Fair Trials International

Internships

London, July 2012 (min. 3 months)

Fair Trials International, a small, dynamic human rights charity with a unique focus on fair trial rights in cross-border cases, which was established in the early 1990s but but has grown significantly and has ambitious plans for the future, is currently recruiting for a Legal Policy Intern and a Legal Casework Intern. Since 1992 Fair Trials International has worked for the better protection of fair trial rights and defended the rights of people facing criminal charges in a country other than their own.

Legal Policy Intern

Job purpose

● To assist the Policy Officer and Head of Policy in the development and delivery of FTI’s policy work.

● To assist the Policy Officer and Head of Policy in all aspects of the development and delivery of FTI’s network activities, including meetings of FTI’s Legal Experts Advisory Panel and training events for FTI’s European Young Defenders Network.

Responsibilities

● Legal and policy research;

● Assisting with the drafting of policy submissions and campaigning materials;

● Reviewing FTI’s existing and closed cases and identifying and summarising appropriate campaigning cases;

● Analysing casework data on fair trial issues on FTI’s database of cases;

● Assisting with the development of the search and report-producing capacity of FTI’s casework database to maximise its usefulness to the policy team;

● Maintaining data on FTI’s key policy contacts and network members;

● Assisting with the drafting of case summaries and other content for FTI’s website;

● Assisting with the drafting and coordination of FTI publications including campaign materials;

● Assisting the Policy Officer and Head of Policy with coordinating FTI's capacity building and networking activities, including the European Young Defenders’ Network and the Legal Experts Advisory Panel

Tasks to include but not limited to

● Advertising events and sending out invitations;

● Researching and managing the booking of venues;

● Managing the distribution of papers and minutes;

● Managing travel arrangements for FTI staff, speakers and attendees at FTI events;

● Attending FTI’s legal capacity-building events and programmes including the European Young

● Defenders Network and the Legal Experts Advisory Panel;

● Maintaining effective communications with members of both networks and keeping relevant data on the contacts database and in the membership files;

● Assisting the policy team in preparing meeting minutes and final communiqués following each meeting of the Legal Experts Advisory Panel;

● Keeping FTI’s website up to date in its information regarding the events of each network;

● In all other respects, complying with FTI’s Grant Agreements with the European Commission and observing the requirements of these Agreements in relation to the conduct of the network events and the keeping of records relating to them.

Person specification

● Must have completed a law degree or law conversion course;

● Demonstrates an interest in human rights law, criminal law and the rule of law;

● Highly organised and able to prioritise a workload;

● A willingness to be flexible according to the demands of the organisation;

● Capable legal researcher;

● Excellent communications skills;

● Ability to work independently and manage own time;

● Ability to summarise cases and present them in clear and compelling language;

● Knowledge of Microsoft Office and good general office skills;

● Experience of events organisation desirable;

● European languages desirable.

Hours

Full time (35h/week) for a minimum of 3 months.

Salary

Unpaid position, but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.

Start date

16 July 2012.

To apply

Please send a CV and a cover letter electronically to recruitment@fairtrials.net no later than 24 June 2012. For further information on the structure and contents of CV and cover letter, see Fair Trials International (under 'Legal Policy Intern Candidate Briefing').

Legal Casework Intern

Job purpose

● To contribute to FTI’s mission to work on fair trials based on international standards of justice;

● To support the casework team in manging all the initial requests for assistance from the public;

● To conduct ad hoc legal research and to contribute more generally to both the casework and policy teams, where extra help is needed.

Responsibilities

● To send out initial correspondence to individuals who contact us to seek help;

● To compile information from correspondence from clients, and if necessary from the family/legal team/Foreign Office and other bodies in order to make an informed summary of the individual's current case;

● To enter and maintain accurate information about cases and contacts in databases and archives;

● To present a simplified summary of cases to the Direct Assistance Manager (DAM), providing details of the fair trial issues involved and specific information on the status and vulnerability of the client;

● Drafting responses to everyone who contacts us for help including, with the support of the DAM, generic advice and referrals to other organisations and lawyers;

● To carry out ad hoc legal research to assist the caseworkers;

● To be responsible for general office duties, in particular answering the main office telephone;

● There will be occasions where the Legal Casework Intern will be required to carry out additional tasks for the policy team, but the nature of these jobs will be dependent on the needs of the policy Team at the time.

Person specification

● Must have completed either a law degree or relevant law conversion course (GDL, CPE);

● Demonstrates an interest in Human Rights law, Criminal law and the rule of law;

● Confident and assertive, while approachable and sensitive to the needs of clients

● Highly organised and able to prioritise a workload;

● A willingness to be flexible according to the current demands of the organisation.

Skills and experience

Essential

● Law degree or relevant law conversion course (GDL,CPE);

● Capable legal researcher;

● Good communication skills;

● Ability to work independently and manage own time;

● Ability to keep full and accurate records of all work on the cases;

● Ability to summarise cases and present them in a simplified manner;

● Knowledge of Microsoft office and good general office skills;

● Proof of right to work in the United Kingdom.

Desirable

● Experience working/volunteering for Human Rights NGOs;

● Fluency in a language other than English.

Hours

Full time (35h/week) for a minimum of 3 months, longer if possible.

Salary

Unpaid position, but reasonable travel expenses within London and lunch will be reimbursed.

Start date

16 July 2012.

To apply

Please send a CV and a cover letter electronically to recruitment@fairtrials.net no later than 24 June 2012. For further information on the structure and contents of CV and cover letter, see Fair Trials International (under 'Legal Casework Intern Candidate Briefing').