Careers

The North Carolina Justice Center is a progressive research and advocacy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity and protecting the rights of low-income individuals in North Carolina. For almost 30 years, the NC Justice Center has been on the front lines in the courts, at the legislature, in the media, and in communities advocating for positive changes for low-income and working North Carolinians. We hold government agencies, institutions, and other actors accountable to address the root causes of racism. We have produced major research reports that have influenced important public policy change in North Carolina. The NC Justice Center has played a primary role in most of the state’s major policy debates and successfully litigated hundreds of individual cases and class actions.

Immigrants’ Civil Legal Rights Fellowship

Click here to apply
Upon request, The North Carolina Justice Center will provide reasonable accommodation for all candidates with disabilities.
Location: Hybrid (Raleigh, NC)
Project/Department: Workers’ Rights Project
Job Title: Immigrants’ Civil Legal Rights Fellowship
Reports to: Workers’ Rights Director
Group Number: 6
FLSA Status: Exempt
Union Status: Union
Supervises: N/A
Hiring Range Salary: $65,000-$70,132

Overview
The North Carolina Justice Center (NCJC) is a progressive research and advocacy organization dedicated to expanding opportunity and protecting the rights of low-income individuals and communities in North Carolina. For over 29 years NCJC has worked across policy, legal, and community platforms to address poverty and systemic inequities through legislative advocacy, litigation, public education, and coalition building.

The North Carolina Justice Center invites third-year law students and recent law graduates to apply for a two-year Immigrants’ Rights Fellowship. The Fellowship is generously funded by the N.C. Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program. The fellowship will begin in the Fall of 2026. The Justice Center is North Carolina’s leading private, non-profit anti-poverty organization. Our mission is to alleviate poverty in North Carolina by ensuring that every household has access to the resources, services, and fair treatment it needs to achieve economic security.

In order to improve the ability of low-income families to access opportunity and share in the state’s prosperity, the Justice Center pursues a broad policy agenda around the issues of affordable housing, transportation, workers’ rights, public education, supports for working families, consumer protections, immigrants’ rights, and access to health care. The Justice Center has conducted extensive civil litigation for immigrant clients, including class actions for workers not paid minimum wage or overtime; civil cases for victims of human trafficking, class actions for clients who encountered unfair business practices when purchasing mobile homes; and administrative complaints against state agencies who fail to provide language access to immigrant residents of North Carolina.

Key Responsibilities

The goal of the Immigrants’ Rights Fellowship is to expand access to legal assistance for immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, in civil cases. The Fellow will work in two primary areas of law: housing (including eviction and home purchase cases) and workers’ rights (including wage and hour and discrimination). The fellow will work closely with experienced attorneys at the NC Justice Center to provide advice and representation to callers, file administrative complaints, guide clients through pro se processes, engage in community education events, and, where appropriate, offer full legal representation.
The Fellow will also help run the Justice Center’s Power of Attorney program. This involves recruiting pro-bono volunteers, working with community groups interested in hosting clinics, and training and scheduling volunteers and assisting clients with filling out Power of Attorney paperwork.
The Fellow will develop resources to help immigrants understand their rights and how to navigate court and government complaint processes. Through the fellow’s advice, outreach, and individual representation of immigrant clients, he or she will help identify cases that may be appropriate for more extended representation such as class action litigation or administrative advocacy.
The Fellow will engage in special projects and other duties as assigned with the goal of expanding access to civil justice for immigrants in North Carolina.

Minimum Qualifications:

J.D. or expected to receive a J.D. by the spring of 2026, the Fellow must have passed the North Carolina bar exam and be eligible for admission to the bar by the commencement of the Fellowship.
Strong writing, legal research, and oral advocacy skills.
Professional fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English; ability to interview potential clients and communicate with existing clients in Spanish both verbally and in writing without interpretation assistance.
Interest in and ability to create and conduct community presentations in English and Spanish.
Demonstrated commitment to social justice and ability to recognize the barriers facing immigrant communities.
Self-motivated with the ability to take initiative, manage a variety of tasks, and see projects through to completion.
Demonstrated commitment to racial equity.
Some travel, evening, and weekend work is required.

