The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is an independent charity established in 1967. For over 58 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. 

 

 

We are a small award-winning team of immigration and asylum lawyers, and a support worker. We are consistently ranked as excellent by the Legal Aid Agency and in peer reviews. 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.  

 

We seek a committed immigration lawyer who will fight tirelessly for their clients using all legal avenues available, championing legal aid, and with a desire to change the systems we work within. 

 

The Lawyer will run their own caseload under the supervision of a supervising solicitor. They will take part in all aspects of the legal team’s work, including the provision of outreach advice, and working with our advocacy and communications clients to make wider change beyond the law. 

 

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. We are 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.

 

We recognise the innumerable systemic difficulties faced by immigration lawyers and constantly seek to improve the support we give to our team. We have a unionised staff, reflective practice for individual teams, and flexible work policies that seek to recognise and make space for difference. 
  

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. 

 

We are a learning organisation, and responsibilities may evolve over time. The 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

·  Be a champion for legal aid, and find merit to grant legal aid in the hardest cases

·  Provide in person and telephone outreach advice

·  Maintaining and developing excellent legal knowledge, including training if appropriate 

·  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 to billing and performance targets (4 chargeable hours/day)

 

Essential:

Skills and experience  

 

·   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

·   Enhanced DBS check will be needed

·         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  

 

 

·         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 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 

 

 

 

How to apply
Please submit your CV and a covering letter (no more 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 the Apply Button below.
 
Timeframes  

Submission of CV and covering letter | 11.30pm on Monday 29 October 2025 

First round interviews for prospective candidates| Week commencing 3 November 2025. Candidates will be given a task to complete. 

There may be a second round of interviews for final candidates, if so this will take place week commencing 10 November 2025

Role commences as soon as possible dependent on notice period of successful candidate. Can you please specify your notice period on the application.