Senior Children’s Attorney

JOB OVERVIEW: 

IRC seeks a Senior Children’s Attorney to join the IRC’s Washington State operations in SeaTac, Washington. The Senior Children’s Attorney is experienced in the areas of law affecting unaccompanied immigrant children – immigration, juvenile, and family law. The Senior Children’s Attorney will focus on direct representation, supervision and supporting the ongoing development of IRC Washington’s Children’s Legal Services program, a program funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and providing legal services for unaccompanied children, including representation in immigration court, before USCIS, and in state court proceedings.   The Senior Children’s Attorney will bring several years’ experience representing children and transitional aged youth (preferably unaccompanied minors), superb legal judgment and legal ethics, an ability to work independently while recognizing the value of collaboration and cross-referencing with other experts, and a passion for this area of work. The position will work in collaboration with community partners and will be part of the Asylum and Removal Defense Community of Practice, led by IRC’s Immigration Technical Unit (TU) at IRC’s headquarters, which supports IRC’s 24 legal service programs across the US. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Direct Legal Representation

• Handle moderate caseload of children’s cases before the state courts, immigration court and USCIS.
• Conduct and oversee intakes with child clients, identify relief such as SIJS, asylum, VAWA, U-visa, T-visa, etc., and provide direct representation for unaccompanied children released to sponsors in King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Spokane counties.
• Initiate state court proceedings, including dependencies, Vulnerable Youth Guardianships, Parenting Plans, Minor Guardianships, and other state court actions as deemed appropriate for children who are eligible for special immigrant juvenile status. 
• Coordinate closely within IRC’s multidisciplinary teams to identify needs and facilitate referrals to services offered in-house and through partnerships with external providers.
• Ensure client and program data is collected consistently, managed appropriately, and reported accurately in accordance with program reporting requirements set by IRC. 
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise of changing state court, asylum and immigration policies as they relate to children through regular trainings and peer-to-peer consultation. 
• Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.
• Coordinate closely within IRC’s multidisciplinary teams to identify client legal needs and facilitate referrals to services offered in-house and through partnerships with external providers.
• Work collaboratively as part of the local team and across departments, including case managers. 
• Participate in community-based coalitions related to immigrant rights.
• Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervise Legal Assistants, Children’s Attorneys, and/or DOJ Accredited Representatives serving IRC Washington’s children and youth clients, focusing on state court representation for SIJS, removal defense, and applications before USCIS. 
• Train and mentor Children’s Legal Services staff in state court, immigration court, and USCIS legal processes and procedures.
• Lead and provide legal supervision to incoming fellows and/or Children’s Attorneys, with a proportionate reduction in caseload over time as supervision responsibilities increase, for long-term growth of a holistic children’s legal services program with a vision toward program leadership and management.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: 

• Law degree (JD or LLM) from an ABA-accredited U.S. institution and admission to the Washington State Bar;
• At least 3 years’ experience providing direct representation in Washington State juvenile and family courts, immigration court and/or before USCIS to  immigrants seeking humanitarian relief; 
• Experience providing legal services to children and/or working with children preferred; 
• Excellent research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills and excellent legal judgment;
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally in a courtroom setting and in writing; 
• Bilingual in Spanish/English preferred or willingness to take Spanish language classes as part of the job responsibilities; 
• Evidence of capacity to be a strong team member in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary environment;
• Deep commitment to immigrant rights and working with humanitarian immigrants;
• Trauma-informed and sensitive listening and communication skills;
• Personal integrity in handling ethically complex and confidential situations;
• Strong computer literacy, research and analysis skills; and
• Must be willing and able to travel frequently in and around the service area to attend hearings and interviews and engage with clients and community partners.

Working Environment:   

• Hybrid office environment with some remote work and occasional participation in community outreach and legal assistance events.
  • If applicant chooses to work a hybrid work schedule, applicant must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work from during regularly scheduled hours.  

• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work, flexible working hours may be permitted on a case by case basis.  

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.  Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period. 
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