The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is seeking a Practitioner-in-Residence for the Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice. 

 The Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice provides vital advocacy and training to benefit immigrants and build the capacity of the legal community to serve immigrant clients in Maryland and nationally. The Center currently trains and supports law students to provide zealous representation for immigrants, especially in cases involving asylum, enforcement abuses, and the minimizing of the lasting effects and racial inequities of disproportionate criminal enforcement. Primarily through its two law clinics, it provides direct representation to people in the immigration agencies and courts and in the federal appellate courts to advance the law. It supports a Citizenship Initiative to promote naturalization so that Maryland’s immigrant community can have more stability and more of a political voice to advocate for itself. 

The Center is hiring for a multi-pronged initiative to strengthen Maryland’s legal community and immigrant support systems by training and supporting immigration and pro bono attorneys to employ new strategies to respond to extraordinary enforcement; supporting Special Immigrant Juvenile efforts for foster children and naturalization workshops; providing emergency financial support for litigation and other client needs, as appropriate; and providing thought leadership by convening symposia and strategic gatherings regionally and nationally. 

The Center is currently led by a Faculty Director and includes two clinics, each led by its own faculty Clinic Director and staffed by law students. The Immigration Clinic works on systems-related policy projects and represents low- and moderate-income immigrants in matters relating to immigration status, usually before the immigration agencies or in the immigration trial courts. The Federal Appellate Immigration Clinic represents immigrants who are appealing decisions to the Board of Immigration Appeals or in the federal courts. The Center is also host to a Legal Fellow who works under the supervision of the Center Faculty Director and the Immigration Clinic Director to represent clients in immigration proceedings. As part of its new initiative, the Center will be hiring this Practitioner-in-Residence position, a Program Director, and a Staff Attorney. 

Job summary 

The Practitioner-in-Residence is a non-tenure track 12 month visiting assistant professor position for two years with the possibility of renewal for a third year based on satisfactory performance. The position contemplates significant experience in the practice of immigration law, including as an advocate or adjudicator, and is envisioned as an opportunity for someone with deep knowledge of immigration law to reflect and teach on the current state of this area of law and engage in substantive thought leadership, including through published scholarship, policy papers, symposia, convenings and other such mechanisms to help envision a positive future for immigration law in the U.S. The position could – but does not need to – serve as preparation for going on the job market for a long-term academic position, but it is not a clinical teaching position. The Practitioner-in-Residence will work to support Chacón Center goals within their experience and expertise, including the Center’s new initiatives of training attorneys and convening leaders in the field to discuss and strategize on immigration issues. The Practitioner will coordinate with Center faculty on thematic convenings of thought leaders and advocates and will teach one or two courses per academic year for law students.  Collaboration with the Center’s clinics is possible if there is mutual interest. The Practitioner will be expected to produce a journal article, white paper, or similarly significant piece of writing on some aspect of immigration law or policy.  

Primary duties of the Practitioner-in-Residence 

The position is full-time in person in Baltimore with flexibility for some remote work.  

• Participate and represent the Center in the national scholarly and public policy conversation about immigration law and policy. 

• Produce and publish at least one significant piece of writing such as a journal article or white paper on a topic related to immigration law, policy or practice. 

• With Center Program Director and faculty, help develop and participate in one symposium or conference per year and in smaller strategic convenings of immigration scholars or advocates on targeted topics, as appropriate. 

• Teach at least one non-clinical course for law students each academic year, on immigration-related topics of interest. 

• With Center Program Director and Faculty Director, support the Center’s new initiative for training attorneys to expand legal capacity, including by helping choose training topics and assisting with training presentations and ongoing drop-in mentoring sessions, within experience and expertise. 

• With Center Program Director, may assist to develop programming to support resilience and wellness among Center alumni and other immigration legal practitioners in Maryland. 

• Perform other duties as assigned to support Center goals and initiatives. 

 Minimum Qualifications: 

• J.D. from an ABA accredited school. Must be barred in Maryland or another United States jurisdiction and be in good standing. 

• Five to fifteen years of experience in the practice of immigration law and/or policy.  
   

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Advanced working knowledge of and experience with immigration law, the immigration legal system and immigration policy issues.  

• Willingness and interest to engage a broad national conversation on immigration legal issues with a variety of audiences, including scholarly, student, public policy and media. 

• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communications, presentation, and interpersonal skills. 

• Excellent research and analytical thinking skills with an ability and interest to delve deeply into a topic for sustained inquiry and written development. 

• Experience or interest in teaching and working with law students and legal professionals engaged in continuing education. 

• Ability to handle multiple ongoing tasks, including time and task management, establishment of deadlines, and prioritization of responsibilities. 

• Leadership, coaching, teambuilding, and interpersonal skills to strengthen and cultivate relationships with coworkers, students, alumni, and members of the public. 

This is a full-time two-year appointment with the possibility of renewal for an additional year subject to performance.  This position is in-person in Baltimore, with the opportunity for remote work consistent with University policies and subject to approval of supervisors. 
 

Start date: July 1, 2026 

Annualized salary: $100,000 for full-time position 

Application deadline: April 24, 2026 though applications will be considered on a rolling basis and remain open until filled.  

Interested applicants should submit (a) a cover letter that includes at least a paragraph identifying a subject of interest for research/writing and the subject for a law school course or courses to teach, (b) resume, (c) the names and telephone numbers of at least three references.