Job Description
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, a program of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc., is a non-profit law firm which provides community education and legal representation to immigrant adults, families, unaccompanied minors, individuals with mental health issues, and in cases involving crimmigration. Esperanza has proudly provided legal services to immigrants and their families in Southern California for over 15 years. More information is available at www.esperanza-la.org.
Esperanza seeks a full-time Pro Bono Coordinator to oversee and supervise our Pro Bono Program. The Pro Bono Coordinator will work under the supervision of the Directing Attorney for Pro Bono and Capacity Building and will supervise the Pro Bono Program Assistant. The Pro Bono Coordinator will be responsible for all pro bono attorney recruitment, placement, and mentorship. Additionally, the Pro Bono Coordinator will be expected to carry a very small caseload consisting of a variety of affirmative and defensive immigration cases for both adults and children.
Responsibilities include:
- Recruiting, training, supervising, and retaining volunteer attorneys, paralegals and law students;
- Developing written materials for volunteers including training manuals, etc.;
- Building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to monitor the work of the volunteer attorneys and provide on‐going support and supervision to volunteers as needed;
- Maintaining Esperanza’s existing relationships with other non‐profit organizations, legal clinics, schools, and law firms;
- Representing Esperanza in community programs and conference planning and programming;
- Expanding the visibility of Esperanza’s Pro Bono Program, including publicizing the program, and developing relationships with the private bar and government lawyers;
- Supporting Staff Attorneys working with volunteers and advising on the development of new pro bono programs related to the work of in‐house attorneys;
- Supervising the Pro Bono Program Assistant;
- Training and supervising law student and other interns during the summer and throughout the year as needed;
- Maintaining information about case activity and statistics, as well as volunteer information;
- Support the Pro Bono Program with other related duties as needed.
Qualifications:
- Juris Doctorate degree;
- Active, California State Bar License, or license from another jurisdiction.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in immigration law with at least 2 years in removal defense preferred. Law school clinical work and internships can count towards litigation experience;
- Experience litigating cases in state criminal, dependency, family or probate courts is a plus;
- Strong case management, legal research, and legal writing skills required;
- Experience supervising lawyers and/or law students preferred;
- Experience working in or with large law firms preferred;
- Spanish language proficiency preferred;
- Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work under pressure with limited supervision required;
- Passion for social justice for immigrants required.