POSITION TITLE: Senior Attorney
REPORTS TO: Legal Director
HOURS: Full Time
WORKSITE: Lincoln or Omaha, Nebraska
COMPENSATION Salary of $85,000 – $95,000, dependent on experience
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Unlimited paid time off (including employee birthday); 9 paid holidays with year-end holiday break
Medical, dental, vision, life, and AD&D insurance; 403b retirement plan with an automatic 5% contribution; and FMLA
Employee Wellness Program (including enriching snacks, support groups, and engaging activities)
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) (includes life event referral program, 5 free counseling sessions, financial and legal resources, and employee discount/savings program)
Yearly stipends for employee development opportunities
Relocation assistance; travel and expense reimbursement
ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION
At the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement (CIRA), we see strength in every story. We are Nebraska and Southwest Iowa's leading immigration legal services provider and refugee resettlement agency, built on the foundation that every person - regardless of their country of origin or immigration background - deserves dignity, belonging, and opportunity.
Through high-quality legal representation, resettlement services, social work, education, and advocacy, we meet the complex and evolving needs of our immigrant and refugee communities. Our expert team supports complex needs with one shared goal: empowering our clients to forge better lives, resulting in stronger communities for all of us.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
A Senior Attorney is an integral part of CIRA’s legal department. Senior Attorneys do not supervise direct reports, but they are expected to cultivate expertise in a particular subject matter area and/or manage a particular project or program, in addition to working a direct service caseload. Senior Attorneys are leaders within the Legal Department by virtue of their advanced practice experience in one or more areas of immigration law, their institutional knowledge and influence, and/or their assumption of responsibility for an organizational project. Each Senior Attorney develops a particular focus of their position in consultation with CIRA’s legal directors.
For the Immigration Medical-Legal Partnerships (IMLP) Senior Attorney, this includes collaborating with Legal Team leaders to identify trends in patient referrals, develop consistent legal analysis and strategies, and strengthen service delivery. The IMLP Senior Attorney is also expected to identify broader needs and opportunities beyond individual cases and proactively collaborate with other CIRA departments to develop creative, coordinated approaches to serving IMLP patients holistically. The core functions of the Senior Attorney position, detailed below, are 1) direct legal representation; and 2) project management of subject matter expertise.
CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION
Direct Representation Balance a full direct-service caseload with independent responsibility for managing and advancing the Immigration Medical-Legal Partnerships (IMLP), including managing project priorities and strengthening external partnerships.
Provide high-quality legal screening, advice, and representation to patients referred through CIRA’s IMLPs, ensuring timely case progression, diligent representation, and clear, prompt, and candid legal guidance; including when no viable form of immigration relief is available or available options are limited or difficult to pursue.
Represent clients before Nebraska state courts; the Omaha Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other U.S. Department of Homeland Security subagencies; the U.S. Department of State; and potentially United States District Courts and Courts of Appeal.
Prioritize direct representation work that corresponds with the attorney’s area of subject matter…