Immigration Law Staff Attorney/Advocate

Immigration Law Staff Attorney/Advocate (Bilingual, Spanish-speaking) - San Francisco, CA
Full-Time, Exempt
Hybrid - 2-3 days in-office

About Us:

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. We believe poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. At Open Door Legal, we’re pioneering the country’s first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us.

Overview of Position:

We are hiring an Immigration Law Staff Attorney to help ensure that everyone who lives in Open Door Legal’s service area who needs immigration legal assistance can access timely, competent representation. We handle affirmative, family-based and humanitarian petitions in-house, with the flexibility to take on representation of existing clients in removal proceedings in limited cases.

Responsibilities:

• Directly represent clients, including monolingual Spanish speakers, in every type of affirmative immigration petition as well as the occasional case in removal.
• Provide bilingual (Spanish) services and support to our low-income clients with sensitivity and awareness to various cultural, socio-economic, and disability barriers.
• Own a full caseload, ensuring clients’ goals are met.
• Perform immigration law intakes in-person and virtually across multiple locations.
• Appear in court and USCIS representing clients as needed.
• Maintain skills and knowledge needed to competently represent clients before relevant government agencies.
• Empower immigration law clients to know their rights and resolve their immigration law issues.
• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

Requirements:

• Membership in good standing with the California State Bar.
• Advanced Spanish proficiency (speaking, reading, and writing).
• Must genuinely enjoy and be motivated by working with low-income clients.
• Familiarity with immigration court procedures and enthusiasm for professional growth.
• High level of comfort in learning and using technology and cloud-based case management systems.
• Must be willing to make a minimum two-year commitment to the organization.

Bonus Points:

• Experience working in a high-volume legal aid or similar environment.
• Experience living in Central America or working with Central American populations.
• Additional language ability in Cantonese.

Benefits:

• Loan Repayment Assistance for staff pursuing public interest debt forgiveness.
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plan offerings at 100% coverage.
• Paid mental health benefit.
• Generous paid time off.
• Flexible work hours.
• Generous paid parental leave.
• 401K/Retirement Account.
• We financially invest in individual learning plans for each staff member.

Open Door legal is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, or any other legally protected characteristics.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at whitney (at) opendoorlegal (dot) org.