The Pacific Northwest is calling! The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) seeks a Directing Attorney for its Granger Office. NWIRP promotes justice for low-income immigrants by pursuing and defending their legal status. We focus on providing direct legal services, supported by our education and public policy work.

NWIRP is an exciting and dynamic nonprofit immigrant rights organization that has been in operation for more than 27 years. NWIRP provides services at four sites in Washington State: Seattle, Granger, Moses Lake and Tacoma (serving the Northwest Detention Center).  NWIRP’s Granger Office is located in Granger, WA, a city of more than 3,000 people located in a rural area 25 miles southeast of Yakima.  From this location, the office serves clients from across Central and Eastern Washington.  The office currently has a staff of eight and serves a client base consisting largely of farmworkers and their families.

Basic responsibilities: Oversee and supervise operations of NWIRP’s Granger office. Provide mentoring, support and supervision to attorneys, accredited representatives and legal advocates in the office.  Maintain own caseload of immigration matters.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks an Attorney Advisor to perform attorney services for the various realty functions and activities of the district such as real property condemnation matters in Fort Worth, Texas.  If determined condemnation is necessary for title defects, the staff attorney will prepare the attorney’s opinion and the required pleadings, witnesses and court exhibits; attend pre-trial hearings and trials; participate in negotiations for settlement and recommend settlements. He or she will be responsible for preparing complex deeds of conveyance and donation involving large sums of money and affecting large segments of public and private interests.

The attorney will be designated closing attorney and make payments for land or interest therein. He or she will examine title certificates for compliance with contract terms. Uses judgment to determine what documents are necessary to cure outstanding title defects which requires extensive research and analysis of complex factual and legal issues. The attorney advisor will prepare and present orally and in writing, legal opinions, advice and guidance to District contracting officers and their representatives in regard to matters of procurement law in connection with construction supply, services and architect-engineer contracts.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking a paid summer intern! The CPSC is an independent federal regulatory agency charged with protecting the public against unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with consumer products.

The agency enforces the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, among others. The Office of General Counsel consists of four divisions: Compliance, General Law, Regulatory Affairs, and Enforcement and Information. The Legal Intern would perform work for each of those divisions. Depending on the division, duties include conducting legal research, drafting letters, memoranda, and regulations, and assisting in investigations and case development.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) is seeking applications for a staff attorney in its Environmental Justice Program. NYLPI approaches its work from a community lawyering perspective and the position will include legal, policy, and administrative advocacy, as well as community organizing and coalition-building.

The Environmental Justice Program takes on issues ranging from the overburdening of low-income communities of color with garbage facilities, to the presence of dangerous toxins in public schools, to environmentally just community development. The attorney will take on existing advocacy and have ample opportunity to lead and collaborate upon new campaigns.

NYLPI pioneered the practice of community lawyering in the five boroughs of New York City. With every case and every campaign, we continue to elaborate an approach to working with marginalized communities that is ambitious, participatory, and dynamic. Our work draws on a range of strengths: community trust; proficient organizing; media savvy; effective legislative advocacy; and bold, creative approaches to litigation. The attorney will work both independently and in collaboration with other attorneys, community organizers, and media and lobbying consultants.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

FYI–NYLPI is also hiring staff attorneys for its health justice, disability rights, and education and disability rights programs.  Definitely not to miss!

As we’re now aware, the federal government’s hiring freeze is affecting every agency. The Federal Times reports that the Department of Justice is no exception.  Americans may have a better idea of what a “crucial” employee is as of late, but we’re still scratching our heads, just as nervous as DOJ officials about how this will all shake out…

The Justice Department’s hiring freeze — which was imposed earlier this year and even prevents the department from hiring to replace most attrition — remains in effect, and spokeswoman Jessica Smith said Justice isn’t sure when it will be lifted. Justice earlier this year said the freeze was necessary to avoid a sudden, dire budget crunch that would force employee furloughs. Smith said those concerns remain.

“Given the reductions in the recent FY 2011 full year [continuing resolution], and the funding uncertainty facing us in FY 2012, the Attorney General has directed that the January 21st restraints continue,” Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus said in an April 19 memo to the rest of the department.

Smith said Deputy Attorney General James Cole has made a few exceptions to fill jobs in U.S. Attorneys offices or for crucial law enforcement positions. Much of the department must make do with vacancies when valued employees leave.  Not an enviable position to be in, we admit.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management seeks a Chief Counsel in the fabulous city of Cincinnati.

The incumbent of this position serves as the Chief Counsel for the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC). The incumbent is responsible for providing legal services on all matters arising from the activities of the EMCBC and its serviced sites, including procurement law, litigation, environmental law, atomic energy laws, environmental compliance, and closure of government-owned, contractor-operated facilities, employing thousands of contractor employees and having projects/programs valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The incumbent reports to the Director, EMCBC and also reports functionally to the DOE HQ General Counsel.

