What are the responsibilities and job description for the Supervising Attorney, Director of Non-Citizen Client Project position at National Legal Aid & Defender Association?
Position Description
The Supervising Attorney will serve as the Director of the Non-Citizen Client Project and is a member of the management team who reports to the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge. You will provide guidance, using appropriate leadership models, including our “double-team” model, for representation of OAD’s non-citizen clients in all aspects of post-conviction and appellate work. You will also advise all OAD lawyers on matters relating to immigration law and its intersection with criminal law, including the impact of clients’ criminal convictions on their immigration status and how OAD may ameliorate that impact via appellate and post-conviction advocacy. The successful candidate has a proven track record of supporting team members in advocating for clients who have been marginalized, particularly those who are not U.S. citizens, and is energized by the opportunity to leverage that knowledge and experience for OAD’s continued success and sustainability.
What You Will Do
The Supervising Attorney will serve as the Director of the Non-Citizen Client Project and is a member of the management team who reports to the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge. You will provide guidance, using appropriate leadership models, including our “double-team” model, for representation of OAD’s non-citizen clients in all aspects of post-conviction and appellate work. You will also advise all OAD lawyers on matters relating to immigration law and its intersection with criminal law, including the impact of clients’ criminal convictions on their immigration status and how OAD may ameliorate that impact via appellate and post-conviction advocacy. The successful candidate has a proven track record of supporting team members in advocating for clients who have been marginalized, particularly those who are not U.S. citizens, and is energized by the opportunity to leverage that knowledge and experience for OAD’s continued success and sustainability.
What You Will Do
- Administer OAD’s Non-Citizen Client Project by overseeing case and record intake, establishing and improving internal protocols to maintain OAD’s high standards for client-centered representation of non-citizen clients, and representing OAD in the larger community of immigration and criminal defense advocates.
- Review pertinent criminal and immigration court client records to assess the immigration consequences of client convictions and draft comprehensive analyses to be reviewed by legal staff in furtherance of their representation of non-citizen clients.
- Supervise attorneys on post-conviction advocacy for non-citizen clients, including developing the client relationship and communicating with clients through a trauma-informed lens; conferencing issues and developing strategy in anticipation of post-conviction and appellate litigation; reviewing and revising submissions to be filed in connection with post-conviction and appellate litigation; and providing support for attorneys.
- Consciously create and enhance a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work culture that is supportive, collaborative, and affirming to clients and colleagues by training and mentoring attorneys and law students; providing CLE and training programs for outside defender organizations; and collaborating with leadership to devise and implement big picture organizational goals.
- Represent non-citizen clients in direct appeals, state post-conviction relief, and other advocacy through motion practice and negotiation of immigration-safer dispositions.
