Based in Portland, Maine, with a satellite office in Lewiston, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) is Maine’s only state-wide immigration legal aid organization. ILAP’s mission is to help low-income immigrants improve their legal status and to work for more just and humane laws and policies affecting immigrants. ILAP’s work includes direct legal services for over 3,000 clients each year; education and outreach to immigrant communities and service providers; and systemic advocacy on local, state, and federal immigration law issues.
ILAP is committed to having a respectful, collaborative, and equitable work environment, with equal opportunity for all employees. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, immigrants, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We believe in building an organization that is reflective of the communities that we serve and is diverse in work background, experience, education, race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, national origin, or sensory, mental, and physical abilities. We believe that having a diverse and equitable organization strengthens our programming and services and advances our organizational values.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
ILAP is seeking a full-time attorney whose primary role is to coordinate and provide legal outreach and information to immigrant communities and other community stakeholders. The attorney will also maintain a small caseload representing clients in their immigration matters. This position requires travel within Maine and occasional evening and weekend hours for outreach events.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Play a leading role in coordinating ILAP’s outreach activities and collaborations with Maine’s immigrant communities, service providers, other partners supporting immigrants, and the general public.
- Serve as ILAP’s primary point of contact for outreach and provide overall coordination for outreach requests received by ILAP, including prioritizing requests and responding to inquiries.
- Develop and deliver outreach presentations for varied audiences both online and in a range of community settings, with a focus on providing legal information to immigrant communities and providing information about ILAP’s work to external audiences.
- Consult with directly impacted immigrant communities and community partners to ensure outreach programming is accessible, effective, reaching new areas, and responsive to evolving community needs.
- Keep abreast of developments in immigration law and policy impacting local communities to ensure that outreach addresses emerging areas of concern.
- Provide brief individualized legal advice and brief assistance at outreach events with immigrant communities and, when appropriate, take appropriate measures to connect individuals with additional legal help including placing them on ILAP internal waitlists, issuing referrals, and more.
- Represent ILAP in coalitions and community meetings and participate in events coordinated by other entities.
- Collaborate with ILAP colleagues who provide outreach in their respective areas of work, centralizing or coordinating efforts when appropriate or necessary to ensure consistency in messaging and written materials, and to avoid duplication of efforts.
- Assist with outreach-related activities at ILAP, including legal clinics and client walk-in hours as needed.
- Create and keep updated outreach and training materials in various formats.
- Maintain a small caseload representing clients in their immigration matters, in collaboration with the rest of ILAP’s legal services team.
- Participate in ILAP legal team meetings; collaborate and share expertise with other ILAP attorneys and legal staff.
- Maintain client data in accordance with ILAP protocols, grant requirements, and ethical obligations.
- Support the evaluation of ILAP’s outreach efforts, including tracking activities and gathering feedback from outreach attendees and community partners.
- Perform such other tasks and assume such other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Co-Legal Director or Executive Director.
QUALIFICATIONS
- J.D. and a member in good standing of any state Bar. Membership to the Maine Bar is an asset.
- A minimum of one year of experience with immigration matters. A minimum of two to five years of immigration law experience, including legal outreach experience, is strongly preferred.
- Have reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license.
- Available to work occasional evening and weekend hours.
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to prepare and deliver presentations, and clearly explain complex legal information to a wide range of audiences in an accessible and engaging manner.
- Good judgment and the ability to work collaboratively with others.
- Strong computer skills including proficiency with Office 365. Experience with Zoom and with leading webinars is an asset.
- Ability to multi-task effectively, including having strong detail-orientation, planning, and organizing skills; and the ability to work well under pressure.
- Demonstrated passion for advancing immigrants’ rights and an ability to work well with individuals from different cultures and with varying levels of English proficiency.
- Fluency in a relevant language, including Spanish, French, or Portuguese, is strongly preferred.
- Personal and professional commitment to racial justice and equity.
