staff openings

Position Title: Staff Attorney, Small Practice Development Fellow (multiple vacancies) 

Reports To: Supervising Staff Attorney, Community Lawyering Manager

Terms of Employment: Part-time, hourly; limited service (6-18 months) 

Hours per Week: 20 hours/week 

Salary Range: $30–$40/hour depending on experience (no benefits) 

Application Deadline: Applications accepted until the position is filled with priority given to applications received by December 15.

Desired Start Date: As soon as possible; available for immediate start.

FLSA Status: Exempt 

Workplace Location: Hybrid remote; regional travel may be required 

Position Summary:

VAAP seeks one to three part-time Staff Attorneys to staff its Practice Development Fellowship initiative (depending on the experience level and correlating compensation needs of the applicant pool.) The Fellowship purpose is to graduate practice-ready private immigration lawyers committed to helping VAAP to broaden the scope of local referral partners, thereby increasing local access to immigration justice at all income levels. 

The Practice Development Fellowship initiative offers part-time, limited-service roles combining legal representation, program management, and structured mentorship in solo or small immigration law practice management. Fellows will dedicate VAAP work time to practicing law under VAAP supervision as well as supporting the delivery of core VAAP programming—such as Detained Legal Services or Habeas Practice Growth. As a benefit of employment, outside of scheduled work hours, VAAP will provide Fellows with training and technical assistance designed to prepare them to launch or grow sustainable solo or small-scale immigration practices. 

The Practice Development Fellowship is designed for mid-career practitioners with direct service experience and a semi-autonomous working style who are ready to contribute meaningful “sweat equity” to VAAP’s collaborative staff work and pro bono mentorship efforts while receiving targeted technical assistance to grow their own immigration law practices. Fellows bring professional maturity, initiative, and a community-serving orientation, and in return receive mentorship in law office management, including billing, client intake, case management systems, and ethical compliance, as well as insider access to VAAP’s office space, research materials, supervision structures, and internal staff supervision workflows.  

In addition to supporting VAAP’s detained and defensive-posture immigration work, Fellows may accept fee-for-service referrals from VAAP and the public for matters outside VAAP’s scope, including (for example) employment- and family-based pathways and ancillary benefits; humanitarian petitions; applications for relief from removal; removal defense; detained interventions; habeas, mandamus, FOIA, APA and other federal litigation co-counseled with regional partners; pro hac vice co-counseling with national partners; and brief consultations and advice for people across the immigration status spectrum, including LPRs and citizens. 

This VAAP-hosted position will be based in VAAP’s Burlington office and will focus substantively on detained and other defensive-posture immigration matters.  

Key Responsibilities

• Provide direct legal representation as primary or secondary counsel in complex humanitarian and defensive-posture immigration matters before EOIR, USCIS, the BIA, and federal and state courts. 

• Deliver full- and limited-scope legal services to low-income noncitizens in Vermont, including conducting legal screenings and intakes; advising clients; preparing and filing motions, petitions, applications, and briefs; and providing formal and informal oral advocacy in judicial and administrative settings. 

• Support core VAAP program areas—including detained defense, habeas and federal litigation practice growth, and related initiatives—and contribute to the peer mentorship and professional development of VAAP staff, volunteers, and pro bono partners. 

• Assist in developing and maintaining organizational infrastructure, including templates, workflows, training materials, and program resources that strengthen Vermont’s statewide immigration legal services ecosystem. 

• Engage in structured mentorship and skills development in law practice management, client systems, billing, docketing, and ethical compliance, with the goal of scaling an independent, community-serving immigration practice in Vermont by the end of the Fellowship period. 

• Provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and linguistically accessible services that meet the needs of clients across a wide range of backgrounds, statuses, and lived experiences. 

• Maintain contemporaneous, accurate, and compliant case and time records across multiple data and case-management systems. 

• Contribute to organizational sustainability, including outreach, community education, grant reporting, fundraising, and communications as needed. 

