Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc., is a non-profit law firm, which provides community education and legal representation to Southern California’s most vulnerable immigrant communities. Esperanza specifically assists immigrants who are in detention and/or removal proceedings, and focuses on complex immigration cases, which may involve unaccompanied minors, mental health issues, and criminal or gang history. Esperanza has provided legal services to immigrants and their families in Los Angeles for over 15 years. For more information about Esperanza, please visit www.esperanza-la.org

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Juris Doctorate;
• Awaiting bar exam results (any jurisdiction)
• Bar Admission in any US state;
• Experience (including internships) in the practice of law, preferably in immigration and/or public interest law;
• Strong organizational, case management, legal research, and legal writing skills required;
• Experience working with vulnerable client populations, particularly with children, families, or clients with mental health issues is a huge plus;
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to take on challenging and novel legal issues and a readiness to pursue “outside-the-box” legal theories;
• A willingness to take the initiative;
• Spanish language proficiency required and will be tested at time of interview;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work under pressure required;
• Willingness to be a team-player with an attitude and aptitude for collaboration;
• Passion for social justice for immigrants and vulnerable communities required.

Catholic Charities offers a wide range of employee benefits to support the total wellness of its employees. Our competitive package provides the flexibility to select the benefits that best meets the employee’s needs. Benefits are effective the first of the month following 30 days of employment.

• Medical, Dental & Vision
• Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan to include 401a/employer contribution only and 403(b)
• Supplemental Insurance (life, Accident, disability insurance, etc.)
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health Care Spending Account Reimbursement accounts (HAS)
• Vacation days – 12 days per year
• Sick time – 10 days per year
• Short- and Long-Term Disability
• 13 holidays per year for regular f/t & p/t employees
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Cell Phones for those working in Shelters or with Clients outside of the office
• Employee Recognition - Annual Staff Appreciation Day Event
• Free Parking

Esperanza seeks a full-time Staff Attorney to work in our Legal Orientation Program (“LOP”). Detention greatly affects an immigrant’s access to legal resources and ultimate success in immigration court. The Legal Orientation Program has therefore become a invaluable resource for detained immigrants without legal representation. The Staff Attorney will work under the supervision of the LOP Program Manager to provide legal orientation services for adults in immigration detention. LOP offers group orientations to all detainees, which provide immigrants with an overview of immigration removal proceedings and legal relief. Additionally, LOP conducts individual orientations for un-represented detainees only. During an individual orientation, LOP staff conducts an in-depth analysis of the detainee’s immigration and criminal history to identify and explain possible forms of immigration relief. Finally, LOP provides detainees with pro se workshops and refers cases to pro bono attorneys and non-profit organizations when possible. Outside of LOP, the Staff Attorney will also be tasked with pro bono representation of detained individuals in removal proceedings. All responsibilities require knowledge of immigration law and, where applicable, analysis of its interaction with criminal law.
This position also involves coordinating our LOP referrals in-house and to other organizations. The pro bono coordinator is responsible for reviewing referrals for legal accuracy and updating the database from which referrals are shared. The pro bono coordinator interacts with various other non-profits throughout Southern California and attends monthly meetings with other stakeholders in Los Angeles.