Legal Director

UnLocal is a community-centered non-profit organization that provides direct immigration legal representation and community education to New York City’s undocumented immigrant communities.

SUMMARY

UnLocal, Inc. is looking for a bold and creative leader to fill the role of Legal Director to ensure the ongoing quality and impact of our legal strategy and services. The position of Legal Director at UnLocal is an exciting position at an innovative immigration legal services provider working in all five New York City and New York State. The Legal Director will coordinate and lead our legal team across various practices, and continue to liaise with our community-based, city/state, federal, and school-based partners. This person will guide complex litigation and appeals, help resolve ethical, highly technical, or novel legal issues, and ensure legal staff access training, supervision, guidance, and mentoring. The role will include departmental development, advocacy, internal and external reporting, teaching/speaking engagements, organizational vision, and strategic vision. This is a full-time, exempt position and will report to the Executive Director.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Legal Strategy:

• Ensure that all of UnLocal’s legal practices align with UnLocal’s values and mission,
• Identify and create case management, referral, and intake systems to support internal organization, ethical compliance with federal and New York State legal practice laws and professional rules of conduct, and support UnLocal’s growth;
• Develop, lead, and ensure high-quality impact direct legal services, and strategic federal litigation;
• Assist with internal and external reporting, including to foundations, city/state funders, and the UnLocal Board of Directors;
• Provide strategic impact litigation support in federal cases, or cases that need legal escalation strategies;
• Collaborate with Department leads to provide DEI training and practices to better meet the needs of diverse staff and community members.

Legal Representation/Supervision:

• Ensure individual legal representation and advocacy in affirmative and both detained and non-detained defensive immigration matters;
• Supervise the UnLocal attorneys, OLAP representatives, Paralegals, legal interns, and, on a more limited basis, pro bono volunteers;
• Ensure supervision, legal representation, and advocacy in appellate and federal litigation, including but not limited to Petitions for Review in the Second and Third Circuit, Writ of Habeas Corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and other Circuit and District Courts. Additionally, approve, oversee, and, when appropriate, provide support for litigation and appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Second and Third Circuits, and the Southern District of New York, as well as other U.S. federal district courts;
• Assist in developing new approaches to representing clients facing removal and willingness to rapidly respond to client needs through litigation;
• Administer our case management platform to ensure the delivery of high-quality services to our clients while ensuring the precise and transparent data reporting for grant purposes.

Community Engagement:

• Liaison with city-wide legal services providers and represent UnLocal at a variety of stakeholder meetings;
• Assist in the conduct and/or participate in outreach events for directly impacted community members, allies, community partner organizations, education institutions, and other legal service providers;
• Provide legal support and review to Community Education staff;
• Assist in developing pro se and pro bono lawyer resource materials and training;
• Provide all staff with legal updates and advice on emerging immigration news directly impacting clients and the immigrant community.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• J.D. degree and admission to the New York State Bar, Second Circuit, and Southern District of New York. Admission to other federal district courts is desirable;
• 10+ years of relevant post-JD immigration law experience, including extensive removal defense, asylum, cancellation of removal, family-based applications, DACA, TPS, advance parole, U and T visas, motions to reopen, pro se applications, naturalization, and the intersection of immigration and criminal law with an explicitly focus on families, youth, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ people;
• 4+ years of supervisory experience;
• Fluency in Spanish is required (other languages, particularly French and Haitian Creole, are a plus);
• Excellent legal research, writing, analytical, organizational, and communication skills;
• Ability to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, manage multiple tasks, and problem-solve;
• Experience working with LGBTQ+ community members, communities of color, incarcerated and detained individuals, youth communities, and survivors of violence preferred; experience in public speaking and/or teaching;
• Passionate and a sense of commitment to social justice;
• Desire to practice community lawyering;
• A proven track record of trauma-informed legal practice.