administrative advocacy on behalf of immigrant survivors.
We could combine Required and Preferred under Qualifications section, maybe separate subheadings? But we only allowed headings like Qualifications. Could include both required and preferred as list items, maybe mark preferred with "(Preferred)". But we must not invent content; we can note they are preferred. We'll include them as list items with a note.
Skills: The "COMPETENCIES & PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES" block lists many competencies. We can treat that as Skills section. Items:
- Client-Centered & Trauma-Informed Approach: Deep empathy, patience, cultural humility, and commitment to upholding client dignity and autonomy. Strong ability to build trust with survivors of severe trauma while maintaining professional boundaries.
- Legal Judgment & Analytical Mastery: Sound legal reasoning and ability to evaluate complex immigration histories, spot intricate legal issues, assess risks, and formulate creative strategies under dynamic federal policies.
- Organized & Goal-Oriented Case Management: Outstanding organizational skills with a proven track record of managing competing priorities, strict administrative deadlines, court dates, and voluminous filings with meticulous attention to detail.
- Communicator & Educator: Superior verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain technical legal concepts clearly to clients, corporate pro bono attorneys, and non-legal partners.
- Collaborative & Adaptable Partner: Energetic team player who builds relationships across multidisciplinary teams, adapts to organizational and legal changes, and takes ownership of deliverables.
- Mission Alignment: Dedication to social justice, racial equity, and gender equity, with a passion for dismantling systemic barriers that affect low-income immigrant communities.
We can turn each into
- .
Now About the role section: include organization description and summary of role.
Let's craft:
About the role
Her Justice is a nonprofit legal services organization that advocates for and with women and gender-diverse people living in poverty in New York City. We recruit, train, and mentor volunteer lawyers from premier law firms and corporate legal departments to provide high-quality, free legal help in the areas of immigration, family, and matrimonial law to address individual, structural, and systemic legal barriers. 100% of our clients live at or below the poverty line across all five boroughs of New York City. In FY2025, 93% of our clients were women of color, 87% were survivors of intimate partner violence or domestic abuse, 70% were mothers, and 50% spoke a primary language other than English. Since our founding in 1993, we have provided life-changing free legal assistance to over 45,000 women and children and have actively pursued policy and court reforms that have bettered the experiences and legal outcomes for hundreds of thousands more. Her Justice is deeply committed to creating a more fair, accessible, and functional civil justice system for all New Yorkers, enabling them to build safer, freer, and financially secure futures for themselves, their families, and their broader communities.
The Immigration Staff Attorney provides comprehensive, client-centered immigration legal services to Her Justice clients, with a specialized focus on serving low-income women and gender-diverse individuals, including survivors of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence. The Staff Attorney conducts thorough legal intake consultations, performs complex legal case assessments, provides legal advice and brief services, prepares appropriate matters for pro bono placement, and maintains a direct representation caseload involving humanitarian immigration matters within the scope of the Immigration Practice.
Now Responsibilities:
Responsibilities
- Conduct comprehensive legal intake consultations and evaluate complex legal issues for prospective clients to determine appropriate pathways for brief services, direct representation, or pro bono firm placement.
- Maintain a direct representation caseload of immigration clients, independently analyzing legal options, identifying available forms of humanitarian relief, developing litigation and filing strategies, drafting pleadings, and representing clients before federal and local agencies.
- Provide actionable legal advice and brief legal services to women and gender-diverse individuals seeking assistance with complex immigration matters.
- Deliver empathetic, client-centered, and trauma-informed legal services, maintaining sensitivity to the unique experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, labor/sex trafficking, and other severe traumas.
- For cases selected for pro bono placement, conduct in-person client interviews, gather supporting evidentiary documents, prepare case summaries, draft legal memos, and match cases with partner law firms.
- Provide ongoing, substantive legal mentorship and technical assistance to volunteer attorneys handling pro bono immigration cases, including guiding case strategy, reviewing legal filings and affidavits, and preparing attorneys and clients for interviews with USCIS or proceedings in Immigration Court.
- Serve as an active liaison to participating law firms and corporate legal departments, cultivating relationships with pro bono coordinators and partners to drive case placement and expansion.
- Monitor the progress, quality, and timelines of pro bono matters to ensure rigorous legal standards, maintaining accurate records in the case management system.
- Organize and present substantive legal trainings (including CLE-accredited courses), authoring and updating legal practice manuals, template libraries, step-by-step guides, and training presentations.
- Manage, coordinate, and execute specialized legal clinics in partnership with law firms and community organizations.
