JOB DESCRIPTION: SUPERVISING IMMIGRATION SOLICITOR

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1 LGAL PRACTIC UNIT JOB SCRIPTION: SUPRVISING IMMIGRATION SOLICITOR epartment Reporting to irect reports Location Start date Salary / AL Hours of work Job purpose and role Legal Practice Unit (LPU) irector of Legal Practice N/A. See below for details of supervisory responsibilities. Coram Community Campus, London As soon as possible Salary: 32-35,000 pa (pro rata) Annual leave: 28 (with 3 to be taken during Christmas office closure) 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with possible evening work and early morning work to deliver training, including some lunchtime working This is an unique and exciting opportunity to lead the Children's Pro Bono Legal Services project, an innovative nationality law clinic developed in partnership with Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC) and two leading corporate law firms - Allen & Overy and LA Piper. CCLC is the UK s leading children s legal organisation and part of the Coram group of children s charities. The project is situated within CCLC s Legal Practice Unit and won 'Most ffective Pro Bono Partnership' at the 2015 LawWorks Pro Bono Awards. We are looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic solicitor with expertise in immigration and nationality law to supervise lawyers from Allen & Overy and LA Piper in providing free legal advice and representation to children, young people and families with out-of-scope immigration and nationality cases. Where cuts to legal aid have left a huge gap in the provision of legal services, the project assists clients in need of legal representation with certain types of case outside of the legal aid regime where they would otherwise be unable to realise their legal rights. The successful candidate will manage the overall caseload of the project from CCLC, providing training and ongoing expert legal support to the pro bono lawyers. They will be expected to attend on clients with lawyers from the partner firms, and then supervise the lawyers in preparing the client's nationality application, running a number of cases at one time. They will be able to steer the direction of this relatively new, innovative project and will be expected to ensure that the project takes on a significant amount of cases and makes the maximum possible positive impact for a vulnerable client base. The successful candidate will be expected to look for opportunities to initiate strategic litigation within the project. This will feed into CCLC's wider policy advocacy to effect positive change and promote the rights of children and young

2 people affected by immigration control. Candidates should be committed to children s rights, should be confident in managing a project and supervising a team of lawyers, and should be able to independently oversee the delivery of high-quality work on a large caseload. It is expected that the successful candidate will have an interest in the future of the immigration legal services landscape and be enthusiastic about new models for delivering legal services involving pro bono lawyers. The project ties in with the Supported Options Initiative, a programme of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy, which supports innovation in helping children and young people with irregular immigration status to live full lives. Main duties and Responsibilities Legal Casework and Supervision Processing all referrals into the project and undertaking an initial legal analysis of the work needed in each case before passing referrals on to the pro bono teams in partner firms. Attending client s with pro bono lawyers and then providing ongoing supervisory support, including via telephone and . eveloping a strategy for completing applications for exceptional case funding from the Legal Aid Agency for out-of-scope immigration cases. Providing onward referral to other solicitors and services as appropriate. Maintaining standards of professional service in line with the CCLC s standards and procedures documents and complying with all CCLC policies. Complying with accreditation and professional standards. Training and evelopment eveloping and delivering training to all pro bono lawyers recruited to the project. Maintaining, and revising where necessary, a volunteer manual, procedures, policies, a referral form, letters of authority, a pro forma attendance note, template letters, etc. nsuring that own legal expertise is as up to date as possible in the relevant fields of law, including immigration, asylum and nationality law, as well as child law and child-related community care law and education law and relevant areas such as access to health care. Project and Stakeholder Management Co-ordinating and overseeing the delivery of all project work. This will include

3 monitoring the working methods of the project and trouble-shooting problems. Initiating, developing and maintaining positive relationships with partner firms, referral organisations and funders/potential funders. Coordinating the progress and development of the project. Regular feedback to pro bono coordinators on progress, including visits to partner firms to meet coordinators and volunteers. Revising and maintaining record-keeping systems and ensuring compliance with data protection procedures/policies. Managing the project budget, including allocating, tracking and managing disbursements on files. nsuring all targets are met and reporting to funders including partner firms on project outcomes. Steering the direction of the project and its potential expansion. Seeking out opportunities to develop the project, including contributing towards funding applications. elivering Strategic Change Seeking out opportunities for strategic litigation on issues of children and young people's rights. Raising awareness of the project and building referral streams, including organising publicity events and workshops to promote the project. Raising awareness of the delivery model at relevant external events and among the legal services community. Where appropriate, sharing knowledge with other practitioners seeking to develop similar pro bono models in the UK. Support the development of a pro bono culture within partner law firms. Collaboration Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the project, including outcomes and impact for clients, and reporting to CCLC and the partner firms. Proactively contributing to CCLC s policy and research work through observations made and cases seen through the project and its working methods. Working closely with and supporting the immigration team in CCLC's Legal Practice Unit, as well as contributing positively to the day-to-day work of CCLC. This job description sets out the key responsibilities of the role, but it is not exhaustive and may change as the project develops. Changes will only be made in consultation with the post holder and project partners.

4 LGAL PRACTIC UNIT PRSON SPCIFICATION: SUPRVISING IMMIGRATION SOLICITOR Requirements: The post-holder must be able to demonstrate: Support for CCLC s aims and a commitment to promoting children and young people s rights, and understanding of working within a human rights and child rights framework. An excellent educational background, which should normally include at least an upper second class honours degree or equivalent. ssential () or esirable () Requirements Measured by: a) Application form c) Interview Application form A valid practising certificate. Application form Level 2 or Supervisor accreditation with the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme. Up-to-date expertise and experience in immigration, asylum and nationality law. xperience representing destitute migrant families to make immigration and nationality applications. xperience in public law. xperience of providing advice on support, accommodation and community care and/or education issues and an understanding of how immigration law intersects with other areas of law. Knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting migrant children, young people and families. A sensitive approach to working with children, young people and families, including those without regular immigration status. A commitment to high quality legal casework and client care. xperience managing the legal casework of others, including dealing with urgent work.

5 Ability to manage and deliver a project. Supervisory experience and an ability to command authority. Ability to liaise and work effectively in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including private law firms. Highly developed interpersonal skills. Ability to work flexibly including at least one evening per week and sometimes outside office hours, with some travel to partner firms. Interview Understanding of the pro bono sector Interview