Project Director | Southern Migrant Legal Services

nashville, TN

Posted 4/12/2024

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA), a non-profit law firm, seeks a Project Director for its Southern Migrant Legal Services (SMLS) project in Nashville, Tennessee. The SMLS Project Director defends the rights of exploited migrant farmworkers across the Southeast by setting the project’s compelling and impactful litigation docket, overseeing outreach, maintaining strategic partnerships, and supervising a team of dedicated staff. The SMLS Director has significant autonomy in determining the strategies that will be most effective in carrying out the project’s mission, while working closely within TRLA’s Labor & Employment Group.

Continuing in TRLA’s tradition, which has been at the forefront of migrant legal services since its inception in the 1970s, our SMLS office is committed to strategic and principled litigation on behalf of marginalized agricultural workers across the middle south. Created in 2001 by combining the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) migrant grants of six states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee), SMLS is well-known for high-quality and purposeful representation. Backed by TRLA's unwavering support, including our Texas-based farmworker advocacy project, SMLS has built a reputation for excellence in strategic litigation and impactful representation, across a region rife with labor abuses and unaccustomed to accountability. The Project Director will practice across multiple jurisdictions, addressing labor and civil rights violations in a wide variety of agricultural industries.

SMLS has developed a significant presence across the region, and a particular expertise in representing H-2A temporary foreign workers and victims of human trafficking. SMLS’s focus is on enforcement of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers’ core employment rights, including (but not limited to) workers’ rights under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the H-2A Regulations of Immigration and Nationality Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and contract law. The project also enforces various state and federal workplace anti-discrimination acts, and addresses occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation and workplace retaliation. SMLS’s caseload involves “impact” litigation, such as complex wage and hour cases, multi-party employment discrimination and human trafficking cases, or cases that address novel areas of the law. To redress workplace victimization, SMLS also files immigration petitions on behalf of workers who were victims of trafficking or other workplace crimes. The project also collaborates with a wide variety of federal and state agencies, community partners, and private counsel from across the SMLS service area.

The SMLS Project Director will guide the direction and smooth operation of the project. Responsibilities will include overseeing outreach efforts, ensuring the provision of high-quality legal services in both direct representation brief service cases as well as extended litigation and impact work, supervising SMLS staff, and managing administrative processes to optimize efficiency, effectiveness, and program compliance.

Qualifications and Preferences:

  • An exceptional legal mind with an LLM or JD degree from an accredited law school.

  • A licensed attorney in Tennessee or willingness to obtain licensure, with at least three years of legal experience, ideally in federal civil litigation.

  • A passion for justice and a commitment to serving diverse populations, including non-English-speaking and migrant communities; an understanding of the challenges faced by agricultural workers in the SMLS service delivery area is preferred.

  • Proficiency in Spanish is preferred, as it enables us to better serve our clients and engage with our community partners.

  • Proven ability to inspire and lead a diverse team of professionals, including paralegals, secretaries, outreach workers, and law clerks; prior experience in project management or similar supervisory roles, demonstrating capacity to effectively coordinate and delegate tasks, foster collaboration, and maximize team performance.

  • Talent for striking a balance between a demanding individual caseload and duties to mentor, supervise, and assist other staff in their litigation and community-building efforts.

  • Strong office management organizational skills, including the ability to manage financial affairs and various reporting requirements.

  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build strategic partnerships across multiple states and with various stakeholders.

  • A creative thinker with a track record of implementing unconventional strategies and driving systemic change.

  • Excellent and independently driven case development, legal research, and persuasive writing, coupled with a track record of achieving successful outcomes in complex legal matters.

  • Previous experience in appellate advocacy is preferred, demonstrating ability to navigate legal frameworks and present compelling arguments at the appellate level.

  • Ability and willingness to engage in travel, including overnight and internationally, as needed to meet case needs.

Compensation and Benefits:    

Salary is commensurate with experience and includes an excellent fringe benefits package, including law school loan repayment, generous paid leave, healthcare insurance, a retirement plan, and training & travel stipends.   

TRLA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER   

At TRLA, we are committed to offering fair and equal employment opportunities to all job applicants and employees. We strictly prohibit any form of discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.