• Adhere to all professional and organizational standards, including full compliance with the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, VAAP’s policies and practices manual, and VAAP’s conflict-of-interest policy governing outside practice and fee-for-service work. 

Qualifications

• J.D. or equivalent, and active admission in good standing to any state bar (Vermont or ability to waive in quickly preferred).  

• One- to three-years’ relevant civil or criminal practice experience, or equivalent direct legal services experience.   

• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage a multipart schedule of a small VAAP caseload, assistance on program management, trainings, and fostering your own small practice. 

• Demonstrated ability to be a resourceful self-starter, an active participant in team-based accountability and community care, and to plan ahead—but hold plans loosely—and pivot as work requires.  

• Demonstrated success working autonomously and under rapidly evolving internal and external conditions.  

• Demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for clients and colleagues alike.  

• Experience with language access, secondary trauma management, and cultural humility best practices.  

• Access to a smart (internet-enabled) cell phone and a personal vehicle are required.   

• Willingness and ability to work remotely and independently from a variety of work settings is required. 

• Preference for lived migration experience, ties to Vermont immigrant/rural communities, fluency in a Vermont-prioritized language (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin, Dari), and prior immigration law or DOJ accredited representation experience. 

Compensation and Benefits

• Hourly rate: $30–$40 hourly wage range commensurate with experience on a part-time basis (20-30 hours/week depending on Fellow availability and available funding). 

• Duration: Initial 6-month fellowship term, with the possibility of a 12-month extension following a performance and mutual fit review (total maximum of 18 months). 

• Benefits: Unless appointed for 30 hours per week, no traditional employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement). 

• Fellowship benefits: Structured mentorship in immigration law and practice management, training in law office systems and ethics, and opportunities for program leadership and skills development. 

• Professional liability coverage: VAAP’s malpractice insurance covers work performed within the scope of VAAP cases; Fellows are responsible for securing their own coverage for any independent practice matters. VAAP will provide guidance and support in setting up appropriate liability insurance for Fellows’ own practices. 

Application Instructions: Interested candidates should submit the following materials by email as an email attachment collated into a single .PDF document and organized in the following order: 

• A cover letter describing your interest in the position and relevant experience. 

• A current résumé/CV. 

• A short writing sample.  

• Three professional references (at least one from a supervisor). 

Applications should be submitted by email to info@vaapvt.org with the subject line: Small Practice Development Fellowship. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to those received by Friday, December 19. 

Each summer, VAAP seeks to host one to two highly motivated upper class law or equivalent graduate students to join us for a ten week summer internship program focused on asylum seeker legal orientation, community education and capacity building, and limited scope humanitarian legal representation. In addition, VAAP considers hosting legal or equivalent externs during the fall or spring academic semesters. Full-time interns work about 35 hours per week and part-time interns work about 18 hours per week. Positions are hybrid-remote with some in-person work required, and include access to coworking space in Burlington's Old North End for value-added team meetings, supervision, legal services, and community events. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Complete orientation and training assignments in a timely manner and engage meaningfully in individualized and team-based mechanisms for supervision and support.

2. Interview potential clients to assess for asylum and other humanitarian status eligibility, assist with placing viable cases with language accessible volunteer representation, and make referrals as appropriate.

3. Counsel and co-counsel at pro-se assistance clinics and on selected limited- or full-representation humanitarian status cases including by interviewing and counseling clients; developing case theory and legal briefing; preparing and submitting filings and supporting evidence; and accompanying clients to their immigration proceedings.

4. Maintain client and program files, records, and other data as required in the case management system, including maintaining accurate and contemporaneous timekeeping for all work activities.

5. Communicate with clients, volunteers, partner providers, social service officials, and other stakeholders in a professional and accessible manner and in accordance with applicable professional and program rules.

