Asylum Aid (London) – Immigration and Public Law Solicitor (NQ+)

Asylum Aid (London) - Immigration and Public Law Solicitor (NQ+)

• Job title: Immigration & Public Law Solicitor
• Location: London
• Contract: Permanent
• Hours: 37.5 (part-time and flexible working considered, minimum 0.8FTE)
• Holidays: 27 days plus bank holidays and 4 discretionary days for the winter closure period

Asylum Aid is looking for a solicitor and IAAS accredited senior caseworker, with experience of immigration legal aid work and of running judicial review challenges, particularly in the immigration and asylum context to join their exceptional legal team.

The Role

The ideal candidate will be a solicitor and IAAS accredited senior caseworker, with experience of immigration legal aid work and of running judicial review challenges, particularly in the immigration and asylum context.

As a Public Law fee earner, you will be responsible for managing a caseload of asylum, trafficking, human rights and related public law claims. You will run your own immigration caseload, delivering high quality legal services on the full range of immigration and welfare issues that affect refugees, asylum seekers and survivors of trafficking and torture in the UK. Therefore, experience of working with vulnerable clients, including victims of trafficking and other human rights violations, is highly desirable. At Asylum Aid we seek to use public law to increase the impact of our work to the benefit of all those seeking protection in the UK. As well as bringing judicial review claims on behalf of individual clients, you will have the opportunity to work with the Public Law Supervisor and other team members to develop strategic legal challenges with the aim of achieving wider benefits. Asylum Aid aims to collaborate with other organisations in the sector to make best use of the limited resources that we have available. You will be invited to attend meetings in the sector on behalf of Asylum Aid and contribute to strategy conversations.

There will be scope within the role to take on deputy supervision responsibilities, subject to experience and interest in developing this side of the role.

This is a good opportunity for a self-starter to influence the growth and development of the Public Law team and contribute to the wider strategic development of Asylum Aid.

Legal Casework

• Work closely with the Public Law Supervisor, Director of Legal Casework and Asylum Aid Executive Director to develop a public law caseload and drive change through strategic litigation;
• Provide legal advice and representation to clients on asylum and human rights claims, and on judicial review challenges pertaining to asylum and immigration matters and the treatment of asylum seekers and other migrants;
• Identify common problems and issues from the wider team’s caseload which are suitable for strategic challenges;
• Contribute to internal strategy discussions
• Attend external meetings on behalf of AA and contribute to strategy discussions within the wider sector

Person Specification:

• Authorised litigator (qualified solicitor or barrister with authorisation to conduct litigation) or will qualify within 6 months of appointment;
• At least two years’ experience of maintaining a caseload of judicial review claims in the Administrative Court and Upper Tribunal, as well as complex asylum, immigration and human rights cases in line with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) and LAA regulatory requirements;
• Senior Caseworker (Level 2) accreditation under the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS), or the skills and experience to attain accreditation within 3 months of appointment;
• Good working knowledge of the law and policy as it relates to public law issues in immigration and asylum law and of judicial review practice and procedure in the Administrative Court and Upper Tribunal (IAC);
• Experience of having conduct of appeals in the First Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal, including working collaboratively with counsel;
• Experience of undertaking publicly funded work under a legal aid contract, including of Exceptional Case Funding, in the immigration and asylum category and/or the public law category;
• Experience of using the LAA’s Client and Costs Management System to apply for legal aid certificates, extend costs and scope limitations, and submit claims for payment on certificated matters;
• Experience of obtaining inter partes costs and instructing costs draftspersons;
• Experience of working with a Case Management System;
• Experience of achieving billing targets;
• The ability to work autonomously, prioritise workloads and meet deadlines;
• The ability to deal empathetically and supportively with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers;
• The ability to communicate effectively in English, verbally and in writing, with people from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Commitment to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion.