General Counsel

About the Organization

Founded in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a leading non-profit organization (501(c)3) in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. NILC’s mission is grounded in the belief that everyone living in the U.S. regardless of race, gender/gender identity, immigration status, or economic status — should have equal access to justice, resources, and educational and economic opportunities that enable them to achieve their full human potential. Together, NILC and the affiliated NILC Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF), a 501(c)4 organization, work to advocate more directly for federal immigration reform policies. NILC is committed to advancing its mission — which intersects race, immigration status, and class — through racial, economic, and gender justice and equity orientation.

About the Role

The General Counsel position at NILC will report directly to the President and lead the organization in identifying, analyzing, and addressing the organization’s internal legal risks and needs. The General Counsel serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The General Counsel will identify and analyze legal issues impacting NILC as an organization and NILC’s sister 501(c)4 organization, the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, in drafting and reviewing key organizational documents, presenting clear recommendations to the President and members of the Executive and Senior Leadership teams, assuring legal compliance for the organization. The General Counsel works closely with members of the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams to advance NILC’s mission, vision, strategy, and goals. They handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously, balancing long-term priorities with the urgency of immediate demands.

This role is not in the bargaining unit.

Specific Position Responsibilities

•Manage the corporate legal affairs for the organization. Provide legal counsel to the organization, President, Executive Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, and senior team in making strategic decisions for the organization.

•Directly provide in-house legal services and manage the provision of such services, when necessary, by outside counsel. Seek the most cost-efficient outside resources for the organization, including pro-bono services.

•Advise the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams and Boards of Directors to ensure that NILC follows best governance practices, as appropriate, including but not limited to:

o Handle or direct all organizational legal issues raised by or implicated by the Boards of Directors, including drafting resolutions, handling compliance with Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation and responding to questions as requested by the President or individual Board members.

o Participate in strategic planning and response, both in the broad sense and on day-to-day matters.

•Provide strategic direction on the protection of intellectual property. With the support of outside counsel, register all appropriate trademarks and copyrights and take appropriate action to protect them from infringement.

•Maintain organization’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

•Direct responses and make recommendations on all matters that could result in legal action involving the organization. Work closely with organization staff to provide guidance on various legal matters, including employment issues, risk management, insurance and volunteer liability issues.

•Represent the organization as a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the organization to external and internal audiences.

•Provides counsel and advice by interpreting laws, regulations, court decisions and rules affecting the work of the organization, to the President, Boards of Directors, and management.

•Serve as the internal legal counsel on organizational matters and ensure that NILC’s policies, procedures and practices comply with federal, state, and local laws (not including service as counsel with regard to employment law). Provide legal advice, guidance and interpretation on a wide range of governance, corporate, contract, non-profit law, corporate registrations, and compliance.

•Coordinate overall compliance functions of the organization as part of risk management and mitigation, with matrixed management links to applicable management staff outside the Executive Office.

•In overseeing the contract function, set standards for NILC’s legal documents, agreements including program and partner agreements, Memoranda of Understanding, vendor agreements, grant and donation agreements, including confidentiality agreements, affiliate agreements, intellectual property licensing agreements, real estate leases, and other general business contracts.

•Provide counsel to the development team on legacy gifts and donor bequests made to NILC and other fund development matters.

•Oversee and ensure ongoing registration and protection of, as well as necessary flexibility toward, organizational intellectual property rights consistent with NILC’s values.

•Maintain an awareness of, analyze, interpret, and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed laws and regulations affecting NILC and NILC IJF operations, programming, and nonprofit compliance, consulting with outside counsel as appropriate.

•Prepare and file registrations, disclosures, and reports to state agencies as required under state laws, including state charitable solicitation laws and lobbying laws.

Supervisory Responsibilities 

•Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains staff.

•Oversees the daily workflow of direct reports.

•Acts as a coach and mentor including providing constructive and timely feedback to foster a collaborative environment that develops strengths, improves weaknesses, and encourages creative problem-solving.

•Actively manages direct and indirect reports using applicable performance management software including documenting regular check-ins, goal progress, and any other relevant information in the system for performance and coaching purposes. 

•Manages outside consultants, third party administrators, and vendors.

Shared Organization Responsibilities 

•Champions NILC and IJF’s mission of advancing the rights of immigrants with low income by demonstrating a commitment to human rights, and racial, economic, and social justice. 

•Attends and actively participates in NILC meetings at the organization, department, project, and individual level.

•Develops relationships and supports NILC and IJF colleagues across all teams, recognizing that everyone brings a unique background and perspective to the work and assuming good intent from each other. 

•Follows through on commitments acting with a clear sense of ownership individually and collectively by taking personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures, establishing clear responsibilities and processes for monitoring work and measuring results, and designing feedback loops into work. 

•Learns quickly when facing new situations by experimenting to find fresh solutions, taking on the challenge of unfamiliar tasks, and extracting lessons learned from failures and mistakes. 

•Acts with integrity by following through on commitments, being direct and truthful, keeping confidences, and showing consistency between words and actions. 

•Commits to centering NILC’s values of racial justice and equity, valuing diversity, fostering partnerships and collaboration, encouraging respect and personal well-being, and striving for transparency, integrity, and honesty in all decisions and actions. 

In recognition of the fluidity of the work and ecosystem that NILC operates in, other duties may be assigned depending on organizational need.

What We Are Looking for in This Role

Leadership: Provide leadership to NILC in a function that has heretofore been outsourced, and more recently used a wide range of legal advisors. Create a strategy and structure to coordinate and streamline legal services. Exemplify NILC values in representing the organization in all activities.

Job Knowledge: Apply legal knowledge and wisdom in managing NILC’s legal portfolio across multiple functions in the organization. In addition to directly managing NILC’s legal risk, coordinate enterprise risk management across all functions of the organization. Ensure the integration of NILC’s mission and vision, with risk levels as defined in the risk appetite.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Recognize both long-range and short-term challenges, including the organizational challenges in working in new ways in a new department. Develop strategies to address and minimize potential risks in meeting organizational challenges, with respect and care. Demonstrate wisdom and fairness in weighing recommended solutions to problems, considering core values, risk, opportunity, financial resources, and organizational impact. Ensure availability of resources necessary to support legal problem-solving. Promote an environment in which staff are empowered and supported in responsible problem-solving. Demonstrate the ability to balance, negotiate and work with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with impeccable attention to detail. Resourceful and strategic problem-solving ability; takes initiative and offers solutions.

Planning and Management: Proven track record as a team leader with an understanding of management practices. Demonstrated project and budget management skills. Demonstrated resourcefulness in legal strategies. Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail. Consistently deliver on deadlines with the ability to take on multiple projects and tasks. Experience successfully building and scaling teams and systems.

Collaboration and Teamwork: Build and maintain relationships with key staff colleagues to allow the early surfacing of legal risks. Build upon the contextual knowledge of staff to identify the best available legal strategy. Determine where teams are appropriate to meet strategic goals. Model collaboration and team values in personal and group interactions. Establish opportunities for cross-departmental, cross-functional, and problem-solving teams across NILC. Provide critical oversight and feedback to teams to ensure achievement of organizational goals. Hold teams accountable for producing results as assigned within NILC’S organizational goals and strategic framework. Recognize and communicate successes among teams and identify needs for team management training. Excellent people skills, with experience collaborating in a multidisciplinary, diverse and dynamic team.

Qualifications Required

Education: Juris Doctorate and member in good standing of a State Bar.

Experience

•Service as General Counsel or Associate General Counsel of non-profit organization or in-house counsel agency is strongly preferred.

•Minimum of 12 years of practical legal experience working in a cross-cultural setting and environment, preferably in the not-for-profit sector.

•5-10 years of supervisory experience in the legal field, and experience managing and coaching staff across an organization.

•Skills in managing a department in a complex and diverse organization that often works under the pressure of responding to urgent human need or institutional requirements.

•Understanding of finance, contracts, compliance, procurement, best practice in not-for-profit policies.

•Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate, facilitate discussion and build a consensus in a complex, sometimes siloed, environment.

•Computer literacy, including word processing, database, spreadsheet, collaboration and internet applications (Microsoft Office Suite).

Work Environment 

Location and Travel:  

For this role, up to 30 percent of overnight interstate travel may be required; generally, travel is quarterly to the NILC Washington, D.C. office or another location within the US for 3-5 nights.

Remote work locations are as follows: (Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin). To be considered, applicants must live in one of the work locations.

Compensation:

NILC’s compensation philosophy is to pay competitively in the nonprofit sector and ensure equity across the organization. Compensation for the role will depend on several factors including qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience. The salary range for this role is $154,900 - $193,600.

NILC provides an incredible benefit package that includes employer-paid healthcare coverage (100% for employees and 75% for dependents), employer-supported dental and vision coverage, a 403(b)-retirement plan including an automatic contribution from NILC, paid parental leave, monthly cell phone and wellness stipends, pre-tax accounts for transit, health, and childcare benefits (FSA), and employer-paid short- and long-term disability and life insurance. NILC also provides a generous paid-time-off policy, 15 holidays and 22 days of paid time off annually (increased to 32 after 2 years of employment).

NILC is also a qualifying public service employer, which means all full-time NILC employees qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. To learn more about the program, please visit https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

· Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods

· Communicating with others to exchange information.

· Repeating motions, like typing or answering a phone, that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.