LEGAL CASEWORK VOLUNTEER

This is a volunteer position for those with a passion for refugee and human rights law. It is structured placement for a minimum of 6 months with detailed training and supervision provided. Volunteers will develop legal and practical expertise and provide a valuable contribution to the Legal Services of Justice Centre Hong Kong, and to our clients.

Legal Casework Volunteers are engaged in direct legal casework to our clients, under the supervision of a member of Justice Centre’s experienced legal team.

Duration of position:

Legal Casework Volunteers will become involved in tasks in connection with legal casework; provide file management; and act as the first point of contact for the organization in-person, on the phone, and via email. You would therefore play a critical role in client and external relations.

It is a structured placement for a minimum of 6 months with detailed training and supervision provided. Ideally it is a full time position from Monday to Friday but part time and more flexible arrangements will be considered.

Responsibilities:

• Review and action all incoming communications to the Legal team (post, fax, telephone, email etc.);
• Respond promptly to any client enquiries (often highly vulnerable people), and also that of other visitors, agencies etc. in a professional, sensitive and respectful manner;
• Contribute to Justice Centre’s legal and file management systems as well as monitoring and evaluation systems in terms of collection, verification, database entry, and filing of client data;
• Assist with the coordination of intake and referrals for new and existing clients;
• Conduct interviews with claimants, conduct legal and factual (including country of origin) research, and write interview and research-based reports;
• Contribute to developing legal service information and processes,
• Assist in the development and delivery of training;
• Advise and collaborate with the Policy, Research and Advocacy team (‘PRA’) on trends, potential test cases, and breaking issues arising from case work which should be taken forward through policy, advocacy, research and/or other communications functions;
• Such other tasks as required for the support of the delivery of Justice Centre’s Legal Services, as requested by the Head of Legal Services;
• Maintaining the accuracy of client data and records on Clio; and
• To attend all relevant staff meetings.

Essential

• Law graduate (LLB, LLM, JD or Graduate Diploma in Law)
• Demonstrable excellent organizational and communications skills;
• Cordiality and diplomacy;
• Willingness to learn and develop new skills;
• Multicultural sensitivity and ability to work with people from different cultural backgrounds and across varying language barriers;
• Ability to work independently whilst being a good team-player;
• Demonstrated literacy in Excel, basic data entry and Outlook;
• Fluency in verbal and written English; and
• Legal right to work/volunteer in Hong Kong.
• A demonstrable passion and commitment to human rights.

Desirable

• Experience in refugee and/or human rights law
• Knowledge of the HK legal system
• Fluency in Cantonese.
• Fluency in another language such as French, Arabic, Somali, Urdu, Sinhala or Bangla would be a considerable asset.
• Experience working with vulnerable people in a professional setting.

This is a voluntary position, presenting an exciting opportunity to gain practical experience of client-facing legal work under close supervision, and with detailed training from our expert team of refugee lawyers. It is a the chance to learn more about refugees in Hong Kong, and to contribute to rewarding human rights work.