Training Contract - April 2025 - Justice First Fellowship/|Norfolk Community Law Service

Application deadline: 29 November 2024

NCLS is a registered charity and has been working in Norfolk for 40 years. Our mission is to work with partner agencies to identify gaps in provision locally, and to develop free legal advice services to meet that need. We particularly target our services at vulnerable and disadvantaged groups e.g. those on low incomes, people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities or mental health issues, migrant workers, other BAME groups, offenders and ex-offenders.

Our current services include -

• Initial free legal advice sessions covering employment, family & general advice
• debt and money advice •welfare benefits advice and representation at appeals Tribunals
• legal advice for victims of domestic abuse
• immigration advice, including EU Settlement Scheme
• rent arrears mediation for Norwich City Council housing tenants
• family court support service for cases concerning child contact

Demand for our services has grown consistently year on year and we advised around 4000 people in 2022-23. During this period we delivered 1856 free initial legal advice appointments.

Meanwhile our specialist services:

• represented clients at 155 social security tribunal hearings and recouped £2.3 million in welfare benefits on behalf of our clients •assisted 590 clients to have £655,762 of debt renegotiated or written off
• helped 497 people with their immigration issues, including domestic violence concessions
• accompanied clients to 174 family court hearings, helping them to represent themselves as effectively as possible
• advised 163 people on how the law can protect them from domestic abuse

Other recent achievements include:

• Increasing our reach - we helped 17% more clients in 2022-23 than in 2021-22. These figures look likely to have grown even further in 2023/24. •Ability to give immigration advice at OISC Level 3 (advocacy and representation)
• Employing a Mobile Legal Adviser to take advice to where it’s needed in the less accessible parts of Norfolk
• Creating a funded role for our previous Justice First Fellow, who now works as our Social Welfare Solicitor, helping clients whose issues cut across multiple areas of law.
• Launching a new service in partnership with local homelessness charity St Martins to assist recently homeless people with their debts •One of our Welfare Rights advisers winning the Community Welfare award from the national Muslim Community Association, for outstanding service and solidarity with British Muslims
• Securing a legal aid contract in family enabling us to represent domestic abuse clients in court
• Various funding successes, including £500k over 5 years from Access to Justice, enabling us to increase our resource and even better serve the Norfolk community.

Training Location: 14 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1LB

This is a two-year Trainee Solicitor post involving in house training under the supervision of both experienced advisers and qualified solicitors in areas of social welfare law.

• Under supervision, provide initial legal advice and information to individuals and organisations, through legal outreach work across Norfolk, including through legal surgeries and telephone advice lines.
•  Under supervision, provide direct legal advice and representation to clients, including advocacy at relevant tribunals and courts.
• Under supervision, develop a legal project for NCLS.
• Contribute to the implementation of plans for the service in which they work, including meeting key outcomes regarding casework, client impact and policy activities.
• Maintain timely and accurate records of work undertaken using our casework system and other procedures designed to manage and track our work in a safe, efficient and effective manner as set down in NCLS policies and procedures
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of areas of law relevant to the focus of project work, as well as knowledge of key developments in human rights and equalities law, and public law.
• Contribute to the identification of key policy issues and to policy and influencing work in areas of importance to our client groups.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of internal and external professional training.
• Fulfil the obligations of the training contract and achieve competency in the Professional Education and Training Stage 2 outcomes to satisfy the requirements of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
• Contribute to reports to funders and ensure that work undertaken within a funded project adheres to any requirements set out by funders of that project.
• Travel, when required, to conduct work across Norfolk the, UK and abroad. This includes representation at courts, attendance at other Legal Advice organisations, and attendance at outreach surgeries and training venues.

 General:

• To work independently but also collaboratively with other members of the NCLS team, including volunteers and our partners.
• To complete other tasks necessary to contribute to the operational management, sustainability and development of NCLS.
• To prioritise work effectively and ensure that work is completed professionally and to high standards.
• To conduct all work in line with NCLS policies and procedures, including our Equalities and Diversity Policy.
•  To represent the organisation publicly in the spirit of NCLS values

 The above may be subject to alteration from time to time and changes will be carried out following consultation with all parties involved

 Trainee Areas of Law: Welfare Benefits;Immigration / Asylum;Debt;Employment;Housing;Family Law

Person Specification:

Essential

• Law Degree or General Diploma in Law 
• Successful completion of Legal Practice Course (LPC)
• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to social welfare law
• An understanding of and commitment to promoting equal opportunities
• Ability to listen and communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• An interest in advocacy and debating
• Proficiency in the use of ICT
• Ability to be self- motivating and self-managing
• Ability to plan and prioritise work
• Ability to contribute to effective team working and mutually supportive staff working relationships

 Desirable

• An understanding of how statutory and voluntary agencies work and the financial and organisational contexts they operate in.
• Experience of volunteering and/ or working with volunteers
• Numeracy and ability to produce and analyse statistical data.
• Ability to manage, co-ordinate and develop a new project
• Ability to attend occasional out of hours meetings and events as required
• Ability to drive or a willingness to travel by public transport within and outside Norfolk

Organisational Benefits:

Starting Salary: £32,062.45

Contact for Enquiries: David Powles

Contact Email: davidpowles@ncls.co.uk

Organisation Website: https://www.ncls.co.uk

Interview Dates: Tuesday January 21 and Thursday January 23