Description
Position Summary
Legal Aid Society of San Diego has a need for a short-term Independent Contract Attorney on its Immigration Team. LASSD has a total of 35 hours per week available that can be split amongst one or more independent contract attorneys, if necessary, with contracts expected to last 4-5 months. Must have demonstrated capacity to maintain a large caseload. Case load will be commensurate with hours agreed to in Independent Contractor Agreement. Duties may include: Interviewing prospective clients; analyzing their legal problems; rendering legal advice; negotiation with opposing parties and agencies; preparing and submitting filings for clients; representing clients in various phases of litigation; attending community meetings; developing positive relationships with client communities; developing complex litigation; helping Team find solutions to broader client problems through litigation or otherwise; policy development or other strategies.
About the Organization
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere
Essential Functions:
· Interviewing prospective clients; rendering legal advice; preparing legal documents; developing a caseload.
· Representing clients in all phases of administrative hearings or court proceedings, including research, drafting pleadings and briefs, trial, and appeal.
· Preparing affirmative filings for USCIS and accompanying clients to USCIS interviews and filing appeals from denied applications.
· Attending community meetings and developing positive relationships with the client community as requested.
· Attending and engaging in community outreach and education events, assessments, and community workshops as necessary.
• Handling a heavy and increasingly complex caseload commensurate with hours agreed to in Independent Contractor Agreement.
• Developing creative methods, litigious and non-litigious, for dealing with recurring client problems.
• Complying with all program and grant requirements.
Requirements
Qualifications:
· Must be a member in good standing with the bar and eligible to practice in the highest court of any state, possession, territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia
· Fluency in written and spoken Spanish
· Ability to work independently as well as support team efforts, and to strategize and plan so as to timely and consistently meet grant deliverables and reporting requirements
· Must have reliable form of transportation
Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
· Experience in and knowledge of Immigration Laws
· Member of the Federal Bar
· Admitted and in good standing with the California State Bar
· Demonstrated commitment to serving low-income people
· Ability to work successfully with people from diverse backgrounds
Salary and Benefits:
The Immigration Contract Attorney is a non-exempt (hourly) position with a pay rate of $40.00 per hour. There is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English. Additional terms will be set forth in a separate Independent Contractor Agreement. LASSD will provide coverage to the Contract Attorney under LASSD’s malpractice insurance for those activities described by and performed pursuant to the Independent Contract Agreement. The Contract Attorney is not an employee of LASSD and is not entitled to benefits.
LASSD is an equal opportunity employer and we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.
Hybrid Work Environment:
Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. Contract Attorneys will be permitted to work remotely except as required for training, client meetings, and other in-person tasks. Contract Attorneys will be issued LASSD computers and provided appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to their designated LASSD office and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.
Mandatory Vaccination Policy:
LASSD has implemented a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. We will consider individual requests for exemption from the policy for: (1) medical reasons, and/or (2) based on an applicant or employees sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Any applicant or employee requesting an exemption should submit a completed exemption request form to Human Resources. Upon receipt of a completed exemption request form and any supporting documentation, LASSD will engage in an interactive discussion with the applicant or employee to determine whether an exemption is appropriate and can be granted without posing an undue hardship to LASSD or a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual making the request or others at LASSD. Any individual granted an exemption from the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement may be subject to conditions and restrictions (such as being required to use additional personal protective equipment or submit to LASSD-provided COVID-19 testing) to mitigate the risk to the individual and others at LASSD.
Diversity and Inclusion:
It is vitally important to LASSD that we represent the community that we serve. LASSD is a signatory to the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge. We pledge to promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention, promotion and leadership, engagement of outside counsel, and participation in legal community diversity initiatives. We strongly encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds to apply.