Senior Paralegal, Children's Program

Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (Amica Center)•Washington, DC

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights fights for the rights, safety, and unity of immigrant communities. The Children's Program is a highly collaborative work environment committed to providing high-quality, trauma-informed legal and social services and fostering professional growth and support for staff. Supervisors in this program are dedicated to teaching, mentorship, and work-life balance. A Senior Paralegal in this program works collaboratively with staff and leadership to ensure clients receive high-quality, culturally competent legal services, support attorneys in legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children, contribute to administrative tasks, participate in visits to detention centers for presentations and intakes, supervise and train junior staff, and engage with senior staff to identify programmatic needs and implement program goals.

Requirements

Demonstrates a firm understanding of children’s removal proceedings, common immigration relief eligibility, and culturally competent legal services.
Plays an active role in client relationship building and can independently advance work on cases with attorney approval and supervision.
Demonstrates understanding of legal information versus legal advice and educates others on appropriate limitations for non-attorney staff.
Familiar with preparing client filings and can do so with limited or minimal attorney intervention.
Skillfully and clearly present legal information and know your rights presentations to detained children and clients with limited supervision.
Has, and continually improves upon, trauma-informed interviewing and rapport-building skills.
Effectively manages time and resources and appropriately prioritizes client needs and other program responsibilities.
Ensures that all administrative aspects of their position are carried out with limited supervisory support, including facility visit preparation and breakdown, timekeeping, file maintenance, and database entries, etc.
Contributes to updates and adjustments, as needed, to administrative systems designed to support shelter and client work.
Written and oral Spanish fluency.
2-3 years of relevant experience in immigration legal service provision.
2-3 years of relevant experience interviewing / working with clients, preferably children.
The candidate is expected to travel for work-related business.
Must possess a valid driver’s license and be comfortable operating a vehicle upon hiring.
Favorable results on background check including driving record, Child Protection Registry, and state and federal criminal records.
If eligible, obtain notary commission in applicable states.
Commitment to principles of equity and inclusion.
Ability to work in a hybrid work environment and fulfill job responsibilities in-person as required.
All employees are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

Nice To Haves

Prior supervision experience preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Ensure clients receive high-quality, culturally competent legal services while detained and after release.
Support attorneys in providing legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children, including assisting with paperwork and case preparation.
Contribute to the program’s provision of services including administrative tasks such as database maintenance and reporting to funders.
Participate in and assist with the coordination of visits to detention centers for the purpose of conducting know your rights (KYR) presentations and legal intakes with detained children.
Supervision and training of junior staff with a focus on professional development (dependent on experience level).
Regularly engage with senior staff and leadership to identify programmatic needs and implement program goals.
Supports attorneys representing detained and released clients before local immigration courts, USCIS, and state courts in cases such as Asylum, Withholding of Removal, Protection under the Convention against Torture, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U-Visas and T-Visas.
Facilitates and/or participates in facility visits for the purpose of conducting Know Your Rights presentations, court preparation, and legal intakes with detained children.
Ensures that junior staff complete all shelter-involved tasks to a high standard.
Performs and can train other staff on performing administrative tasks, including database maintenance, preparation of filings, file maintenance, recordkeeping, and reporting to funders.
Actively engages in the Children’s Program training efforts of new staff and interns, as needed.
Ensures the timely and accurate entry of case information into shared databases.
Assists program leadership with the implementation of program goals and contract/grant compliance.
Assists other program staff in completion of their workload during high-work/low- bandwidth periods.
Actively participates and contributes to stakeholder relationship activities.
Engages with internal Amica Center committees and working groups to lend a voice to the growth and strategy of the organization.