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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Immigration Staff Attorney Position at Tahirih

By providing holistic legal services and engaging in national public policy advocacy, the Tahirih Justice Center (Tahirih) works to promote access to justice in the United States for immigrant women and girls who are fleeing violence. Tahirih is a Bahá'í-inspired non-profit organization that offers pro bono representation to women and girls seeking protection from such gender-based human rights abuses as domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, female genital cutting, honor crimes, and forced marriage. Winner of the 2007 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management, Tahirih has a staff of 29 with offices in Falls Church, VA, Houston, TX and Baltimore, MD (January 2010).

Position Summary: Tahirih is currently seeking to hire a full-time Staff Attorney to represent immigrant and refugee women in gender based asylum cases, claims brought under the Violence Against Women Act, and other related immigration matters, including T and U visas. The ideal candidate will possess foreign language skills and have experience working with female victims of violence from multi-cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the candidate will be detail-oriented, self-motivated, and a team player. S/he must be committed to the promotion of justice for women and girls, and to the foundational values of Tahirih.


Note: This position will be split between our Falls Church, VA main office (3 days per week) and our Baltimore, MD satellite office (2 days per week) with a possibility of increasing time spent in Baltimore.


Primary responsibilities will include:

General

* Conduct intake interviews

* Represent clients before the DHS, Immigration Courts, and BIA

* Train and mentor pro bono attorneys who co-counsel Tahirih cases * Supervise paralegal, and legal and other interns

* Conduct trainings and outreach activities

* Attend coalition meetings and network with like-minded organizations Fundraising

* Contribute to the development of grant proposals and reports

* Occasionally attend meetings with potential funders

* Provide client stories and articles for periodic Tahirih publications

* Generally promote the Center and its work


The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

* Experience representing immigrant women in asylum, VAWA, T visa, and/or U visa cases

* Experience working with female survivors of trauma and those from diverse cultural backgrounds

* Excellent legal analysis, written and oral communication skills

* Admission to any bar, or eligibility for admission to any bar

* Foreign language skills (Spanish preferred)

* Meticulous organizational habits with an ability to manage large amounts of information, establish priorities, and meet deadlines

* Extremely responsible, self-initiating, and focused

* Ability to multitask and work in a fast paced environment with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and personalities.


Annual salary and benefits: Salary ranges from $39,000 to $43,000, depending on experience. Benefits include: 15 days of paid accrued vacation during the first year (20 days of vacation after the first year), additional week of vacation between Christmas and New Years, fully-paid health and dental insurance coverage, 403(b) plan, flex-spending account, in-house training programs, professional development stipend, and staff enrichment retreats.


Submissions: Please email a cover letter, resume, and a list of 3 references to:

Human Resources Department

Tahirih Justice Center

6402 Arlington Blvd, Suite 300

Falls Church, VA 22042


Fax: 571-282-6162

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Community Development Cilinic Fellow at University of Baltimore

The University of Baltimore School of Law invites applications for a fellowship to start on or about July 1, 2010 in the Community Development Clinic (CDC).

This public interest fellowship program offers practicing attorneys exposure to law school clinical teaching. The CDC offers transactional advice and representation to community-based nonprofit groups as well as small businesses headed by low-income entrepreneurs. The Fellow's duties include direct supervision of case work of clinic students and clinic classroom teaching in coordination with clinic faculty. Fellows also pursue professional goals in conjunction with his/her clinic director, including opportunities for scholarship. This position is a contractual appointment for up to two years and can be extended for a third year under certain circumstances.

Qualifications: excellent oral and written communication skills; at least two years of experience, preferably transactional, as a practicing lawyer a strong academic record and/or other indicia of high performance ability; a commitment to work for low income clients and a strong interest in teaching. Fellows must be members of the Maryland Bar in order to supervise law practice by students.

Salary: The current salary is $50,000 year 1; $53,000 year 2. The position includes full benefits, including retirement annuities, research support, and travel allowance. Applications are now being accepted. The deadline for letters of interest and resumes is January 15, 2010.

For a detailed job description position, please view our website at http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=541.

To apply, submit a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to:
Professor James J. Kelly, Jr.
Director, Community Development Clinic
University of Baltimore School of Law
40 W. Chase Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Phone: 410-837-4094; Fax: 410-333-3053
jkelly@ubalt.edu

The University of Baltimore is an equal opportunity employer and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. UB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/ADA Compliant Employer & Title IX Institution. Web: http://www.ubalt.edu/hr.

