Schedule Type: 2-4 days a week, 6 month commitment or more required. Rolling applications considered. Please note that this is an unpaid volunteer position.
Additional Requirements: Must attend 7 hour Legal Services Training. Registration materials available at http://www.castla.org/training.
Organizational Background:
As the first organization in the country dedicated exclusively to serving survivors of human trafficking, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (www.castla.org) assists persons trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and slavery-like practices and to work toward ending all instances of such human rights violations. CAST was established in 1998 in the wake of the El Monte sweatshop case where 72 Thai garment workers were kept for eight years in slavery and debt bondage. Following a community outcry for an organization to respond to surfacing cases of human trafficking, CAST was and remains one of a handful of providers nationally that provide comprehensive services to survivors of slavery and trafficking. CAST is amongst the few organizations that carry the mission of both serving victims while also conducting advocacy to promote change that will better protect victims and prevent future cases of trafficking.
CAST serves a growing community of trafficking victims who are brought to the United States and suffer unspeakable violence at the hands of traffickers. They have an enormous array of needs, ranging from urgent medical and mental health services to complex legal issues. CAST has served hundreds of victims and their family members through both direct service delivery as well as technical consult to service providers across the country. CAST alone has secured nearly 100 T Visas for survivors of trafficking, constituting almost 1/6 of the total number of T Visas issued nationwide. Our accomplishments are due, in part, because CAST’s Client Services staff works closely together to partner with clients in setting goals, monitoring progress, advocating for access to services, and cooperating with law enforcement agencies to access long-term immigration benefits that keep victims safe from their traffickers.
CAST’s legal department provides innovative direct legal services to survivors of trafficking, and also provides technical assistance to survivors of trafficking, law enforcement agencies, and service providers to inspire creative and appropriate responses to the problem of human trafficking in the United States.
For more information visit: www.castla.org
Job Description:
A family law volunteer attorney at CAST would provide direct legal services to trafficking survivors including: a) conducting intake of potential and existing clients; b) drafting responsive plesadings and motions; c) assisting clients with securing divorces; and d) obtaining child custody and restraining orders. The attorney would also be involved in CAST’s ongoing outreach and advocacy efforts which include:
- Continuing leadership and support of a “T-visa” working group, designed to increase capacity among local nonprofit organizations that wish to or are currently providing legal services for trafficking survivors;
- Individualized technical consult to nonprofits working on cases;
- Expansion of a structured Pro Bono outreach initiative designed to ensure that local area firms have the knowledge to effectively represent trafficking survivors;
- Continuation of a Child Trafficking initiative which targets legal and social service providers for children to increase identification and service provision to child trafficking survivors;
- Continuing Outreach through its STOP (Sex Trafficking Outreach Project) to Prosecutors and Public Defenders who handle prostitution-related charges in the Los Angeles Court to ensure that trafficking survivors are recognized as victims and not treated as defendants;
- Continuing leadership involvement with the Los Angeles Metro Task Force on Human Trafficking whose goal is to increase collaboration among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to increase identification of trafficking survivors and increase the numbers of traffickers prosecuted
- Ongoing advocacy at the State and National Level to promote better policies and legislation to better protect trafficking survivors.
Qualifications:
Must have taken and passed the California bar
Excellent legal and research skills
Commitment to human rights
Demonstrated advanced knowledge of family law
Bi-lingual preferred
Languages: Spanish, Russian, Korean, Thai, etc.
Application Materials:
Cover Letter, Resume, Writing Sample, List of References and unofficial transcript
Contact:
E-mail: legalintern@castla.org