Position Announcement

BILINGUAL STAFF ATTORNEY
Moses Lake, Washington

Organizational Mission

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) promotes justice for low-income immigrants by pursuing and defending their legal status. We focus on providing direct legal services, supported by our education and public policy work.

Background

NWIRP is an exciting and dynamic nonprofit immigrant rights organization that has been in operation for more than 25 years. NWIRP provides services at four sites in Washington State: Moses Lake, Seattle, Granger, and Tacoma (serving the Northwest Detention Center).

Moses Lake is a city of approximately 18,000 located in rural central eastern Washington (Grant County) about 100 miles west of Spokane. This office serves clients from Central and Eastern Washington, providing high quality immigration legal services in the areas of removal defense, protections for victims of domestic violence and other crimes (VAWA self-petitions, U visas), family visa petitions, citizenship, special immigrant juvenile status, asylum and others.

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide direct representation to clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the federal courts.
• Manage a substantial caseload in various areas of immigration law.
• Work as part of a team of advocates in their representation of clients, including being available to assist other advocates with legal research and case preparation.
• Respond to requests for information and legal advice from callers and "walk-ins."
• Participate in outreach to the community and to service providers.
Professional Qualifications, Experience and Attributes

Required:
• Law degree and bar admission from any U.S. jurisdiction.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Fluency in both spoken and written Spanish and English mandatory.
• Commitment to working in a diverse and challenging environment.
• Commitment to advancing and defending the legal rights of low-income immigrants and refugees.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with other advocates and client groups.
• Comfortable in a small but busy office environment.
• Willingness to live in the Moses Lake area and ability to travel regularly to represent clients at government offices in Seattle, Yakima, and Spokane.

Compensation: Salary $43k + DOE and benefits package.

To Apply: Please send a resume and cover letter, addressing why you would like to work for NWIRP and how your qualifications best suit the position. Please also include a list of references.

Applications received by January 31, 2010 will receive full consideration. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

How to submit materials:

Preferred by email: hr@nwirp.org / Include "Moses Lakes" in the subject line.

Or by mail: Jennifer N. Brown
NWIRP
615 2nd Ave, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98104-2244

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. It is the policy of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination. NWIRP is committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. NWIRP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, political ideology, age, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical handicap.

We encourage applications from people of color, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, members of the LGBT community and other minority groups.