Legal Advocate at National Legal Aid & Defender Association

Position Description

Legal Advocate - WA MASS Unit

Full-Time, Non-Exempt

Granger, WA

https://nwirp.org/join/jobs-internships/

Summary

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) seeks a full-time bilingual Legal Advocate to work in our WA MASS unit as part of our Granger, WA office. Applicants must be fluent in English and another language, with preference for Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Somali, or Russian. The applicant must be able to start the position by November 15, 2025. A minimum two-year commitment to the position is expected.

As a legal advocate under supervision of an attorney, you will work closely with other staff members across NWIRP’s four offices and community partners in Washington State, providing individual consultations and direct representation to members of immigrant communities in Washington State through various forms of immigration protection, including asylum relief.

Initially, you will be joining NWIRP’s WAMASS Unit focusing on providing legal assistance through comprehensive intakes and in some cases providing brief services to immigrant community members who have recently arrived in Washington State and are facing deportation proceedings.

About Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Founded in 1984, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a nationally-recognized legal services organization on the front lines of defending and advancing the rights of immigrants. With over 180 employees, NWIRP provides direct legal representation and assistance in immigration matters to thousands of people with low incomes who come from over 150 countries and speak over 60 different languages.

NWIRP challenges unjust policies through high-impact lawsuits and advocates for laws and policies that respect the rights of immigrants. NWIRP is also a trusted provider of immigration-related community education for immigrant communities and social service providers. NWIRP serves the community through four offices in Washington State (Granger, Seattle, Tacoma and Wenatchee), but the impact of our work is felt nationwide.

NWIRP’s WAMASS Unit is an organization-wide unit that conducts comprehensive intakes with the purpose of providing limited legal representation to newly arrived migrants through the Washington Migrant and Asylum Seeker Support program or WAMASS program. WAMASS is a universal services model comprised of case management, housing, and legal services that include accessible legal-clinics, consultations, and brief services to immigrant community members who are facing deportation. NWIRP’s brief services include intakes and consultations.

Responsibilities

Legal advocates are expected to:

Under Attorney Supervision

Conduct intakes, by phone and in person, and interview clients to gather or clarify information;

Assist in conducting case analysis to determine eligibility for immigration protections/status under the immigration laws;

Assist in providing consultations and direct representation, preparing and submitting immigration forms and supporting documents to immigration courts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or other immigration agencies;

Assist in providing pro se assistance, community outreach and education, as directed;

Maintain a working knowledge of significant policies, laws, practices, and trends in immigration law, particularly as it impacts low-income immigrants and those impacted by the criminal justice system;

Establish, organize, and maintain files up to date;

Translate documents;

Perform data entry regarding the services provided to clients, including the preparation of monthly status reports;

Perform administrative tasks related to grant reporting, such as timekeeping, submitting timesheets, tracking training, and other duties in a timely manner;

Participate in NWIRP’s outreach, community education and development efforts; and

Perform other tasks and responsibilities assigned by supervisory staff depending upon NWIRP’s needs.

Specific To This Position

Under supervision of an attorney:

Provide intakes to community members referred to NWIRP through the Washington Migrant and Asylum Seeker Services (WA MASS) Hub or who connect directly through NWIRP;

Provide brief legal services (Pro se assistance);

Provide referrals to other legal services organizations; and

Assist in providing intakes, consultations, and brief legal services to community members at monthly clinics. Assisting with the provision of monthly clinics requires travel to other NWIRP offices and community partner offices in Washington State.

Benefits And Compensation

This is a non-exempt, hourly position, and the minimum pay rate for candidates with no experience is $38.01 per hour (approx. $69,192.64 annually). Compensation increases based on years of directly relevant experience. For example, candidates with 10 years of relevant experience will earn $44.54 per hour (approx. $81,068.80 annually), while candidates with 20 years of experience will earn $50.88 per hour (approx. $92,604.95 annually). The maximum pay for this role is currently $64.07 per hour (approx. $117,555.19 annually), for 40 years of experience.

Benefits

NWIRP is proud to be a unionized employer, and this full-time position is covered by NWIRP’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. NWIRP offers a generous benefits package, including:

Fully paid health, vision and dental plans for employee-level coverage with employer-funded HRA and HSA options;

FSA and Dependent Care accounts;

Automatic, employer contribution of 3% to 403(b) retirement plan;

Generous paid health-related leave (12 days per year);

Generous paid vacation (16 days during your first year);

12 weeks of paid parental leave after 6 months of employment, plus the ability to extend with State-paid leave;

14 paid Holidays with the ability to float 5 holidays;

Employer-paid disability, life, AD&D and long-term care insurance;

4 weeks of paid sabbatical after every five years of employment at NWIRP;

Eligibility to earn compensatory time;

Opportunities for paid professional development;

New employees may be eligible for a relocation bonus, per the CBA; and

Free onsite parking at the Granger office.

NWIRP is an eligible employer under the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Reports To

Supervising Attorney