Associate Attorney

Contact Information:
Jazmin Rodriguez
Office Manager
Tel: (619) 230-0012

Website: www.jsslegal.com

Nature of Position: Full-time (40 hours/week)

Job Description and Qualifications:

Our firm seeks a compassionate and motivated Associate Attorney who can provide effective legal counsel to current and potential clients seeking immigration relief. As an Associate Attorney, you will provide a broad spectrum of legal services under the supervision of our CEO and Managing Partner Attorney, Ginger Jacobs, to our family-based, removal, and vulnerable population (U visa, T visa, VAWA, etc.) clients.

To ensure success as an Associate Attorney, you should exhibit strong advocacy, excellent communication, organization, writing skills, and competency in immigration law.

Job Duties:

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

· Prepare immigration applications, supporting documentation, and legal briefs, including immigrant visa petitions, naturalization applications, U and T visa applications, asylum applications, humanitarian parole, and applications for VAWA and vulnerable populations, under the supervision of a Partner Attorney.

· Monitor client cases and resolve complex legal issues.

· Provide legal advice to firm clients.

· Evaluate potential clients to determine eligibility for immigration benefits.

· Communicate with clients (via e-mail, phone, or mail) to resolve client concerns and/or case-specific inquiries.

· Prepare clients for interviews and court appearances.

· Provide direct legal representation and orientation to clients at the San Diego Otay Mesa Immigration Court, the San Diego Immigration Court, and Otay Mesa Detention Center.

· Represent clients at USCIS interviews in San Diego and other locations, including the Los Angeles Asylum Office.

· Instruct and coordinate with clients to gather information and documentation required for case processing.

· Coordinate with Supervising Attorney to implement case processing plans.

· Assist Supervising Attorney with legal research.

· Maintain case files, client documentation, and enter case information into web-based case management systems.

· Observe ethical practices related to client confidentiality and applicable legal ethical standards.

· Maintain legal competency related to immigration law.

· Participate and contribute to firm meetings, trainings, and professional development opportunities.

· Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

· Required Education: Juris Doctorate (JD) degree or Master of Law (LLM) degree from an ABA-Accredited law school.

· Licensed to practice law in CA or a U.S. State or territory.

· Required Experience: 1-3 years working as an Attorney in immigration law.

· Required bilingual fluency in Spanish and English.

· Strongly Preferred Skills:

1. Experience in Immigration Law: family-based, vulnerable population, and removal defense.

2. Ability to provide compassionate and trauma-informed client care.

3. Intermediate proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite of products and Google.

4. Strong verbal, written, advocacy, and communication skills.

Benefits

· Parking pass for Downtown San Diego office building

• We can cover your transit pass instead of a parking pass if you use public transportation.

· 160 Paid Time Off (PTO) hours per annum.

· 13 Paid Holidays per annum.

· 2 floating holidays to be used for religious or cultural observance.

· 5 days of Bereavement (3 Paid/2 Unpaid).

· 2 hours of paid Voting Time

· 1 day paid for Jury Duty

· Eligibility for enrollment in the firm's 401(k) plan with Employer matching of 6% after 6 months of employment.

· Eligibility for Health Insurance, Vision, Dental, and Life Insurance

· Payment for Bar and AILA Fees

· CLE and Conference budget of $2,000.00 for 2024-2027

Working conditions [DA1]:

• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines (including inspection); using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication of parts at distances close to the eyes.
• The worker is required to have visual acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned (i.e., custodial, food services, general labor, etc.) or to make general observations of facilities or structures (i.e., security guard, inspection, etc.).
• The worker is subject to inside environmental conditions: Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes.
• The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (as in typical office or administrative work).

Physical requirements [DA1]:

Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that for Sedentary Work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated for Light Work.

• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized. This factor is important if the amount and kind of climbing required exceeds that required for ordinary locomotion.
• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery or erratically moving surfaces. This factor is important if the amount and kind of balancing the amount and kind of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full use of the lower extremities and back muscles
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Standing: Remaining upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to-position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires the substantial use of the upper extremities and back muscles
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; those activities where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction, and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and making fine discriminations in sound.
• Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.

[DA1]The following info was pulled from this link:http://www.niqca.org/documents/ADAPhysicalRequirementsChecklist.pdf

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $80,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Are you licensed to practice law in CA or a U.S. State or territory?

Experience:

• Immigration law: 3 years (Required)
• Law office: 3 years (Required)
• Microsoft Office: 3 years (Required)
• Google Suite: 3 years (Required)

Language:

• Spanish (Required)
• English (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• San Diego, CA 92101 (Required)

Willingness to travel:

• 25% (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $80,000 - $85,000