Asian Americans Advancing Ju

About Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is the first nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in Georgia and the Southeast. We envision a social movement in which communities of color are fully empowered, active in civic life, and working together to promote equity, fair treatment, and self determination for all. Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC), our organization became part of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in 2014. Since then, we have re-organized our work into four major strategies: Policy Advocacy ( https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/policy-advocacy ), Organizing & Civic Engagement( https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/organizing-civic-engagement ) , Impact Litigation( https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/impact-litigation ), and Legal Services( https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/legal-services ). About The Legal Services Team Advancing Justice – Atlanta provides comprehensive, high-quality immigration legal services to immigrant communities in Georgia. Our multilingual team assists low-income immigrants in obtaining lawful status, becoming citizens, and defending against deportation. We seek to empower immigrants through free immigration legal workshops and community education programs. Position Summary Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta seeks a Director of Legal Services to develop and manage the provision of immigration legal services through direct client representation and community legal programs. Holding over 10% of all immigration detainees in the United States, Georgia is a leader in immigration detention. The Atlanta Immigration Court’s denial rates are also amongst the highest in the country, making the need for immigration legal services and dissemination of information regarding the immigration system even more critical. The Director of Legal Services is a management-level staff position that requires supervising, mentoring, and supporting a Legal Services staff that includes attorneys and legal representatives. The Director of Legal Services must demonstrate expert understanding of immigration legal protections available to Advancing Justice’s clients and a strong vision for furthering the impact of the department’s legal work on the community. How You’ll Contribute to Our Impact Primary Role * Oversee the development and success of the Legal Services Department’s direct client representation and community programs to ensure high-quality, holistic, and trauma-informed immigration legal service provision; * Guide the direction of Legal Services programming to respond to community needs for immigration legal services and align with organizational mission and values; * Hire, supervise, and evaluate the performance of Legal Services staff; * Train and mentor Legal Services case workers on all aspects of representation of clients before immigration agencies; * Ensure all Legal Services staff possess the necessary immigration legal knowledge and skills through in-house and external training, professional development, and access to legal databases and resources; * Monitor developments in immigration laws and policies to update Legal Services staff and develop responsive legal strategies; * Lead collaboration of Legal Services staff on legal research and development of creative case strategies; * Establish, actively monitor, and evaluate the department’s procedures, practice standards, case management, and workflows to ensure streamlined, trauma-informed client representation in compliance with applicable standards of legal ethics and professional conduct; * Manage the department’s caseload, including direction of case acceptance and assignment to caseworker, ensuring reasonable caseloads aligned with program priorities; * Co-counsel complex removal defense cases with attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives; * Independently manage a limited caseload of complex immigration cases including filings with USCIS, deportation defense, and appeals; * Conduct immigration consultations and provide pro se legal advice; * Oversee day-to-day legal practice operations, including client relations issues, and share in administrative tasks and general office duties; * Responsible for the financial management of the Legal Services Department in accordance with organizational policies and procedures, including developing and managing an annual department budget; * Travel to detention centers in Georgia to meet with detainees (once safe to do so per public health guidelines and organizational policy); * Supervise the planning and implementation of citizenship and other immigration application assistance clinics and provide legal review at events; * Manage the design, coordination, and implementation of the department’s community outreach and educational activities, including Know-Your-Rights workshops; * Maintain the organization’s Department of Justice Recognition, including annual reports, evaluation of compliance with DOJ regulations, and the accreditation of legal representatives; Secondary Role * Represent Advancing Justice-Atlanta in connection with the activities of the Legal Services Department to stakeholders, funders, and the general public; * Participate in local/regional task forces, committees, and/or coalitions to address issues affecting clients; * Develop and foster collaborative relationships with community organizations, legal and social services; providers, and other partners to build a strong referral network in support of holistic service provision; * Collaborate to develop external communications related to the Legal Services Department, including media and community advisories; * Contribute to grant applications and reports; * Collaborate with other departments to develop strategies and tactics to advance the organization’s mission, particularly as related to immigrant justice; * Contribute to the development and implementation of organizational processes and policies, as needed. What You’ll Bring to the Team * J.D. from an accredited university; * Membership in good standing in the bar of any state and/or the District of Columbia; * Preferred six years of experience practicing immigration law, with experience in removal defense, asylum, naturalization, and representation of clients with criminal convictions preferred; * Preferred two years of experience supervising legal work and mentoring legal caseworkers; * Previous experience in program design and evaluation; * Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects at once and lead a team of advocates, ensuring deadlines are met, tasks are appropriately prioritized, and direct reports are guided and supported in their tasks; * Demonstrated ability to manage and supervise in a manner that supports growth and development; * Invested in developing individual and team leadership and skills; * Significant experience working with/ties to low-income immigrant communities of color and/or immigrant communities, including incarcerated populations; * Experience contributing to immigrant justice movements; * A sincere desire to advocate for social change for immigrant communities through legal services in a community setting; * Excellent communication, analytical, organizational, and writing skills; * Demonstrated ability to work effectively and respectfully with a diverse client population as well as with community members; * Brings creativity and flexibility to problem-solving internally within the department and organization, as well as in developing legal strategy; * Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a small team; * Empathy, listening skills, and the ability to foster resilience in Legal Services Department staff members; * Flexibility to attend events and meetings during evenings and weekends, as needed; * Fluency in Spanish or one Asian language (Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Urdu/Hindi, Arabic) is preferred. Why You’re Excited About Us * Impact: We are building the power for good in the South, and your contributions will matter * Growth: We are invested in growing your leadership within the organization and beyond * Our Team: We are a group of talented, passionate, and dedicated people who love our community and care about cultivating meaning, authenticity, and joy in our work. * Flexibility: We follow a hybrid work model and invest to support remote work. We encourage and support work-life balance because you’re able to do your best work when you’re living a full life. * Benefits: We offer an attractive variety of healthcare plans, several come with a $0 employee premium, matching 100% of 401(k) contributions up to 4% of salary, paid time off and a generous holiday calendar, covering DACA/TPS renewal fees, and professional development opportunities * Salary range is $105,00-$121,000. ***************************** Supervisory Responsibilities: ***************************** * The Director of Legal Services heads the Legal Services Department as a whole and supervises Supervising Staff Attorneys(s), Senior Staff Attorney(s), Staff Attorney(s), Immigration Paralegal(s), Legal Administrative Assistant(s), and intern(s). The Director of Legal Services may delegate supervisory powers and responsibilities to other Legal Services staff members as necessary and appropriate. ---------------------------- Physical Requirements: ---------------------------- The candidate must be local to the Atlanta area, with access to reliable transportation or willing to relocate to Georgia. The position permits working from home but requires travel, as necessary, to the Advancing Justice-Atlanta office and to other local meetings and events. To Apply: Send a resume, cover letter, 3 references, and a writing sample to Angelette Guyton, Human Resources Specialist, at aguyton@advancingjustice-atlanta.org Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply, regardless of race, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, age, height, weight, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, HIV status, marital or domestic partner status, or religious affiliation. For any accommodation requests in the application process, please contact accommodations@advancingjustice-atlanta.org ( accommodations@advancingjustice-atlanta.org ) Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. View More