Senior Staff Attorney

This job posting was opened on May 28, 2025. Please note that we will be prioritizing candidates who are current IRC (and recently employed by IRC) staff before other applicants. If necessary, we will extend the opportunity to external candidates.

JOB OVERVIEW:

IRC seeks a Senior Staff Attorney to join the IRC Maryland's Children Legal Services team in Baltimore, Maryland. The Senior Staff Attorney is an experienced immigration, asylum and removal defense lawyer who will support complex core services cases, asylum and removal defense work. The Senior Staff Attorney will bring several years' immigration experience including but not limited to representing asylum seekers, superb legal judgment and legal ethics, an ability to work independently while recognizing the value of collaboration and cross-referencing with other experts, and a passion for this area of work. The position will work in collaboration with community partners and will be part of the Children's Legal Services, led by IRC's Immigration Technical Unit (TU) at IRC's headquarters, which supports IRC's 24 legal service programs across the US.

This is a temporary position until September 30, 2025, with possibility of extension dependent on funding.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Direct Legal Representation

• Conduct legal screenings and consultations with IRC clients and community members.
• Provide direct legal representation on affirmative asylum and/or removal defense cases before USCIS and/or EOIR respectively, including on various forms of immigration relief such as asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, VAWA, U-visa, T-visa, etc. and on other immigration cases as needed.
• Provide direct representation and appear in state court for unaccompanied children released to sponsors in Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, and Baltimore City County, Montgomery, Prince George's County, Howard, Anne Arundel counties.
• Coordinate closely within IRC's multidisciplinary teams to identify client legal needs and facilitate referrals to services offered in-house and through partnerships with external providers.
• Ensure client and program data is collected consistently, managed appropriately, and reported accurately in accordance with program reporting requirements set by IRC.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise of changing asylum and immigration policies through independent research and analysis, regular trainings, local coalitions/listservs of legal advocates, and peer-to-peer consultation.
• Conduct trainings for IRC staff and/or externally as needed.
• Work collaboratively as part of the Baltimore ILS team.
• Participate in community-based coalitions related to immigrant rights.
• Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.
• Maintain strict client confidentiality and observe all ethical practices/obligations as outlined in IRC's Immigration Program Policies Manual.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervision of legal assistant and supervision or mentorship of staff attorney(s).

Community Partnerships and Workshops

• Create and maintain a viable outreach strategy to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with community-based organizations, local immigration attorneys, and nonprofit legal providers to support effective group legal assistance clinics.
• Collaborate with other IRC departments and partners to offer community-based workshops or information sessions when demand exceeds capacity to provide direct legal representation.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Position Reports to: Managing Attorney

Position Directly Supervises:Staff Attorney(s), Legal Assistant or DOJ accredited representative

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Law degree (JD or LLM) from an ABA-accredited U.S. institution and admission to any state bar, with Maryland license required.
• Seek Maryland bar license within one year of hire, if not already licensed in Maryland.
• At least 3 years' experience providing direct representation in immigration court and/or before USCIS to asylum applicants and other immigrants seeking humanitarian relief;, Preference will be given for applicants with experience representing unaccompanied minors before EOIR, USCIS, and handling state predicate orders for unaccompanied minors.
• Excellent research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills, and excellent legal judgment.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally in a courtroom setting and in writing.
• Bilingual in one or more languages of the survivor population preferred (eg., Spanish, French, Arabic).
• Evidence of capacity to be a strong team member in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary environment.
• Deep commitment to immigrant rights and working with humanitarian immigrants.
• Trauma-informed and sensitive listening and communication skills.
• Personal integrity in handling ethically complex and confidential situations.
• Strong computer literacy, research, and analysis skills.

Working Environment:

• Standard office environment with occasional participation in community outreach andlegal assistance events.
• Will be required to travel to IRC Silver Spring Office frequently.
• May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
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