Pro Bono Lawyer - 12 month FTC

This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic team developing and managing the firm’s global pro bono practice. The role is based in London and will be offered as a 12 month fixed-term contract.

Pro Bono Practice

We provide free legal services in the public interest (pro bono) to a wide range of clients, from individual asylum seekers to others. We believe everyone should have effective access to their legal rights, and focus our efforts in certain areas, including child rights, refugee rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and human trafficking. Our aim is to have the greatest possible impact on access to justice and access to opportunity, through deep relationships with our ongoing pro bono clients and by proactively supporting them in addressing systemic issues. Our pro bono clients are clients of the firm: we don’t distinguish internally between paid work and pro bono, and often bring together cross-border, cross-practice teams as needed. Our pro bono clients also benefit from the skills of our business services professionals. We work with legal teams at our corporate clients to support their pro bono activities and collaborate on projects that meet our shared objectives.

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

• Dealing directly with existing and prospective pro bono clients to scope and develop potential pro bono mandates, with a focus on transactional mandates.
• Maintaining and developing strategic pro bono client relationships.
• Providing pro bono client advice, supervision and internal knowledge support in key legal areas relating to the firm’s pro bono practice (both local and international, with a focus on transactional areas).
• Leading on a key global legal research project, including strategic oversight and delivery of international collaborative research sessions with colleagues and corporate client lawyers.
• Internal scoping of new pro bono mandates including ensuring appropriate risk and regulatory checks are carried out and considering regulatory and liability issues as well as the scope and terms of new matters.
• Liaising with each of the firm’s practice groups and offices to place new pro bono matters with a particular focus on our transactional teams – supporting their areas of pro bono expertise and exploring further opportunities for pro bono work.
• Managing access to justice projects and clinics for individuals, including managing a personal case load, supervising cases and dealing with technical queries from fee earners on ongoing matters.
• Advising and supporting lawyers on their legal pro bono work including dealing with technical queries from fee earners globally on ongoing pro bono mandates.
• Assisting with the co-ordination of the firm’s global pro bono practice in all regions, with a particular focus on the firm’s pro bono practices in Amsterdam and Brussels.
• Providing creative input on improving and shaping the firm’s pro bono practice.
• Delivering internal and external presentations on the firm’s pro bono practice.
• Assisting with the internal management of the practice, including internal and external communications, award submissions and tracking the progress and impact of pro bono matters globally.

Key Requirements

• Qualified lawyer (guideline 3+ years PQE) with substantial transactional experience.
• Substantial prior experience of pro bono work in a law firm context, ideally as a pro bono professional.
• Prior experience of advising vulnerable individuals.
• Solid legal research skills and appetite to develop existing and new areas of legal expertise.
• Able to engage effectively with clients, fee earners and senior colleagues across a global organisation, using strong written and verbal communication skills to influence and quickly gain the confidence of those they advise.
• Confident and persuasive public speaker, able to deliver clear and engaging presentations to internal and external audiences, including senior stakeholders and corporate clients.
• Able to prioritise, act on own initiative and think strategically.
• Highly organised and resilient under pressure, bringing strong project management skills and excellent attention to detail.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered on the basis of their merit alone. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK in the role in question and providing the firm with evidence of that right prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only if and when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of relevant factors into account. You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.

Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business critical mandates. At Freshfields we seek to create a better future for our clients, our people and the communities in which we work. Our global teams bring together individuals with different experiences, skills and strengths in a culture where we support all to belong, engage and excel.