Physical Requirements
The employee should have the ability to maintain focus and productivity while performing at a workstation for prolonged periods, including working on a computer, managing documents, or engaging in virtual meetings. Some travel, evening, and weekend work is required.

Work Environment
Hybrid work environment, including home and office.

Benefits

Six weeks paid time off annually
Paid parental leave and holidays
Employer contributions to a 403(b)-retirement plan
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Disability and life insurance
Flexible spending and health savings account options
Part of the Bargaining unit

Equal Opportunity
The NC Justice Center is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, creed, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, disability, pregnancy, personal appearance, citizenship, military service, genetic information, natural hairstyles, or any protected status. We are a Fair Chance Employer and strive to reduce barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records.

Staff Attorney, Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project

Click here to apply.
Upon request, The North Carolina Justice Center will provide reasonable accommodation for all candidates with disabilities.
Location: Hybrid (Raleigh, NC)
Department: Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Job Title: Staff Attorney
Reports to: Project Director of Immigrant and Refugee Rights
FLSA Status: exempt
Union Status: Union
Job Group: Group 6
Supervises: none
Updated Salary: $73,980 to $86,553
Overview: The North Carolina Justice Center (NCJC) is a progressive research and advocacy organization dedicated to expanding opportunities and protecting the rights of low-income individuals and communities in North Carolina. For over 29 years, NCJC has worked across policy, legal, and community platforms to address poverty and systemic inequities through legislative advocacy, litigation, public education, and coalition building. The Staff Attorney for the Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project works closely with community members, local, state, and national-level partners and other NCJC advocates to advance systemic change in immigrants’ and refugees’ rights in North Carolina through a combination of individual representation, impact litigation, community outreach, and policy advocacy. This position will maintain a practice that primarily involves representing individuals in Immigration Court as well as before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but could incorporate cross-program work as needed. The attorney will serve as a resource for advocates and partners across the state, including private attorneys, nonprofits, and government agencies. Finally, the staff attorney will engage in collaboration with community and advocacy groups to support a collective mission to eliminate poverty and promote justice in North Carolina.

Key Responsibilities

Work collaboratively with other Justice Center Attorneys to provide legal assistance and direct representation to immigrants in all relevant forums, including state and federal courts, and administrative agencies. This will include immigration legal matters, representing clients before the USCIS, immigration courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The Attorney may also participate in impact litigation under supervision or in collaboration with other Attorneys.
Conduct as needed community education and presentations on immigration law and immigrants’ rights issues and conduct legal clinics.
Collaborate with other Justice Center staff to address systemic issues facing immigrants and refugees.
Maintain regular case logs of all clients related work in case management database system.
Other duties may be assigned to meet the Justice Center’s needs.

Minimum Qualifications

Three to five years representing immigrants in immigration matters, including in immigration court.
Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently, ability to meet deadlines.
Strong legal writing, research, and oral advocacy skills.
Highly proficient in written and spoken Spanish and English.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and 365 Suite.
Demonstrated commitment to social justice, ability to recognize the barriers facing immigrant communities, and experience working with low-income individuals.
Demonstrated commitment to racial equality.
Some travel, evening, and weekend work is required.

Certifications/Licenses Required

J.D. and admitted to a State Bar

Physical Requirements

The employee should have the ability to maintain focus and productivity while performing sedentary tasks at a workstation for prolonged periods, including working on a computer, managing documents, or engaging in virtual meetings.

Work Environment

This role involves a combination of remote work, in-office work at NCJC’s Raleigh headquarters, and occasional offsite travel for vendor selection, meetings, or community events. Some evening and weekend availability may be requested depending on casework or community needs.

Benefits

Six weeks paid time off annually
Paid parental leave and holidays
Employer contributions to a 403(b)-retirement plan
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Disability and life insurance
Flexible spending and health savings account options
Part of the collective bargaining unit

The North Carolina Justice Center is an equal opportunity/ Affirmative Action employer:

The NC Justice Center is is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, creed, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, personal appearance, marital or family status, citizenship, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, genetic information, natural hair styles, or other status as protected by State and Federal laws. We are a Fair Chance Employer and work to reduce barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records. It is our intention to promote the full realization of equality in opportunity and employment.