Staff Attorney

IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an opening for a full-time Staff Attorney (40 hours per week) in its Legal Department. IRIS is a refugee resettlement agency providing high quality and culturally sensitive assistance to immigrants and refugees in Connecticut. Our goal is to help immigrants establish new lives, regain hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. IRIS currently serves clients from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Cuba, Sudan, Egypt, and Venezuela, among others.





IRIS’s Legal Department: IRIS offers legal services, among its other services. IRIS’s Legal Department provides representation to: 1) refugees and asylees applying for lawful permanent residence, naturalization, and reunification with family members; 2) immigrants filing for asylum; and 3) immigrants in deportation proceedings. The Legal Department currently consists of four attorneys (both part- and full-time), each of whom covers one or more of the practice areas listed above.



Description of Staff Attorney Position: IRIS is looking for a Staff Attorney who can cover cases in the third category listed above (representation of immigrants in deportation proceedings). The Staff Attorney will represent clients as part of a New Haven-based removal defense project, and will work in coordination with attorneys from peer legal services organizations regularly. The position will require a fair amount of travel. Because Connecticut residents who are picked up by ICE are currently housed in detention facilities in Massachusetts (Bristol and Plymouth County Jails), as well as some in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, the Staff Attorney will need to travel to detention facilities in those areas to meet with clients. When those clients have court dates, the Staff Attorney will need to travel to Boston to represent them in Immigration Court. On all other days, case work can be done remotely, and when it is safe to meet in person, out of IRIS’s office in New Haven, CT. Additionally, the Staff Attorney should be prepared to train other IRIS attorneys to represent individuals in removal proceedings. The Staff Attorney will report to the Director of Immigration Legal Services.



Requirements: The Staff Attorney should be a licensed member of a state bar in good standing, qualified to represent clients in immigration matters. The Staff Attorney shall have a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school. The Staff Attorney must have at least one year of experience representing individuals in removal proceedings; strong advocacy, writing, communication and organizational skills; and ability to handle multiple demands and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment. The Staff Attorney must have a demonstrated commitment to the mission of IRIS and awareness and sensitivity to multicultural issues. Fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred.



Salary and Benefits: This position is salaried at $54,000. Vacation, holidays, sick leave. Medical, dental, vision insurance available. Eligible for pension plan after 1 year of employment.

To apply, send an email to Amy Lynn, humanresources@irisct.org with the following: