Legal Assistant (Immigration Law Office)

Immigrant Defenders Law Center (“ImmDef”) is a next-generation, social justice law firm that provides high-quality representation and legal services to immigrants in Southern California and beyond. ImmDef was founded with the belief that no immigrant should be forced to face an unjust immigration system alone and our universal representation programs are a first step towards that goal. Learn more about us at www.immdef.org.

ImmDef is currently seeking a full-time legal assistant to join our team of fearless advocates providing creative and zealous representation to our clients. Legal Assistants will be joining the largest non-profit, universal representation model deportation defense team in the state of California.

Our staff work collaboratively within our team of managing and directing attorneys, staff attorneys, paralegals, administrative support staff and case managers to provide client-centered, holistic representation.

Essential Functions:

• Collaborating with other staff, teams, departments, ImmDef attorneys, and external partner organizations to provide legal and logistical, and in-office support;
• Review and file legal documents in immigration and state courts, and with USCIS;
• Answering phone calls from ImmDef clients and community members;
• Planning and scheduling meetings for clients and legal staff;
• Assisting with new client representation initiation and intake;
• Collecting client information to update case management databases and draft legal forms;
• Assisting clients with gathering documents to support applications for immigration benefits;
• Frequent maintenance of external and internal databases;
• Maintaining updated paper and electronic client files according to ImmDef protocols;
• Cataloguing and maintaining ImmDef’s filing system;
• Archiving client files according to ImmDef protocols;
• Sending, receiving, processing, and filing correspondence;
• Perform other clerical duties such as filing, photocopying, scanning, faxing, maintaining spreadsheets, updating case data, etc.;
• Acting as backup Receptionist: Fielding telephone calls from ImmDef clients, partner organizations, and other members of the community; Maintaining and monitoring client waiting areas as needed; Greeting and direct visitors, making them feel welcomed and respected at all times;
• Provide Spanish to English and English to Spanish interpretation, translation of documents and communication assistance for clients as needed;
• Other duties as assigned by the Administrative Coordinator and ImmDef leadership.

Desired Qualifications:

• High School Degree or GED is required, Bachelor’s degree is preferred;
• Experience working at a nonprofit or a public interest law firm is helpful;
• Demonstrated ability to work within a high-volume, busy law office is a plus;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both English and Spanish;
• Passion and enthusiasm for providing high quality client services;
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail;
• Ability to take initiative and problem-solving skills;
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point;
• Minimum typing speed of 40 words per minute;
• Enthusiasm for working at a mission driven organization and passion for social justice for immigrants required;
• DACA Recipients strongly encouraged to apply!

Level of Language Proficiency

• Spanish fluency is required and will be tested at time of interview.

Must submit Cover Letter to be considered. ImmDef is currently recruiting paralegals to work within several programs. If you have a preference as to which program you would like to be considered for, please indicate this in your cover letter. You can learn more about our programs at www.immdef.org.

This position is part of the ImmDef employee union bargaining unit.

Schedule:

• ImmDef’s standard work schedule is 35 hours per week, or 70 hours per pay period.
• Legal Assistants are generally required to work on-site Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, but may be approved for a flexible schedule after completing new-hire probation.
• Flexible scheduling options include compressed schedules that allow staff in this position to take up to one day off per week without needing to use paid time off.

Holidays and Paid Time Off :

• 13 paid holidays
• 1-Week paid winter break between Christmas and New Years
• 15 vacation days per year
• 15 Sick Days per year

Health, Dental and Vision Insurance:

• ImmDef provides health coverage on the first of the month following 30 days on the job.
• We cover 100% of premiums for our base dental and vision plans for our staff members and 75% of base plan dental and vision premiums for their dependents. ImmDef also covers 89% of the base plan medical premiums for our staff and 69% of the base plan medical premiums for their dependents.

FSA and Dependent Care FSA:

• ImmDef offers FSA plans to help offset the costs of eligible health care expenses for you, your spouse, and your eligible dependents using pre-tax dollars
• We also offer Dependent Care FSA to pay for eligible dependent care services, such as preschool, summer day camp, before or after school programs, and child or adult daycare.
• Eligible for Parental Leave which includes six (6) weeks of ImmDef paid leave.

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan & Employer Matching:

• ImmDef staff are eligible to enroll in our 401(k) plans immediately upon hire, contributing pre-tax dollars towards their retirement goals
• After six months on staff, ImmDef will match 100% of contributions up to 3% of the employee’s salary
• Funds are vested immediately!

Public Service Loan Forgiveness:

• As a 501(c)3, full-time ImmDef staff with qualifying student loans are eligible for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Parking and Public Transportation Stipends:

• Staff members assigned to an office without free on-site parking are eligible to receive a parking stipend of up to $105 per month in actual accrued parking or transportation costs.
• Staff in all offices are eligible to receive a public transportation stipend of up to $100 per month in actual accrued public transportation costs.

Join Team ImmDef!

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply for a position fighting for our immigrant communities!