Senior EOIR Removal Defense Paralegal / Team Lead

Senior EOIR Removal Defense Paralegal / Team Lead

Full-Time | Remote | U.S. Immigration Law Firm

We are seeking an experienced EOIR Removal Defense Paralegal for a role that combines substantive casework with team leadership and department administration.

The Team Lead will oversee a team of approximately three Removal Defense Paralegals while maintaining a limited personal caseload of approximately 5–15 EOIR matters.

The limited personal caseload is intentional. Most of the Team Lead's time will be dedicated to managing and supporting the paralegal team, monitoring the department's overall caseload, managing deadlines and workflows, reviewing work, conducting case audits, maintaining department organization, and ensuring cases continue progressing appropriately.

This position requires someone with strong hands-on EOIR removal defense experience who understands the work well enough to manage others, identify problems, maintain quality standards, and step in when additional case support is needed.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Team Leadership & Supervision

The Team Lead will oversee a team of approximately three Removal Defense Paralegals.

Responsibilities include:

- Assigning and monitoring work

- Managing team workloads and case distribution

- Reviewing upcoming hearings and deadlines with the team

- Conducting regular case and task audits

- Identifying overdue or incomplete work

- Following up with team members to ensure assignments are completed

- Reviewing work for completeness and quality before attorney review when appropriate

- Training and supporting paralegals

- Answering procedural and workflow questions

- Helping team members prioritize competing deadlines

- Ensuring firm procedures, SOPs, and checklists are followed

- Holding team members accountable for deadlines and assigned responsibilities

- Identifying recurring performance or workflow problems

- Escalating significant issues to attorneys or management

- Redistributing work when a team member is overloaded or unavailable

- Stepping into urgent matters when additional senior-level assistance is required

- Maintaining a culture of ownership, accountability, and proactive case management

The Team Lead should have visibility into what is happening across the team's caseload and should proactively identify problems rather than relying solely on individual paralegals to raise them.

2. Personal EOIR Caseload

The Team Lead will maintain a limited personal caseload of approximately 5–15 EOIR matters.

The caseload may include:

- Master Calendar Hearing matters

- Individual/Merits Hearing preparation

- Defensive asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT

- Cancellation of Removal

- Adjustment of Status before EOIR

- Detained removal proceedings

- Bond and custody matters

- VAWA-related removal defense matters

- Motions to Reopen and Reconsider

- Motions to Change Venue

- Motions to Continue

- Motions to Substitute or Withdraw Counsel

- Prosecutorial Discretion requests

- BIA-related matters

- Other EOIR motions and applications

Responsibilities may include preparing forms, motions, declarations, exhibits, indexes, supporting documentation, and court filing packages for attorney review.

The Team Lead may also be expected to assist with emergency filings, unexpected staffing gaps, complex or time-sensitive matters, and other situations where additional senior-level support is needed.

The personal caseload will intentionally remain smaller than that of the other paralegals because team management and department administration will comprise a significant portion of this position.

3. EOIR Department Administration

The Team Lead will be responsible for helping manage the day-to-day administration and organization of the Removal Defense Department.

Responsibilities include:

- Maintaining oversight of the department's overall EOIR caseload

- Maintaining and auditing the master EOIR hearing and deadline calendar

- Tracking M