The incumbent directs, manages, and supervises the work of the staff with full organizational and personnel authorities for assigned programs and provides leadership to approximately 20 professional and administrative employees ranging in grade from GS-7 to GS-15. The incumbent takes appropriate legal action to protect the interests of the Department in litigation and administrative proceedings, supervises the conduct of litigation and oversees lawsuits, represents the DOE and the United States in selected cases in Federal district courts.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Now is not the time to turn our backs on Haiti.  Serve as a Senior Gender Advisor for the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Since its inception in 1933, the IRC has been a global leader in emergency response and providing durable solutions for conflict- and crisis-affected populations. The IRC launched programs in Haiti immediately following the January 2010 earthquake, deploying its emergency response team to respond to survivors’ most critical needs. Since that time, the IRC has developed multi-sectoral programming addressing needs in and around Port-au-Prince. Currently, the IRC implements programs focused on child protection; protection and services for women and girls; access to justice; livelihoods development and Cash-for-Work; environmental health; and camp management.

IRC is currently preparing a proposal in response to a USAID-funded request for applications to improve safety and security for women, children and youth in Haiti through decreased incidence of human rights abuse and expanded access to treatment and care. The Senior Gender Advisor* will provide overall direction and guidance to all aspects of the Protecting the Rights of Children, Women and Youth Program with a focus on the protection of women and girls.
*This position is contingent on the IRC being awarded funding and is anticipated to begin around October 5, 2011.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

Las Americas’ Managing Attorney works in conjunction with the Executive Director to shape the legal vision and direction of the non-profit. The Managing Attorney supervises a staff of accredited representatives and paralegals. The Managing Attorney handles consultations with prospective clients at Las Americas’ office and at the immigration detention center to provide legal advice and to identify viable cases. The Managing Attorney files petitions for immigration relief and represents clients in immigration court in various cases, including victims of crimes, victims of domestic violence and refugees and asylum seekers. Finally, the Managing Attorney advocates for his or her clients and for immigrants in general.

Meet the qualifications?:

• Licensed attorney (preferably licensed in Texas)
• Experience with immigration law preferred but not required
• Fluency in Spanish preferred
• Demonstrated commitment to service
• Excellent organizational skills
• Must be willing to work on a tight budget and within the bounds of grants
• Public speaking

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan seeks a Staff Attorney!

Under the direction of the Legal Director, the Staff Attorney will both litigate cases and participate in non-litigation advocacy activities to advance civil liberties in Michigan. The Staff Attorney’s responsibilities include serving as lead and co-counsel on a variety of civil liberties cases; working in conjunction with National ACLU lawyers; investigating, developing and litigating cases at the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts. The Staff Attorney will also have non-litigation advocacy responsibilities including: public speaking, media interviews, outreach, and writing op-eds, newsletter articles and reports. The Staff Attorney will work with local legal committees and be responsible for recruiting and working successfully with cooperating attorneys.

Qualifications include:

• JD with litigation experience, preferably federal litigation raising civil liberties and civil rights issues.
• A strong understanding of, and demonstrated commitment to, civil liberties, civil rights and the mission of the ACLU. Experience in non-profit advocacy or other community-based groups is valuable.
• Exceptional writing and analytical skills is required. Judicial clerkship is a plus.
• The attorney must be a member of the State Bar of Michigan (or pass the next bar examination).
• Substantive knowledge and understanding of constitutional law and civil liberties issues.
• Demonstrated skills in litigating independently, jointly and under pressure.
•  Excellent communication skills to both legal and non-legal audiences.
•  Demonstrated skills in legal analysis, research, and strategic thinking.

To view the full job listing, go to PSLawNet (login required).

GovernmentExecutive.com is keeping up with a critical issue:  federal job postings.  This is a serious concern deserving of attention.  But who knew “KSA” would be part of common parlance in the land of federal employment?  Monday’s article reports that agencies still need to better streamline their job announcements as part of the government’s push to reform the bureaucratic federal hiring process, a top official from the Office of Personnel Management.

Sixty-one percent of agencies have simplified their job vacancy postings, said Nancy Kichak, OPM’s associate director for employee services, while 89 percent of agencies have abolished the much-reviled knowledge, skills and abilities statements that for years applicants painstakingly filled out and managers waded through. Kichak said there is a disconnect between agencies’ desire to eliminate KSAs and the habit of writing long and complicated descriptions of job vacancies.

“We don’t want to hear it [via KSAs], but we’re certainly willing to say it ourselves,” she told an audience during a conference on federal financial management in Washington. Kichak said the goal is to push managers to produce job announcements that are less than five pages long. She said at various times, some postings have been as long as 38 pages.

38 pages?! Yikes.  Progress has been made, though.  During the past year, agencies have transitioned from KSAs to category ratings as well as to a resume- and cover letter-based system. In addition, OPM last month debuted a new online platform that tests applicants for a variety of positions across government.  Not exactly baby steps, but as most agree, there is more to be done.