Legal Assistant

The Legal Assistant supports legal practitioners in providing immigration legal services including naturalization, adjustment of status, and family reunification. The role involves client interaction, document preparation, case management, and community outreach under supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide clients with information on immigration benefits before USCIS, work with clients to gather documents, and assist clients to complete applications under supervision.
• Respond to inquiries from clients regarding case status and submit inquiries on case status to USCIS and Department of State (DOS).
• Process correspondence from USCIS and DOS, including notifying clients, assisting clients to prepare responses to notices or evidence requests as appropriate, and following up with relevant parties.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date physical and electronic files and detailed case notes, enter required data in a timely manner, meet all case reporting requirements within established timelines and standards, and assist in the completion of statistical, narrative, and financial reports.
• Represent IRC with clients, community members, and partners by receiving and returning phone calls and emails, scheduling appointments, supporting events (including group processing events), and conducting outreach for legal services.
• Maintain strict client confidentiality and observe all other ethical practices/obligations as outlined in IRC’s Immigration Program Policies Manual.
• Participate in all required trainings and webinars relevant to the job description.
• Manage intern and volunteer support as needed.

Requirements

• Degree in relevant field, or equivalent professional and/or lived experience.
• Demonstrated success working and communicating effectively in a multi-cultural environment and with Limited English Proficient people.
• Able to work effectively in a team environment, as well as take independent initiative.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook) and comfortable utilizing online software and programs.
• Excellent communication skills with proficiency in written and spoken English and professional proficiency in Spanish is required.
• Demonstrated dedication to immigrant rights, social justice, and/or human rights based on work experience, volunteer service, or educational activities.
• Commitment to anti-racism and ongoing learning.
• Previous experience with immigration legal or social services is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with immigration software and experience with data entry and management are a plus.
• Community-based outreach and/or work promoting immigrant rights experience is preferred.

Skills

• Immigration Legal Services
• Client Interaction
• Document Preparation
• Case Management
• Community Outreach
• Data Entry
• Data Management
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• Microsoft Outlook
• Immigration Software
• Written Communication
• Spoken Communication
• Bilingual Communication English Spanish
• Organizational Skills
• Attention to Detail
• Multicultural Communication
• Social Justice
• Human Rights Knowledge

Languages

English, Spanish