ProBAR - Staff Attorney Adult TX

The Staff Attorneys for ProBAR's Adult Team advocate for and serve adults in ICE custody who are at risk of deportation and face significant barriers to access to counsel. Our Adult Team Staff Attorneys provide a combination of legal orientations, direct representation, and pro se assistance to adults from around the world who seek humanitarian immigration relief. The Staff Attorney will engage in a significant amount of direct representation, handling asylum and cancellation of removal cases, as well as applications for other forms of relief and petitions for release on bond and parole. The team's legal advocacy is complemented by ProBAR's holistic approach that integrates connections to services.

The Organization

ProBAR empowers immigrants through high-quality legal information, representation, and connections to services. ProBAR serves immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley and Houston regions with a particular focus on the legal needs of adults and unaccompanied children in federal custody. Founded in 1989 as a project of the American Bar Association, ProBAR’s primary office is located in Harlingen, TX with a field office in Houston, TX. For more information about ProBAR, please visit our website: https://abaprobar.org/

Job Summary / General Purpose of Job

Accountable for providing legal services to detained unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings, in the border region. This position will require regular involvement with individuals living in difficult circumstances and who may have experienced trauma.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities (listed in order of importance and/or time spent)

• Provides legal services, including direct representation, to detained or locally released immigrants in removal proceedings.
• Provides group and individual legal orientations to detained immigrants in immigration removal proceedings.
• Regularly appear in immigration court. Represents clients seeking immigration relief such as asylum, T Visas, U Visas, cancellation of removal and other relief as appropriate.
• Mentors pro bono attorneys and non-attorneys staff and volunteers as needed.
• Develops and maintains legal competency relating to immigration detention work. Builds and maintains relationships with local stakeholders. Observes ethical practices relating to confidentiality and all other applicable legal ethics standards. Maintains case files, documentation and data integrity using division’s case management system.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Possession of a Juris Doctorate or Master of Law (LLM) from an ABA-accredited law school and be in good standing.
• Licensed to practice law in a U.S. state or territory.
• Fluent in English and Spanish in written and spoken forms.
• Intermediate proficiency with online research and Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, OneDrive, teams.
• Must be familiar with conducting virtual meetings, training, and observations on software such as Zoom, Teams, etc.
• Must have reliable internet and phone connection.
• Must be able to pick up on client verbal and non-verbal cues. Have reliable transportation to travel to off-site work locations.
• This position requires the ability to travel to and enter detention centers.

Preferred Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Licensed to practice law and member in the State Bar of Texas, and one year experience.
• Prior work experience clients from Central America and including indigenous language- speaking populations.
• Prior volunteer, community, or work experience regarding immigration or detention.
• Prior non-profit experience, particularly involving immigration detention.

Physical Requirements

• Typical office setting with frequent visits to immigration detention facilities and immigration court.
• Continuously operates a computer and other office machinery, such as telephone, copy machine, and computer printer.

Travel

As a normal course of business, this job will typically require travel of less than 15% of the time.