Senior Children's Attorney

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933, the IRC is at work today in more than 40 countries and in 28 U.S. cities. The IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) department creates opportunities for refugees and other vulnerable migrants to survive and thrive in the US. RAI serves nearly 50,000 individuals each year in the US through a diverse portfolio of programs aimed at achieving outcomes in five impact areas: Health, Safety, Economic Wellbeing, Education, and Power.

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

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.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

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Qualifications Update