Legal Trainee at Justice Defenders

OVERVIEW

• Justice Defenders is recruiting 3 Legal Trainees to join the Kenya team from June 2023 to June 2024. Legal Trainees join the organization on a formative journey aimed at developing the life skills, professional experience, and personal character they need to successfully transition into their post-release life. Justice Defenders Trainees undertake meaningful legal work while gaining valuable workplace skills and benefitting from specialized training in all business areas of Justice Defenders.
• These positions are exclusively open for formerly incarcerated individuals who served in Justice Defenders’ legal offices as paralegals for at least 2 years.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Justice Defenders University of London graduates are invited to apply. In exceptional cases, released Paralegals with at least two years of experience, who can demonstrate compelling reasons to be involved in the program will be considered too. To be eligible, all paralegals shall demonstrate to meet Justice Defenders standards for quality paralegal work, ethics, and behaviour.

Legal Trainee will possess:

• Good knowledge of the law including key practice areas
• High intellectual, learning, and research ability
• Common sense and the ability to make decisions and advise clients on the course of action which is considered to be in the client’s best interest
• Solid foundations for effective communication
• Willingness to work for the defenseless and to recognize that all people should be entitled to equal opportunities before the law
• Ability to work in teams as well as independently and with little supervision.

All applicants also have to demonstrate:

• A track record of good service with Justice Defenders whilst in prison - candidates who have been involved in disciplinary proceedings may still be considered, depending on the nature of their cases
• Alignment with the values and policies of the organization as demonstrated by their conduct, work, and journey whilst in prison
• Motivation to develop themselves to become self-sufficient individuals
• A clear understanding and ratification of the rights and duties of the Legal Traineeship Scheme (LTS)
• All applicants must have been released prior to the commencement of the traineeship and be available to report to the Justice Defenders office on the agreed program start date. 

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Personal and professional development 

Trainees will focus on building the required knowledge, behaviours, and professional skills to boost their expertise and employability. These will include: 

• Attending all onboarding and induction activities
• Learning about Justice Defenders, including familiarising with its policies, values as well as all other relevant aspects of the company
• Learning new relevant work skills in all areas of the company by attending in-house seminars and specialized workshops;
• Attending practical workplace training to develop key interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills;
• Building professional relationships with colleagues and clients
• Acquiring and practicing ICT and digital skills;
• Building employability skills such as professionalism, interview skills, teamwork, CV writing, prioritization, quality service delivery, and more;
• Completing all tests, presentations, assignments, and assessments.

Work experience 

• Most of the Trainees’ working hours will be dedicated to developing solid work experience by contributing to the areas of Justice Defenders they will be assigned to, including working in the legal practice department, as well as undertaking other duties and projects as may be assigned from time to time. Trainees will fulfill various practical tasks with a view to developing a comprehensive set of transferable skills while meaningfully contributing to Justice Defenders’s mission.

This will entail: 

• Shadowing Justice Defenders members of staff as they carry out their daily duties
• Engaging in refresher legal training and work experience aimed at reinforcing previously acquired skills and knowledge
• Organising workflow, delivering assigned work, and reporting to supervisors
• Embedding knowledge in the company’s various roles by putting new learning into practice under the supervision of a Justice Defenders staff member.

Personal well-being and development

• Trainees are expected to attend scheduled sessions on mentoring, coaching, counseling, and personal development planning. They will benefit from regular interactions with a wide range of professional advisors, confidants, and spiritual leaders who will look after their holistic well-being. They are therefore expected to attend and come to such sessions prepared and willing to engage.

Other activities 

• Trainees’ working schedule will also include network-building and other resettlement-oriented activities, such as practical orientation, house searching, settling down, community reconciliation, and building independent living skills. Moreover, Trainees will also be provided with platforms to share their lived experiences with the rest of the Justice Defenders community, through public speaking and in other fora. Time will be therefore allocated for preparing for and delivering such interventions.