- Collaborate with the Immigration Practice team to assess, refine, and
for prose. We need to extract content. Let's parse: First paragraph: "Her Justice is a nonprofit legal services organization..." That's about organization. Could be part of About the role? Probably we can include as About the role description. Then "Summary Of The Role The Immigration Staff Attorney provides comprehensive..." That's description of role. We can combine into About the role section: include both organization description and role summary. Then Responsibilities: list under "Detailed Responsibilities". There's a big block with headings like "Client Representation & Services", "Intake & Assessment:", etc. We need to turn each bullet into
- with
- for each duty described. We'll need to extract each duty sentence. Let's list duties from the text: - Conduct comprehensive legal intake consultations and evaluate complex legal issues for prospective clients to determine appropriate pathways for brief services, direct representation, or pro bono firm placement. - Maintain a direct representation caseload of immigration clients, independently analyzing legal options, identifying available forms of humanitarian relief, developing litigation and filing strategies, drafting pleadings, and representing clients before federal and local agencies. - Provide actionable legal advice and brief legal services to women and gender-diverse individuals seeking assistance with complex immigration matters. - Deliver empathetic, client-centered, and trauma-informed legal services, maintaining sensitivity to the unique experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, labor/sex trafficking, and other severe traumas. - For cases selected for pro bono placement, conduct in-person client interviews, gather supporting evidentiary documents, prepare case summaries, draft legal memos, and match cases with partner law firms. - Provide ongoing, substantive legal mentorship and technical assistance to volunteer attorneys handling pro bono immigration cases, including guiding case strategy, reviewing legal filings and affidavits, and preparing attorneys and clients for interviews with USCIS or proceedings in Immigration Court. - Serve as an active liaison to participating law firms and corporate legal departments, cultivating relationships with pro bono coordinators and partners to drive case placement and expansion. - Monitor the progress, quality, and timelines of pro bono matters to ensure rigorous legal standards, maintaining accurate records in the case management system. - Organize and present substantive legal trainings (including CLE-accredited courses), authoring and updating legal practice manuals, template libraries, step-by-step guides, and training presentations. - Manage, coordinate, and execute specialized legal clinics in partnership with law firms and community organizations. - Collaborate with the Immigration Practice team to assess, refine, and modernize departmental workflows, referral systems, and legal service strategies. - Track real-time changes in immigration statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, USCIS Policy Manual updates, and court precedents, translating those developments into practice advisories and client strategies. - Conduct community outreach workshops, Know Your Rights events, legal walk-in clinics, public education panels, and media engagements to empower immigrant communities. - Serve as an internal substantive legal resource across Her Justice divisions, providing technical insight on immigration law to family law staff, social workers, and administrative leadership. - Maintain meticulous, complete, and timely client and case records, tracking outcomes and grant deliverables to support internal evaluation and fundraising reporting requirements. - Recruit, train, mentor, and supervise law student interns, clinical students, legal fellows, and non-attorney volunteers. - Participate in regional and national coalitions, working groups, task forces, and advocacy campaigns focused on improving systemic outcomes for immigrant survivors. That seems comprehensive. Now Qualifications: Required Qualifications list: - Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school and active admission to practice law in New York State (in good standing), or eligibility for prompt admission. - Minimum of 4 years of dedicated experience practicing immigration law, including substantial experience providing direct representation to low-income immigrant clients before USCIS, Immigration Court (EOIR), or other government entities. - Extensive substantive knowledge of humanitarian immigration relief, including VAWA Self-Petitions, U Visas, T Visas, I-751 Abuse Waivers, Adjustment of Status, and related fee waiver and work authorization applications. - Proven track record of delivering legal services using a client-centered, trauma-informed framework with survivors of intimate partner violence or gender-based violence. - Professional fluency or high proficiency in Spanish (or another non-English language commonly spoken by Her Justice clients) is strongly preferred/required for direct client engagement and document translation review. - Demonstrated experience mentoring, training, or advising volunteer attorneys, pro bono lawyers, law students, or junior legal staff. - Exceptional legal research, writing, editing, and oral advocacy skills. - Strong technological proficiency, including experience with cloud-based office tools, secure file-sharing systems, and legal case management software (e.g., LegalServer). - Ability and willingness to work in person at the NYC office as required for client meetings, court/agency appearances, legal clinics, trainings, and departmental collaboration. Preferred Qualifications: - 5+ years of specialized experience in humanitarian immigration law within a legal services, public defender, or civil legal aid organization. - Direct experience working within a pro bono law firm model, managing legal clinics, or partnering with corporate legal departments. - Prior experience designing and delivering Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs