NAELA's CareerCenter

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We seek an experienced and compassionate Immigration Legal Services Director to lead the ILS department in providing high-quality legal representation to clients in Fairfield County. The Director must have a proven track record of providing strategic leadership and advocacy with a non-profit legal service organization and/or community-based organization.This full-time exempt position will report to the Executive Director.

Essential Duties:

• Provide strategic leadership and regularly update ILS policies, procedures and practice management
• Directly supervise Affirmative Practice Director, Removal Defense Director and Program Manager
• Effectively manage competing case representation priorities due to high demand for legal services
• Track case law developments in immigration law and policy
• Perform selected case work (amount TBD)
• Collaborate with other B1C departments to provide wrap-around social services for clients
• Analyze and report ILS data for upper management & B1C’s Board of Directors
• Provide support for grant proposals and reports; oversee ILS budget
• Participate in public outreach and community education initiatives on immigration issues; assist with legislative advocacy as needed

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience practicing immigration law in a non-profit legal services organization and/or community-based organization
• Demonstrable experience in both affirmative and removal defense litigation and familiarity managing a team of attorneys and paralegal staff at all levels of experience
• Admitted to practice law in Connecticut or eligible to waive in to the Connecticut bar
• Spanish language proficiency preferred
• Excellent organizational skills and commitment to efficient procedures
• Skilled communicator and collaborative team player
• Commitment to building trauma-informed, community lawyering
• Passion for social justice and experience working with low-income communities and communities of color

About Building One Community

Building One Community (“B1C”) is a non-profit organization established in 2011 as a comprehensive resource center for immigrants across southwestern Connecticut. B1C’s mission is to advance the successful integration of immigrants and their families. Our Immigration Legal Services (“ILS”) Department is a CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.) affiliate member providing direct immigration assistance to low-income immigrant individuals/families residing in Fairfield County. Since 2017, the ILS Affirmative Practice has served more than 750 individuals before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, including naturalization, adjustment of status, DACA/TPS, consular processing, VAWA and U visas. In 2021, ILS created a new Removal Defense Practice to provide pro bono representation to unaccompanied minors and adults, individuals and families in removal proceedings before the Hartford Immigration Court. In addition, the ILS Department educates members of the community on immigration issues with Q&A sessions, Know-Your-Rights presentations, and other community outreach. The ILS department is currently comprised of five attorneys, program manager, paralegal a...nd legal assistant as well as partially accredited DOJ representative volunteers. ILS clients originate from all over the world, with the largest percentage Spanish and Haitian-Creole speaking.

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Connections working at Building One Community