Staff Attorney (Immigrant Justice Project)
New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) seeks a Staff Attorney to work on our Immigrant Justice Project (IJP). The IJP Staff Attorney will focus on representing noncitizen survivors of crime, providing full and limited representation before EOIR and/or USCIS in a variety of humanitarian-based matters such as asylum, U/T visa, VAWA, and SIJ cases. The Staff Attorney will also be responsible for occasional community engagement and education work.
The IJP Staff Attorney will handle work statewide in New Hampshire, plus make regular appearances in the Boston Immigration Court and/or the new Lowell, MA Immigration Court as well as the Boston Asylum Office. . Office space for the IJP Staff Attorney is available in NHLA’s Concord or Claremont, NH offices. NHLA has a remote work policy under which two days per week of remote work is typically approved. For this position, we are open to the possibility of primarily remote work for an experienced immigration attorney. All NHLA staff members are provided with the necessary equipment (such as laptop computers) to work remotely. Occasional travel out of state, for example to national conferences, is anticipated. Travel reimbursement including mileage is provided.
NHLA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a diverse staff that reflects the communities of low-income and older (age 60 plus) people NHLA works alongside, and we value equity and inclusion in our workplace. NHLA actively seeks applications from Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people of diverse national origin, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, older adults, veterans, people who have lived experience with poverty, and other people belonging to communities that have historically experienced injustice.
Duties:
- Advise and represent noncitizen survivors of crime before EOIR and/or USCIS in a variety of humanitarian-based matters such as asylum, U/T visa, VAWA, and SIJ cases.
- Actively learn and consistently implement NHLA’s holistic, client-centered approach to civil legal aid, including trauma-informed lawyering practices;
- Provide and affirmatively further language access and cultural humility in work with immigrant clients;
- Engage with allied community organizations, including presenting community education programs; and
- Participate as an active member of the NHLA team across practice areas.
Position Salary/Benefits:
This is a full-time position. Full-time is defined as 37.5 hours per week. This position is considered exempt for the purpose of federal wage/hour law.
The anticipated salary for the position depends on prior law-related work experience, expected to range from $68,920.00 per year (for candidates with 5 years of prior law-related work experience) to $97,788.00 (for candidates with 15 years of prior law-related work experience). The position is eligible for the NHLA employee benefits package including medical/dental insurance, retirement plan, and generous paid time off.
About New Hampshire Legal Assistance:
NHLA is a statewide nonprofit law firm that helps low-income and older individuals and families with civil legal problems that impact their basic needs, such as housing, economic security, and safety from violence. As a civil legal aid provider, we represent clients in all of New Hampshire’s state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies. We advocate for low-income and older people in the New Hampshire Legislature and offer training and education to our client communities as well as fellow service providers. NHLA is a cornerstone New Hampshire nonprofit marking our 53rd anniversary in 2024.
- Law degree and license to practice in New Hampshire, eligibility for admission on motion, or plans to sit for the New Hampshire bar exam this summer;
- Prior immigration law experience is strongly preferred (but we will train the right candidate, and will consider 2024 law graduates);
- Ability to travel on a regular basis, including extensively within New Hampshire and to Boston;
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a team;
- Current technology skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe;
- Experience working alongside low-income clients and communities a plus;
- Ability to speak Spanish or another language in addition to English a plus; additional compensation of $1,500.00 per year is available to bilingual staff members.
Please send your resume with a cover email summarizing your interest in the position and your qualifications to: officemanager@nhla.org. A separate cover letter is not required in addition to the cover email. Applications that do not include a cover email may not receive full consideration. We strongly encourage you to apply via email.
If you are not currently admitted in New Hampshire, please let us know when and how you plan to seek admission.
In your cover email, please feel invited to tell us anything that will help us communicate respectfully with you, including your pronouns, the pronunciation of your name, any communication access needs or reasonable accommodations requested during the hiring process, or any other relevant information.
If you would like further detail about NHLA’s hiring process, it is outlined in detail below.
NHLA’s Application Process and Timeline:
NHLA will appoint an Interview Committee including 2-3 NHLA staff members and the NHLA Human Resources Manager. NHLA occasionally asks people who are not NHLA staff members to serve on an Interview Committee.
We expect the Interview Committee to conduct first interviews with no more than 6 candidates. Interviews are 45 minutes in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. Candidates selected for first interviews will receive a list of the interview questions at least 24 hours in advance. No other questions will be asked at the interview, but it is possible that not all questions will be asked if we run out of time. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions at the conclusion of the interview. For candidates who speak a language in addition to English, a portion of the interview may be conducted in that language, with interpretation provided for other participants as needed.
The Interview Committee will recommend no more than 2 finalist candidates for the position to the Executive Director for second interviews. Second interviews are 30 minutes or shorter in duration and typically scheduled between 9 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. We can accommodate other scheduling preferences if necessary. The Executive Director may conduct the second interview alone or with 1 other NHLA staff member, who may be a member of the Interview Committee. Questions are not provided in advance for second interviews. We will leave at least 10 minutes for candidate questions.
After the second interview, we will ask a finalist candidate to provide 3 references and a brief writing sample of no more than 10 pages. We will contact the 3 references as quickly as possible, asking all references the same questions. Candidates with disabilities who wish to request reasonable accommodations should they be offered the position are invited to request them, in writing, at this stage of the process.
Based on information gathered in the entire hiring process, we will make an offer to 1 candidate with specific salary and benefits information. (We appreciate that salary and benefits information is important to candidates, and welcome questions about those topics at any stage of our hiring process.) The offer is contingent on completion of a criminal record background check. Not all criminal records are disqualifying.
Once a candidate has accepted the position, we will notify all candidates who had a first interview (or a first and second interview) that they have not been selected.
For candidates hired for attorney positions, we will work with attorneys who have previously worked at other law firms to gather information necessary for conflicts checking purposes pursuant to the New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct.
Please note that NHLA does not expect to receive thank you notes from candidates selected for first or second interviews and does not place any weight in the hiring process on receiving (or not receiving) thank you notes.