Staff Attorney, Children & Youth

Description

Who We Are

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley (“Law Foundation”) is dedicated to advancing the rights of historically excluded individuals and families throughout Santa Clara County. Through our legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach, we empower over 15,000 individuals and families each year. Our Housing, Children & Youth, Health and Pro Bono Programs use legal advocacy as a catalyst for social change, creating innovative solutions to the legal challenges facing low-income communities in our region. With a dedicated team of over 75 employees, we are the largest provider of free legal services in the South Bay region of the Bay Area. Learn more at https://www.lawfoundation.org.

The Opportunity

We are excited to offer an opportunity for a Staff Attorney to join our Children & Youth program at the Law Foundation. The Children & Youth program provides free and confidential legal assistance to children and youth in juvenile dependency, family law, probate guardianship, immigration, education matters, and numerous other practice areas; advocacy to improve court and community systems designed to protect and promote child welfare; and workshops to educate youth, parents, caregivers and members of the community about issues impacting child welfare and legal rights.

In this role, you’ll focus on affirmative immigration relief for children and youth, especially Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), partnering with a Children & Youth social worker to meet each client’s needs.

What You’ll Do

As Staff Attorney you will:

1. Provide full-scope representation and advocacy to children and youth under 25 seeking affirmative immigration relief, with a focus on SIJS
2. Advocate for clients in state probate and family court hearings and before USCIS
3. Partner with a Children & Youth social worker to assess and address client needs
4. Participate in regular Children & Youth team meetings, staff meetings, and program development activities
5. Draft and file pleadings, briefs, and motions
6. Handle case management tasks, including data entry, filing, copying, and service of notices
7. Track time in our data management system
8. Meet clients where they are, including at our office, at school, and in their homes
9. Support the Children & Youth Directing Attorney and Supervising Attorney as needed
10. Collaborate across teams to deliver seamless, people-centered services

Requirements

• Current member in good standing with the California State Bar
• Prior experience in immigration law
• Be able to work independently, manage multiple clients and deadlines, and make sound legal decisions in high-pressure situations
• Ability to travel within Santa Clara County to court hearings, USCIS interviews, schools, client homes, and other off-site meetings
• Ability to perform the essential functions of the position, including use of standard office equipment, with or without reasonable accommodation
• Spanish language proficiency
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 or similar, with openness to learning new tools

Who You Are

You’ll thrive in this role if you bring:

• A strong commitment to providing high-quality legal representation to children and youth
• A demonstrated commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and belonging, and an understanding of how race and other intersecting identities shape our work and the systems impacting our clients
• A trauma-informed approach to legal practice and work sensitively with minors who have experienced trauma
• Strong verbal, written, interpersonal, and organizational skills, including interviewing and client communication
• Excellent judgment and the ability to manage multiple clients, deadlines, and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Alignment with the mission and values of the Law Foundation
• Comfort working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and across departments

You’ll especially stand out if you have:

• 3 or more years in immigration law practice
• Experience in courtroom advocacy
• Experience working with individuals from multiethnic communities and/or underserved communities

Don’t meet every qualification listed above? We still encourage you to apply. We know great advocates come from many different paths.

What We Offer

This is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to a Supervising Attorney. The annual salary range for this role is $82,000.00 to $110,000.00, determined by the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between SEIU Local 521 and Law Foundation.

We are committed to supporting the well-being, growth, and professional development of our team members. To that end, we offer a comprehensive and competitive benefit package, which includes:

• 19 paid holidays per year
• 3-5 weeks of vacation per year
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Up to 6 months of parental leave
• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums
• Free/discounted mental health therapy and wellness services for employees and their dependents through our Employee Assistance Program
• A 401(k)-retirement plan with employer contributions
• A sabbatical after 5 years of employment
• An additional monthly stipend for those who are bilingual and utilize their language abilities in the course of their job
• An annual budget for professional development
• Employer paid CA Bar license and/or social work license fees
• The flexibility to work a hybrid schedule
• An office building that offers a fully equipped gym, outdoor terrace, convenient on-site parking, bike storage, lounge areas, and 24/7 security

Workplace Expectations

The Law Foundation is a hybrid workplace. Please note that you may be expected to work in our San Jose office a minimum of 2 days/week.

Employees must be California State residents. Due to logistical challenges regarding taxes, insurance, and time zones, we are not able to consider staff in other states at this time.

Working At Law Foundation

The Law Foundation is a unionized workplace, and members of the bargaining unit are represented by SEIU Local 521. This position is part of the bargaining unit.

We are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace centered on equity, and to creating an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for our staff, volunteers, clients, and partners. We continually work to strengthen our communications, community engagement, systems, and office culture so that differences are acknowledged and valued.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

Application Process

We aim for the application process to be fair, reasonable, and prompt. We will review applications on a rolling basis starting on October 15, 2026 until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please note that our interview process includes interviewing by phone, video, and/or in-person.

Application materials must include:

• A cover letter that addresses the following: How has your personal background or experiences, professional or otherwise, prepared you to contribute to social justice, race equity and diversity among our staff?
• A resume
• Contact information for three professional references. We will always ask for your consent and inform you before contacting any of your references.

If you need a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process, please contact hiring@lawfoundation.org.

If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to join a team that values people, trust, accountability, creativity, joy, and fun, we’d love to hear from you!

Equal Opportunity Employment

The Law Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage people of color, womxn, people living with disabilities, older people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to apply. It is the policy of the Law Foundation to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, reproductive health decision-making, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, prior contact with the criminal legal system, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. The Law Foundation will conform to the spirit, as well as the letter, of all applicable laws and regulations.

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.

ADA Accessible Facility - Equal Opportunity Employer - Drug-Free Workplace