6. Produce detailed case and project transfer memoranda upon completing the summer program. 

7. Assist VAAP staff to develop and share resources that volunteer advocates and community members need to ensure their professional, trauma-informed, and competent VAAP client assistance.

8. Assist VAAP staff to develop and deliver access to justice programming including Know Your Rights legal orientation for current and prospective clients; Continuing Legal Education for current and prospective volunteers; the VAAP Resource Library; and other events and advocacy as they arise.

9. Other duties as assigned. 

 Qualifications 

1. Upper class student in a J.D. or equivalent degree program, having completed at least three semesters of law school and at least one other J.D. program clinic, internship, or externship program or equivalent.

2. Willing and able to provide for your own funding or to assist VAAP in pursuing funding to support your internship work, or ability to receive academic credit.

3. Experience and/or commitment to working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in ways that are trauma informed.

4. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to produce professional legal documents and outreach materials.

5. Commitment to working in a collaborative, virtual, team-based setting.

6. Ability and willingness to work autonomously and independently as required by VAAP’s busy work load and hybrid remote work environment.

7. High level of initiative and ability to project plan, make decisions, solve problems, and to pivot plans quickly and creatively, as needed. 

8. Demonstrable organizational skills in managing a dynamic and complex workload.

9. Previous immigration advocacy experience preferred.

10. Driver’s license and access to a vehicle preferred.

11. Professional proficiency in Spanish, French or other non-English language required.

12. People with lived experience or impacted identities prioritized.

Application instructions

To apply, please email your resume or CV, cover letter, a brief writing sample, and three (3) professional references to info@vaapvt.org.

Year-round, VAAP seeks highly motivated high school or undergraduate students to join us for customizable internship experiences focused on administrative assistance, case management and support, communications, and event coordination. Positions are hybrid-remote with access to coworking space in Burlington's Old North End and designated in-office days for value-added team meetings, supervision, and events. Preference is given to individuals who can commit to working with us for the entire academic year and/or at least 18 hours per week over our 10 week summer program. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Complete orientation and training assignments in a timely manner and engage meaningfully in individualized and team-based mechanisms for supervision and support.

2. Provide case support to VAAP advocates providing clients with legal assistance including, but not limited to, attorney-client meeting coordination, interpretation assistance and language access coordination, transportation coordination, assistance with gathering documents and preparing paperwork, and more.

3. Maintain client and program files, records, and other data as required in the case management system, including maintaining accurate and contemporaneous timekeeping for all work activities.

4. Communicate with clients, volunteers, partner providers, social service officials, and other stakeholders in a professional and language accessible manner and in accordance with applicable professional and program rules.

5. Assist VAAP staff to develop and share resources that volunteer advocates need to ensure their professional, trauma-informed, and competent representation of VAAP clients.

6. Assist VAAP staff to coordinate access to justice programming including Know Your Rights legal orientation for current and prospective clients; Continuing Legal Education for current and prospective volunteers; and other events as they arise.

7. Assist VAAP staff to develop project proposals, marketing materials, case reports, and other communications needed to advance our advocacy goals, recruit volunteers, and resource the organization.

8. Other duties as assigned. 

 Qualifications 

1. Currently enrolled in a high school, bachelor’s, master’s or equivalent diploma or degree program.

2. Willing and able to provide for your own funding or to assist VAAP in pursuing funding to support your internship work, or ability to receive academic credit.

3. Commitment to working directly with and fostering a safe environment for people from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

4. Interest in collaborative, team-based work that is hybrid-online.

5. Willingness to engage proactively in accessing supervision.

6. Willingness to adapt to flexible working hours, including some nights or weekends, as community-facing events require.

7. Professionally proficient Spanish, French or other non-English language skills required.

8. Current, valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle you are able to willing to use to perform case support duties which may include client transportation preferred.

9. People with lived experience or impacted identities prioritized.

Application instructions

To apply, please email your resume or CV, cover letter, a brief writing sample, and three (3) professional references to info@vaapvt.org.