Immigration, Asylum and Public Law Assistant Lawyer (Solicitor or Caseworker)
Salary £ 34000 - 39000
London N7 and flexible hybrid working
Vacancy listed 09/09/2025
Application deadline 25/09/2025
Details
Who we are 
 
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is an independent charity established in 1967. For over 57 years, we have promoted our vision of a society in which people can live safely and are treated with equal dignity and respect, regardless of where they are from or how they came to the UK. To achieve this, we provide legal advice, representation and holistic support to migrants experiencing injustice, poverty, and discrimination; we undertake parliamentary advocacy and expert policy analysis; we speak out and challenge damaging and discriminatory media narratives about immigration; we use law as a tool of resistance;  we work in solidarity with migrants and grassroots groups, and we build campaigns that work towards a fairer approach in immigration and asylum law and policy. We root all aspects of our work in humanity, compassion, anti-oppression and anti-racist values, taking an approach that radically challenges the way that things are to build a new and better world for migrants. 
 
JCWI’s Legal Team  
 
We are a small award-winning team of immigration and asylum lawyers, and a support worker. We seek to use the legal system to push for change while always keeping our clients at the heart of what we do. Our work is trauma informed. We focus on representing the most marginalised refugees and migrants. As well as casework, we provide outreach advice and support worker services. The legal team works closely with JCWI’s advocacy and campaigns teams, providing a unique multidisciplinary team.  
 
Role Purpose 
 
This is a new role. The Assistant Lawyer will run their own caseload under the supervision of a supervising solicitor, alongside providing support to lawyers within the team. They will assist with all aspects of the legal team’s work, including the provision of outreach advice. This role will allow the Assistant Lawyer to develop existing skills and expertise in immigration and asylum casework.
 
This role offers a stimulating and varied caseload within a dynamic and sometimes high-profile environment, where no two days are the same. You will be exposed to engaging and often challenging work that requires initiative and adaptability. At the same time, the role involves a significant amount of routine administrative tasks that are essential to progressing cases and supporting the financial health of the organisation.  We are therefore looking for someone who not only thrives on interesting, fast-paced projects, but who also brings a positive and conscientious attitude to handling the necessary day-to-day administration with accuracy and reliability.
 
JCWI has a proud history of staff from racialised people and people with lived experience of the immigration system, and we strongly encourage applications from people with lived experience of the immigration system and are representative of the communities we work with. 
 
Role Description 
 
We are a learning organisation and responsibilities may evolve over time. The Assistant Lawyer will remain flexible, contributing to tasks that increase the impact of our work. 
 
Duties:
 
  • Provide our clients with legal representation of the highest standard, including in urgent cases with clients facing removal or destitution
  • Manage own caseload, alongside assisting lawyers in the team
  • Provide in person and telephone outreach advice
  • Maintaining and developing excellent legal knowledge
  • Work with JCWI’s Advocacy and Communications Team to identify emerging issues in immigration law & policy, develop opportunities for litigation, advocacy or communications work and, where appropriate, to support client capacity to engage in campaigns
  • Opportunity to contribute to our core campaigns, and to build cases on issues including migrant workers’ rights, the rights of undocumented people and climate justice.
  • Take responsibility for JCWI’s organisational sustainability by taking a responsible and proactive approach to billing, adhering as far as possible to billing and performance targets
 
Person Specification
 
Essential:

Skills and experience  
  • At least one year’s experience of complex immigration casework, as caseworker or paralegal
  • Accredited to IAAS Level 1 Caseworker, with a willingness to progress to Level 2 within six months of starting 
  • Excellent legal skills, including being able to provide on-the-spot legal advice
  • Track record of going the extra mile to achieve excellent results for clients
  • Excellent communication skills, with proven ability to communicate complex legal information clearly and succinctly;
  • Responsible and conscientious team player;
  • Ability to work proactively, to prioritise effectively and to meet deadlines, with well-developed time management skills
  • Exceptional organisational skills required to manage a demanding work-load, on occasion acute pressures triggered by the difficulties and crises of those we represent, and meeting deadlines imposed by court timetables
  • Confident IT skills, including proven experience of case management systems
  • Enhanced DBS check will be required


Values

Proven commitment to legal aid as fundamental to access to justice
Recognises the value of legal representation when used as a tool of resistance 
  • Commitment to defending and furthering the rights of all people who move, holding wider anti-oppressive values and practices, including anti-racism, queer and trans liberation, gender justice, class solidarity, and the importance of an intersectional approach to social justice  
  • Empathetic approach which allows for building strong trusting relationships with clients, including at-risk individuals
  • A commitment to working hard, and maintaining focus and efficiency in a field that is pressured and where the stakes are high
  • Commitment to Union values 

Desirable

  • Lived experience of the UK immigration system 
  • Experience of providing advice to immigration detainees
  • Experience of conducting judicial review cases and claims before the higher courts
  • Experience of campaigning for migrant rights, including voluntary work 
  • An understanding of the political landscape relating to migrant rights and racial justice  
 
 
How to apply
Please submit your CV and a covering letter (no longer than two A4 pages), outlining your suitability for the role as set out in the job description and how you meet the person specification, via our website.
 
Timeframes  

Submission of CV and covering letter| 11.30pm on Thursday 25 September 2025 

First round interviews for prospective candidates| Week commencing 6 October 2025 . 
Candidates will be given a task to complete, sent in advance. 

There may be a second round of interviews for final candidates, if so this will take place week commencing 13 October 2025. 

Role commences as soon as possible dependent on notice period of successful candidate 
Benefits

Ride to Work scheme
50% Gym Group membership

Notes

Permanent: Full / Part Time.

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