Staff Attorney or DOJ Accredited Representative, City College of SF (CCSF) and IIBA’s SF Office

Title: Staff Attorney or DOJ Accredited Representative

Full Time, Exempt

Reports to: San Francisco Directing Attorney

Location: City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and IIBA’s San Francisco Office

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area was founded in 1918, and its mission is to welcome, educate and serve immigrants, refugees and their families as they join and contribute to the community. IIBA provides immigration legal services, English and civic education, and other services throughout the Bay Area, as well as through its collaborative efforts with local and regional service providers. IIBA offers a team-oriented, collegial and collaborative work environment. We pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients, and we know our organization runs on the hard work and dedication of our passionate employees.

At IIBA, we have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay, and to do their best work. IIBA’s dedication to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is reflected in the work that we do. We are committed to equity and believe deeply in the value of diversity of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other wonderful characteristics that make us human.

Job Summary:

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney (including law grad awaiting bar results) or a paralegal who will work toward becoming a DOJ Accredited Representative. An Accredited Representative is a non-attorney who has completed sufficient training and supervised practice and is employed by a DOJ-recognized nonprofit organization. This position will provide access to immigration legal services to students, staff and faculty on City College of San Francisco (CCSF) campuses. The caseload is primarily affirmative cases. This position supports IIBA’s mission by providing high quality immigration legal services, including consultations and case preparation and submission, under the supervision of the San Francisco Directing Attorney. A portion of the staff person’s time will also be spent on a range of immigration cases in IIBA’s San Francisco office that are not directly tied to the community college legal services project.

Essential Functions:

• Case Management: Assists with client intake, legal documents, immigration forms completion and document preparation, under the supervision of an attorney. Maintain paper and electronic case files. Once accredited or admitted to the bar, provide eligibility and risk assessment, full representation, brief service, and/or legal advice to low income clients filing applications, including family-based and humanitarian immigration petitions, waivers, U Visas, DACA, naturalization, consular processing, and adjustments of status.
• Translation: Responsible for Spanish/English translations.
• Outreach and Group Processing: Assist in the organization and implementation of workshops, clinics, outreach activities and information sessions for immigrants and social service agencies serving immigrants. Outreach may occasionally require evening and weekend events.
• Maintain Legal Best Practices: Comply with IIBA’s policies, procedures, protocols, and best practices for non-profit immigration law practice, including legal ramifications, fee collection, maintenance of client files and data for reporting requirements. Participate in regular peer review meetings and legal trainings.
• Client Notification: Assisting with ongoing client communications in person, on phone, by email, and by mail.
• Clerical: copying, filing, mailing, data entry for grant reporting, scheduling appointments.
• All other duties: Perform all other duties as needed and/or as directed by supervisor.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Legal research and writing skills.
• Dedicated to providing high quality legal assistance and capable of handling complex legal issues on behalf of low-income immigrant populations.
• Demonstrated accuracy and attention to detail for forms completion.
• Good customer service and public speaking skills.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and handle multiple deadlines effectively.
• Ability to act independently and exercise sound judgment.
• Commitment to serve immigrants and sensitivity to the needs of the low-income, culturally diverse newcomer community.
• Ability to travel to community college campus on a regular weekly basis. Available for occasional evening and weekend services as needed.
• Proficiency in a Windows/PC environment, and able to quickly become proficient in the use of IIBA’s immigration law software and database.

Qualifications:

Education: AA or a Paralegal Certificate for the DOJ Accredited Representative role; JD for the Staff Attorney role.

Work Experience: Prior immigration legal experience preferred (including law school internships).

Language: Ability to communicate effectively in English and Spanish REQUIRED.

Salary/Benefits:

In the spirit of pay transparency, the salary range for the Staff Attorney position is $75,000-$84,000. The salary range for the DOJ Accredited Representative position is $55,000-$70,000. (The salary range can be adjusted upward if the candidate has prior senior-level experience as a DOJ Representative or Staff Attorney.) Your final salary compensation is based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and geographic location. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future & continued salary growth. We also offer a generous benefits package – additional information below.

IIBA offers a generous cafeteria-style benefits package, elements of which include, but are not limited to:

• Employer matching 403(B) retirement plan: up to 5% employer contribution
• Insurance: Health, dental, life, vision, chiropractic & acupuncture. Medical and dependent care pre-tax reimbursement accounts
• Transportation reimbursement account
• Vacation: two (2) weeks of accrued vacation per year with an increase each year
• Sick Leave including paid family sick time
• Holidays: 15 paid Holidays per year
• Paid Parental Leave
• This position qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Please note:

New employees are required to work in the office 4 days a week for the first three months of their employment with IIBA. This period is crucial for onboarding, training, and integration into IIBA’s culture. After the initial three-month period, new employees may be eligible to transition to a hybrid work schedule, subject to approval by their supervisor, the needs of the office, and in accordance with IIBA policies.

Applicants for employment in the United States must have work authorization that does not currently or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant. Because of a need to remain responsive to the needs of our clients and our Agency’s operations, responsibilities may be modified at any time.

IIBA is a non-profit, non-discriminatory service organization and employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability. Persons receiving services in our programs are entitled to freedom from harassment and retaliation and reasonable accommodation for qualified disabilities opportunity.

Salary/Benefits:

In the spirit of pay transparency, the salary range for the Staff Attorney position is $75,000-$84,000. The salary range for the DOJ Accredited Representative position is $55,000-$70,000. (The salary range can be adjusted upward if the candidate has prior senior-level experience as a DOJ Representative or Staff Attorney.) Your final salary compensation is based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and geographic location. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future & continued salary growth. We also offer a generous benefits package – additional information below.

IIBA offers a generous cafeteria-style benefits package, elements of which include, but are not limited to:

• Employer matching 403(B) retirement plan: up to 5% employer contribution
• Insurance: Health, dental, life, vision, chiropractic & acupuncture. Medical and dependent care pre-tax reimbursement accounts
• Transportation reimbursement account
• Vacation: two (2) weeks of accrued vacation per year with an increase each year
• Sick Leave including paid family sick time
• Holidays: 15 paid Holidays per year
• Paid Parental Leave
• This position qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness