General Counsel – San Francisco, CA, or Washington, D.C.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is seeking a full-time General Counsel based in our San Francisco or Washington, D.C. office. This is an exempt position that reports to the Executive Director. 

The ideal candidate would possess significant experience with non-profit compliance issues, including 501(c)(3) status, legal risk management, litigation, federal inquiries, and federal criminal prosecution and/or defense work. They should be able to work effectively both independently as well as with large multi-stakeholder teams. Key qualities include excellent legal judgment, a strong work ethic, the ability to execute under tight timelines and be a strategic thinking, solid communication skills, and the ability to be proactive, flexible, collaborative, and diligent. The candidate must be supportive of immigrants’ rights.

The ILRC currently has a hybrid work model requiring at least two in-office days per week. 

The ILRC is a leading national nonprofit legal support center headquartered in San Francisco with additional staff in Austin, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley of California, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. ILRC’s mission is to work with, educate, and enhance the capacity of immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector, to build a democratic society that values diversity, dignity, and the rights of all people.

Founded in 1979, the ILRC is one of the foremost experts on engaging immigrants and developing their leadership in the democratic process, providing expertise on complex issues of immigration law, procedure, and policy, and engaging in advocacy and educational initiatives on policies that affect immigrants. We are a team-based organization that makes most of its decisions in a collaborative fashion that allows for significant staff input. 

The General Counsel will:

• Serve as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to the rest of the ILRC’s leadership, including the ILRC Board of Directors, the Executive Director, and various ILRC teams, including Operations, Communications, Finance, and Human Resources;
• As a critical member of ILRC’s leadership, the General Counsel will provide strategic and legal guidance on complex issues, including but not limited to litigation, arbitration, and investigations, government advocacy, risk management, compliance, board governance, grantmaking, consultant contracts, lobbying, and employment and labor issues (with the assistance of outside counsel on many of these issues);
• Have a role in reviewing and drafting legal contracts and policies; and 
• Lead the ILRC’s work ensuring legal compliance on a broad array of issues relevant to the organization’s operations, counsel the Board of Directors, Executive Director, and teams on a variety of topics, governmental requests for information, 501(c)(3) status, legal ethics, etc., and develop materials and provide trainings on relevant topics.

Job Responsibilities: 

Executive and Operations

• Provide expert guidance and strategic legal advice and counsel to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director, and senior leadership on many aspects of day-to-day legal, policy, and other issues for ILRC operations.
• Work closely with ILRC teams, including programmatic teams and Human Resources, Finance, Operations, and Communications teams, to navigate legal issues in their day-to-day operations.
• In collaboration with the staff attorneys and senior leadership, identify areas of potential existing and emerging risk to the staff, facilities, programs, and the mission of the ILRC and develop strategies to mitigate those risks (i.e., policy development, creation of internal controls/processes, etc.).
• Serve as primary relationship manager with external legal counsel, as needed.
• Serve as counsel in external engagements with regulators, as needed.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, counsel the ILRC Board of Directors on governance and compliance issues concerning all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
• Provide the ILRC staff with regular training in the areas of legal compliance relevant to their positions.
• Work collaboratively with the Senior Director of Human Resources and Administration and external counsel on complex issues of labor and employment, including the creation, negotiation, and execution of severance agreements and CBAs.
• Collaborate with the Communications team to review external communications and collateral for ILRC compliance and risk mitigation (defamation/ libel, confidentiality, privacy, etc.).
• In collaboration with those who lobby at the ILRC, ensure appropriate tracking, reporting, and compliance with all relevant local, state, and federal requirements concerning lobbying, government contracting, and non-profit status compliance.
• Maintain and protect ILRC registered trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property (with external counsel when appropriate).
• In collaboration with the Finance Director and Executive Director, review and provide recommendations on necessary changes to ILRC’s organizational insurance policies.
• Stay abreast of and inform other ILRC staff and board members of relevant federal, state, and local government legislative and regulatory changes that may impact the work of the ILRC and participate in advocacy concerning potential changes.
• When necessary and in conjunction with external counsel, serve as the counsel of record for the ILRC in legal actions.

Note: The ILRC does retain outside counsel that can help with many of the General Counsel’s responsibilities.

General:

• Contribute to ILRC’s strategic and organizational development priorities.
• Advise on and help implement systemic changes concerning ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to contribute to a fair and equitable workplace.
• Perform other related responsibilities as determined and assigned.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. The ILRC will make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Minimum Qualifications 

• Membership in good standing of any state bar or Washington, D.C.
• Seven or more years of legal experience as a practicing attorney, including with at least one of the following: the U.S. Department of Justice, a congressional committee, a top-tier law firm, or in-house counsel.
• Experience managing and handling legal and regulatory issues.
• Experience with compliance programs, legal risk management, regulatory inquiries, government investigations, and federal criminal and civil litigation.
• Demonstrated client counseling skills.
• Effective communication skills and experience working with cross-functional teams.
• Strong relationship-building and management skills.
• An ability to build and maintain a positive organizational culture.
• Fantastic written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate with different audiences and tailor the delivery/messaging accordingly.
• A team player and consensus builder.
• A willingness to travel throughout the United States.
• Commitment to immigrant rights and equity.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Preferred ten or more years of legal experience.
• Experience working with social justice movements or background as an activist.
• Five or more years of leadership and/or supervisory experience.
• Experience reviewing organizational insurance policies and supporting renewal processes.
• Knowledge of 501(c)(3) and state nonprofit law compliance.
• Knowledge relating to intellectual property, procurement, contracts, and labor and employment law as they relate to nonprofits.
• Experience working with a Board of Directors, including familiarity with the laws and rules that govern Board activities.
• Demonstrated experience developing policies, processes, and protocols for risk management while understanding and applying the balance of risk management with advancing the mission of the organization.
• Ability to stay abreast of relevant legislative and regulatory changes related to the ILRC’s work.
• Ability to assess training needs and deliver such training related to legal compliance, grantmaking, grant compliance, entity types, lobbying, government contracting, nonprofit status, etc.
• Prior experience in an organizational equity process.

Compensation/Benefits:

Pay is commensurate with experience. The starting pay for this position is $156,792.23 for someone with seven years out of law school. For someone with 10 years out of law school, the starting salary would be $170,824.49. An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than 10 years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. For example, for an attorney who has been out of law school for 15 years, the starting salary would be $189,021.22. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, EAP sessions, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan option upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500, and, from 2024 – 2027, an annual wellness stipend of $2,500. 

Applications: 

This position will remain open until it is filled. To ensure consideration of your application, please submit a cover letter explaining your qualifications for the role, salary requirements, a current resume, as well as the names and contact information of three professional references, one of which must be a supervisor.

Online applications are preferred. As an alternative, you can mail your application to:

General Counsel Hiring Committee

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

1458 Howard Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

No phone calls please.

As a condition of employment at the ILRC, you will be required to submit proof of vaccination and at least two booster shots against COVID-19.* 

The ILRC is an equal opportunity employer and does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious beliefs, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.?Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and other similar state laws and local ordinances, ILRC will also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records. 

* The ILRC provides reasonable accommodations as required by law. Employees may request an exception from vaccination requirements (if applicable) if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for them or medical necessity requires a delay in vaccination. Employees also may be legally entitled to a reasonable accommodation if they cannot be vaccinated because of a disability, or if receiving a COVID-19 vaccination conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.? There may be other recognized exceptions under applicable state and/or local laws.