Senior Associate Attorney

SENIOR ASSOCIATE – MANAGING ATTORNEY
FOR CRIMMIGRATION™ (CRIMINAL DEFENSE + IMMIGRATION) LAW FIRM

* Only those who pay attention to specific application instructions will receive response.*

Requires J.D. licensed in Georgia + 6-12 years of prior experience in criminal defense and/or immigration (removal defense / family-based).

FIRM OVERVIEW

We are an Atlanta-based CrImmigration (immigration + criminal defense) law firm 100% committed to the defense of non-U.S. citizens. Our clients face a pending criminal matter, deportation, or wish to pursue a family-based immigration status opportunity. Our reputation was built on a clear long-term vision, our core principles, and our mission together as a team.

There is a better way to treat people, regardless of where they were born, mistakes they have made, or on which side of the border they live today

Core Values:*

• We change the narrative and fight negative stereotypes.
• We see you at eye-level, with respect and without judgment.
• We bridge the gaps between us.
• We don’t take “no” for an answer.

*Internal Team Values:

• We welcome and plan for change.
• We aren’t afraid to fail; we just don’t fail the same way twice.
• When we are our best selves, we do our best work.
• Continuous attention to adding value in the client experience enhances trust in the law and client empowerment. (code of conduct)
• We are personable, yet always professional.
• We support one another with whatever it takes to best serve our clients.
• We’re agile.
• We believe our ability to quickly respond to change is a source of improvement for our clients and a competitive advantage.

What We Believe:

• We believe you are so much more than the worst thing you (may) have done.
• We believe that no human being is illegal…and that you are not an outsider.
• We believe that where there’s human will, there’s a way…and there’s a better way together.
• We believe in knowing our neighbors.
• We believe in celebrating holidays, births, weddings and graduations with family near and far, old and new.
• We believe kids should be driven to school by their parents and know they’ll be there when they get home.
• We believe that your spirit is the American spirit.
• We believe that living doesn’t happen in the shadows…and that it’s time to step into the light.

Our Mission:

At STERN Law, we relentlessly defend your American Dream. The government will try its best to detain or deport those it considers unworthy. But when you decide to stand up and show the world what you’re made of, we fight proudly to secure your permanent place here in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN THE TEAM

Careers at STERN Law are team-oriented and provide the opportunity for professional growth, success and satisfaction knowing that we provide client-centered representation and help our clients to be free and remain with their families. We are expanding our reach to now help more people, and need a committed Senior Associate / Managing Attorney for our team.

Senior Associate / Managing Attorney is responsible for: legal and management operations consistent with the Firm’s mission and values; overseeing the activities, systems and caseload production of the Legal Team (Paralegal, Legal Assistants and any Jr Associates); playing a key role in managing the client relationship. Includes:

• understanding the many nuances of CrImmigration law;
• fully managing legal team (associate attorney(s), paralegals, and legal assistants);
• setting client and case strategy;
• overseeing and affirming caseload production and targets;
• occasionally meeting potential new clients (PNC) for strategic immigration consultations;
• client counseling and explanation of strategy/expectations;
• drafting, reviewing and finalizing legal motions and petitions;
• complex criminal and immigration court litigation;
• representation at complex client USCIS interviews;
• preparing strategy and clients/witnesses for court/USCIS testimony;
• communicating with third parties, courts, and opposing counsel, delegating to Legal Team when appropriate;
• managing court and USCIS interview calendar;
• updating clients with important legal developments;
• producing complex legal work
• supervising document flow and case/project management;
• updating Owner on weekly basis of caseload priorities;
• supervising all legal duties that lead to conclusion of the case;
• Anticipating and mitigating potential legal problems within the law firm or for a client — and developing strategies to avoid costly litigation and reduce potential areas of risk
• Synthesizing legal research and analysis into a coherent written memorandum or brief for submission to a client, court or arbitrator;
• Analyzing and summarizing complicated legal documents, including contracts, and suggesting alterations to those documents;
• Negotiating with opposing counsel on legal issues, including settlement conferences;
• anticipating new issues and potential for new business with existing clients;
• networking as strategized with Owner;
• team case production incentives;
• creating and proposing new or amended workflow policies and procedures;
• attracting quality clients.