and authoring detailed legal manuals or practice advisories. - Experience engaging in policy reform, coalition leadership, or administrative advocacy on behalf of immigrant survivors. We could combine Required and Preferred under Qualifications section, maybe separate subheadings? But we only allowed headings like Qualifications. Could include both required and preferred as list items, maybe mark preferred with "(Preferred)". But we must not invent content; we can note they are preferred. We'll include them as list items with a note. Skills: The "COMPETENCIES & PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES" block lists many competencies. We can treat that as Skills section. Items: - Client-Centered & Trauma-Informed Approach: Deep empathy, patience, cultural humility, and commitment to upholding client dignity and autonomy. Strong ability to build trust with survivors of severe trauma while maintaining professional boundaries. - Legal Judgment & Analytical Mastery: Sound legal reasoning and ability to evaluate complex immigration histories, spot intricate legal issues, assess risks, and formulate creative strategies under dynamic federal policies. - Organized & Goal-Oriented Case Management: Outstanding organizational skills with a proven track record of managing competing priorities, strict administrative deadlines, court dates, and voluminous filings with meticulous attention to detail. - Communicator & Educator: Superior verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain technical legal concepts clearly to clients, corporate pro bono attorneys, and non-legal partners. - Collaborative & Adaptable Partner: Energetic team player who builds relationships across multidisciplinary teams, adapts to organizational and legal changes, and takes ownership of deliverables. - Mission Alignment: Dedication to social justice, racial equity, and gender equity, with a passion for dismantling systemic barriers that affect low-income immigrant communities. We can turn each into
- .
Now About the role section: include organization description and summary of role.
Let's craft:
About the role
Her Justice is a nonprofit legal services organization that advocates for and with women and gender-diverse people living in poverty in New York City. We recruit, train, and mentor volunteer lawyers from premier law firms and corporate legal departments to provide high-quality, free legal help in the areas of immigration, family, and matrimonial law to address individual, structural, and systemic legal barriers. 100% of our clients live at or below the poverty line across all five boroughs of New York City. In FY2025, 93% of our clients were women of color, 87% were survivors of intimate partner violence or domestic abuse, 70% were mothers, and 50% spoke a primary language other than English. Since our founding in 1993, we have provided life-changing free legal assistance to over 45,000 women and children and have actively pursued policy and court reforms that have bettered the experiences and legal outcomes for hundreds of thousands more. Her Justice is deeply committed to creating a more fair, accessible, and functional civil justice system for all New Yorkers, enabling them to build safer, freer, and financially secure futures for themselves, their families, and their broader communities.
The Immigration Staff Attorney provides comprehensive, client-centered immigration legal services to Her Justice clients, with a specialized focus on serving low-income women and gender-diverse individuals, including survivors of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence. The Staff Attorney conducts thorough legal intake consultations, performs complex legal case assessments, provides legal advice and brief services, prepares appropriate matters for pro bono placement, and maintains a direct representation caseload involving humanitarian immigration matters within the scope of the Immigration Practice.
Now Responsibilities:Responsibilities
- Conduct comprehensive legal intake consultations and evaluate complex legal issues for prospective clients to determine appropriate pathways for brief services, direct representation, or pro bono firm placement.
- Maintain a direct representation caseload of immigration clients, independently analyzing legal options, identifying available forms of humanitarian relief, developing litigation and filing strategies, drafting pleadings, and representing clients before federal and local agencies.
- Provide actionable legal advice and brief legal services to women and gender-diverse individuals seeking assistance with complex immigration matters.
- Deliver empathetic, client-centered, and trauma-informed legal services, maintaining sensitivity to the unique experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, labor/sex trafficking, and other severe traumas.
- For cases selected for pro bono placement, conduct in-person client interviews, gather supporting evidentiary documents, prepare case summaries, draft legal memos, and match cases with partner law firms.
- Provide ongoing, substantive legal mentorship and technical assistance to volunteer attorneys handling pro bono immigration cases, including guiding case strategy, reviewing legal filings and affidavits, and preparing attorneys and clients for interviews with USCIS or proceedings in Immigration Court.
- Serve as an active liaison to participating law firms and corporate legal departments, cultivating relationships with pro bono coordinators and partners to drive case placement and expansion.
- Monitor the progress, quality, and timelines of pro bono matters to ensure rigorous legal standards, maintaining accurate records in the case management system.
- Organize and present substantive legal trainings (including CLE-accredited courses), authoring and updating legal practice manuals, template libraries, step-by-step guides, and training presentations.
- Manage, coordinate, and execute specialized legal clinics in partnership with law firms and community organizations.
- Collaborate with the Immigration Practice team to assess, refine, and