Cara Jobson

Location: Berkeley, California
Phone: 415-627-9161
Fax: 510-679-1710
Email: Email Me

Cara Jobson received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Prior to law school, she attended the University of California, Santa Cruz where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies.

Cara has worked on legal issues affecting the LGBT immigrant community for over twenty years, and she worked on some of the first asylum cases in the United States based on sexual orientation. Her work on behalf of immigrants has been covered in media and film.

She serves as Of Counsel to NCLR on their immigration matters. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Pride Law Fund and of Small Schools for Equity. She is a volunteer attorney with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP). She serves on the Board of Directors of Refugee Eye, a visual storytelling hub created by refugees.

Cara Jobson frequently provides trainings to community groups and non-profits on immigration law. She is a mentor attorney for the pro bono asylum program of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. In 2011, she received an award for Outstanding Public Service from the Bar Association of San Francisco and in 2013 she received a Community Partner award from NCLR. Since 2009, she has been recognized every year by California Super Lawyer Magazine.

Cara is fluent in Spanish and has spent significant time in El Salvador and Mexico, where she studied Mexican history.

Cara is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of California.

Bar Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. District Court Southern District of California

Education

University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, California
J.D. – 2001
University of California, Santa Cruz, California – 1994

Professional Associations and Memberships

Pride Law Fund, Board of Directors
Small Schools for Equity, Board of Directors
State Bar of California, Member
American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA), Member

Pro Bono Activities

Of Counsel, NCLR
Mentor Attorney, Pro-Bono Asylum Program of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
Volunteer Attorney, La Raza Centro Legal Immigration Clinic
Volunteer Attorney, AIDS Legal Referral Panel

Languages

Spanish