It is required to demonstrate good judgment, the ability to prioritize your activities with minimal supervision to meet deadlines, and coordinate cheerfully with your fellow team members to get the job done. We do not accept anything that gets in the way of doing our best work by serving our clients with compassion and quality. Everyone on our team has a professional decorum with a good sense of humor. We take our work very seriously, but not ourselves. We like to have fun and we want our Senior Associate to feel his or her job is pretty great, too!

The candidate we seek has the intelligence, imagination, and experience to “see around corners,” with thick-enough-skin not to take constructive criticism personally. Absolutely no “toxic” personalities are permitted onto our team. This is to protect the sanity of all the members of the team and our clients, too. If you are the right candidate this should come as welcome news to you! We are looking for a long-term relationship with the right candidate. At this law firm we like to work hard, get the job done and then enjoy having life outside of the office as our reward. Not the other way around. While we encourage hard work and show our appreciation regularly, we do not want a candidate who requires constant, outside validation for happiness or fulfillment.

We want someone with an above-average ability to learn and adapt as our business grows and takes on new dimensions. The successful candidate should know how to “get things done” with minimal supervision and doesn’t watch the clock. . .ever! In fact, we’d love to find the pro-active individual who can see the big picture and then make recommendations for all of the nitty-gritty details to make things better instead of waiting around for instructions. Your compensation will be positively-affected by your willingness and ability to think outside the box and effectively identify opportunities, propose, and then execute solutions to increase the number of clients we can serve. This may include investing your own time to learn and remain familiar with our business and how our potential clients interact with it. The person we are looking for understands that law firms must bill our clients in order for any of us (including you) to get paid, and will be enthusiastic about being sure this critical function of our business gets the attention it deserves, on a timely-basis and is done accurately.

Part of your job descriptions is also to be patient with our growing pains. This can be the best job you ever had or the most frustrating depending on your flexibility, team-spirit, commitment to our mission, and your realistic expectations about what it is like to work in a fast-paced, growing law firm. This is a full-time position but with flexibility and freedom earned by demonstrating that you know how to get things done. You need to run to the doctor, take care of some personal business, or even go out of town for a family emergency on short notice? No problem, so long as you take responsibility for things getting done. This is a double-edged-sword for slackers but we imagine great success for the right candidate.

Required qualities of who we want for this job:

• Juris Doctorate Degree;
• Admitted to the Georgia Bar (employer willing to await bar results for out-of-state candidates)
• 6-12 years of experience in criminal defense and/or immigration (removal defense/family-based) law firm or organization;
• 2 years of experience managing a team, department, and/or large caseload/project production
• Legal Training experience (trial/case advocacy; client relationship management; project management);
• brains, creativity, and integrity;
• attention to detail;
• clarity on what motivates you and how to identify what motivates others;
• strong communication skills, both oral and written;
• enjoyment from helping people figure out what problems they have that we can solve.
• You know how to use: a Mac computer, an online calendar, Word, or Excel, or Outlook mail, and some type of case management software (and we mean know more than how to open the program);
• love of clear procedures and protocols;
• Professional mindset and utmost discretion;
• understanding of why it’s important to have a responsible, knowledgeable and caring attorney and the value associated with it;
• can greet clients with a sincere and warm smile, even on your “bad days;”
• can see how our mission as a firm will help you achieve your personal goals & those who you manage;
• Available to put in the work that’s needed and do what it takes. Thinks about how to lighten the load on the Owner. Rare evenings and weekends may be required.
• Non-smoker.
• United States work authorization
• Excellent references (yes, we actually do check).

Bonus experiences you might have:

• Bilingual in Spanish with written and oral fluency
• CrImmigration litigation experience
• Law firm operational and management experience

Benefits include:

• Average salary: $95,000 – $120,000/year with performance comp plus bonus potential
• Direct face-to-face work with some of the best clients in the U.S.A (really, they are awesome!)

• Appreciation for work-life balance and team culture
• Being a big fish in a small pond
• Being on the cutting edge of shaping legal industry and quality of client representation
• (7) Paid court holidays
• Paid Time Off will accrue as three (4) weeks (20 working days) of leave per year
• Group health insurance
• Vested retirement benefits
• Particularized and cutting-edge training

Hours Full-time, exempt position of avg 50 hours per week. Occasional nights/weekends as re

TO APPLY: Send an email to jessica@sternlawfirm.us with your last name written backwards in the subject line with the title of the position, and attach your resume in .pdf format.