Fellowship in Family Mediation Clinic at University of Baltimore

The University of Baltimore School of Law invites applications for a Fellowship in its Family Mediation Clinic to start on or about April 1, 2010, although the start date is negotiable.

This public interest fellowship program offers practicing attorneys exposure to law school clinical teaching. The Fellow's duties include direct supervision of clinic students in the Family Mediation Clinic, representing clients who have family mediation issues and clinic classroom teaching in coordination with clinic faculty. Fellows also pursue professional goals in conjunction with his/her clinic director, including opportunities for scholarship. This position is a contractual appointment for up to two years and can be extended for a third year under certain circumstances.

Qualifications: Excellent oral and written communication skills; at least two years of experience as a practicing lawyer including experience in mediation; a strong academic record and/or other indicia of high performance ability; a commitment to work for low income clients and a strong interest in teaching. Qualification as a Child Access Mediator in the Maryland Circuit Court is strongly preferred and the Fellow must be a member of the Maryland Bar.

Salary: The current salary is $50,000 year 1; $53,000 year 2. The position includes full benefits, including retirement annuities, research support, and travel allowance. Applications are now being accepted. The deadline for letters of interest and resumes is February 28, 2010.

For a detailed job description, please view our website at http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=541.

To apply, submit a letter of interest and curriculum vitae to:
Robert Rubinson
Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Education University of Baltimore School of Law
40 W. Chase Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Phone: 410-837-4094; Fax: 410-333-3053
rrubinson@ubalt.edu

The University of Baltimore is an equal opportunity employer and minority candidates are encouraged to apply. UB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/ADA Compliant Employer & Title IX Institution. Web: http://www.ubalt.edu/hr.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Michael Maggio Immigrants' Rights Summer Fellowship

The Michael Maggio Immigrants' Rights Summer Fellowship was established jointly in 2009 by the America Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL), and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIP/NLG), to commemorate the life and legal contributions of Michael Maggio.

The primary mission of the fellowship program is to strengthen law students' long-term commitment to promote justice and equality for vulnerable immigrant groups. Fellows will be chosen by the three sponsoring organizations, and will be selected based on the strength of their proposed host site and project.

Michael Maggio was an extraordinary immigration attorney and individual who was a life-long advocate for justice, equality, and peace. Throughout his career, Michael received countless professional awards and was honored for his extraordinary legal representation, astute strategizing, unwavering commitment to the highest ethical standards, and his deep passion for justice and upholding the rule of law. He was an active member of AILA, the National Lawyers Guild, and served on the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Project. He was also an active supporter of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Michael died in February 2008 after a courageous battle with cancer.

The Maggio Immigrants' Right Fellowship program will select its first recipient in 2009, for summer 2010. One summer fellowship will be awarded to a law student each year.

Please see http://www.maggiofellowship.org/ for application form and additional information. The deadline has been extended to December 31, 2009.

The Fund for Justice and Education Project Fellows Program

During these challenging economic times, the ABA Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs and the ABA Fund for Justice and Education (FJE) have collaborated to create the FJE Project Fellows. The FJE Project Fellows program will provide meaningful volunteer experience for recent law school graduates who may be unemployed, underemployed or deferred and who would like to engage in substantive law-related activities. The experience of volunteering for these public service programs will allow Fellows to build their resumes, work with well-known lawyers and make professional connections, and produce substantive work for the public good. Substantive tasks may include editing newsletters and magazines, conducting research, assisting in planning conferences and panels, and outreach to direct beneficiaries of programs, among others. Fellows will be supervised by the staff director of the project for which they are volunteering. It is anticipated that Fellows will work remotely using their own computers, although it may be possible for Fellows located in Chicago or Washington, D.C. to volunteer in the ABA offices on occasion if space is available.

Prospective Fellows are asked to complete application, indicating preference for one of five categories of substantive public service programs supported through the FJE: 1) Access to Justice; 2) Children and the Law; 3) Public Education; 4) International Justice; and 5) Professionalism and the Profession. Through a matching process coordinated by the FJE with entity staff directors, Fellows will be assigned to a project. Every effort will be made to assign projects that align with stated preferences. To view more about the Fellows Program or the application, click here.