Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney

Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington are looking for a new Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney!

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At a glance

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The Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney serves as a member of the Hogar Immigrant Services – Legal Catholic Charities Newcomer Services leadership teams. S/he develops and oversees Hogar’s pro bono and workshop legal services, leveraging the interest and skills of volunteer attorneys to provide additional legal representation in family-based and humanitarian immigration matters such as asylum cases, U or T visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), removal defense, naturalization, and others.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct outreach and recruit potential pro bono attorney volunteers
• Design and present training materials for pro bono attorneys with varying levels of prior experience in immigration law
• Develop and maintain up-to-date sample filings and other materials for pro bono attorneys
• Screen client files for potential pro bono placement and assign appropriate cases to pro bono attorney volunteers
• Provide technical assistance and mentorship to pro bono attorneys throughout the duration of each case
• Review applications, motions, and other materials prepared by pro bono attorneys before submission to the government and provide feedback
• Assess the needs of Hogar, other Catholic Charities programs, and/or the local immigrant community to determine Hogar’s priorities for new and ongoing pro bono and workshop/clinic initiatives
• Work with Hogar’s Program Director and other Hogar or Catholic Charities staff, as appropriate, to plan and implement group processing workshops/clinics for different immigrant populations (including but not limited to naturalization, adjustment of status for particular groups [Afghan parolees, refugees, etc.], Temporary Protected Status [TPS], employment authorization, and others)
• Coordinate with Hogar’s Workshop Manager and/or Legal Assistant – Workshops/Pro Bono to staff and train pro bono attorney volunteers for large-scale group processing workshops as needed
• Supervise Hogar’s Workshop Manager and Legal Assistant – Workshops/Pro Bono, meeting with each supervisee regularly to ensure compliance with internal and external policies and procedures, approve timesheets and leave requests, and review substantive legal filings or answer legal questions as needed
• Conduct client consultations, identify cases appropriate for pro bono placement, and maintain a small caseload of family-based and humanitarian immigration cases for direct representation

Other Duties

• Attend regular meetings with Hogar’s leadership team and Catholic Charities’ Newcomer Services leadership team to coordinate office and/or agency policies and procedures, receive management training, and plan new initiatives
• In alignment with the office of volunteers, recruit, train, and supervise in-office legal volunteers and student interns, as needed
• Provide in-service training to staff and volunteers on immigration-related skills and knowledge
• Provide public education in the community, collaborating with other agencies
• Participate as needed in agency- and program-wide data collection, fundraising, training, and strategic planning
• Participate in meetings with immigration legal services community-based organizations
• Participate in a regular basis in day-long weekend group processing workshops/clinics
• Provide referrals to clients for non-legal services as needed
• Provide data for grant and agency reports as needed
• Other job related duties as assigned

The Successful Candidate

• Proficiency in Spanish (speaking and writing) required
• Effective interpersonal, organizational and communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively to manage a substantial workload with deadline pressures
• Competence in communicating and interacting with others of diverse cultural, geographic, and economic backgrounds in a professional and compassionate manner, including interacting with individuals experiencing substantial levels of emotional, physical, financial, or other hardship
• Fluency in Microsoft office, case management software or other relevant software
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential information
• Regular access to  transportation to and from government agencies and workshop or other community events

Education and Experience

• Juris Doctor degree and admission to the bar of any state; Virginia bar admission strongly preferred
• Minimum of two years of experience practicing family-based and/or humanitarian immigration law; experience with removal defense and/or representation before Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District courts strongly preferred
• Familiarity with private law firm and corporate pro bono culture

Apply now