ABOUT THE YOUNG CENTER:
The Young Center is dedicated to promoting the best interests—safety and well-being—of unaccompanied and separated immigrant children in the United States. The immediate focus of the Young Center’s work is to serve as Child Advocate (guardian ad litem for children in immigration proceedings) for unaccompanied and separated children pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the 2013 Violence Against Women Act. Our role is to identify and advocate for the best interests of children in federal custody, applying federal and state law and long-recognized principles of the best interests of the child.

Senior Litigation Attorney
Washington, DC

The Senior Litigation Attorney will join the Young Center’s policy team, reporting to the Policy Director, and will oversee our involvement in litigation that challenges policies, practices, or cases that undermine the best interests of immigrant children and youth facing removal from the United States, as well as children and youth who face permanent separation from parents and caregivers who face removal. The Senior Litigation Attorney will identify opportunities to engage in litigation, serve as the point of contact for organizations filing or coordinating litigation, and developing content for submission in cases at the trial and appellate level. The Senior Litigation Attorney will also work closely with the Policy Team in research and developing challenges to policies and proposed regulations, particularly those that impact children’s right to fair proceedings before they are removed from the United States or those that would result in children’s permanent separation from parents and family members who face removal.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Identify opportunities to engage in litigation that impacts the best interests of immigrant children and youth
• Develop strategies and legal arguments
• Conduct legal rarch, speak with impacted individuals and other experts, draft declarations, testimony or legal briefs
• Collaborate with colleagues on the policy, communications, and direct service teams
• Serve as primary point of contact for external organization leading litigation efforts
• Research, draft and submit comments for proposed federal regulations
• Provide trainings and webinars for Young Center staff, supporters and donors
• Develop and maintain system to track involvement in litigation and all related electronic and paper files
• Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
• Juris doctor degree and active licensure in good standing in at least one state, and membership in at least one federal district court
• Prior federal court litigation experience
• Commitment to civil rights litigation
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively
• Creative thinking and problem-solving skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Tech savvy
• Passion, tenacity and optimism for the issues affecting immigrant children and their families
• Proficient in Microsoft Office

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Candidates with four or more years of federal litigation experience preferred
• Spanish language fluency, or fluency in another language frequently spoken by children and families facing removal (e.g., Mandarin, Urdu, Arabic, French)