POSTED on January 24 2025

 

Click here for the Posting in PDF Format

 

Position: Staff Lawyer – Intake & Summary Advice – Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic (IRLC)

Temporary Full-time (35 hours per week) – 12-month contract

(option for reduced hours of work to a minimum 21 hours per week)

 

The Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic is seeking a Staff Lawyer – Intake & Summary Advice to deliver thoughtful, practical and client-centred legal information and summary legal advice services to clients and community members. The three core values that guide IRLC’s work are: legal excellence, accessibility and respect and care. The IRLC has a highly collaborative team-based work culture that encourages mutual support amongst all staff. We are seeking a Staff Lawyer who shares a commitment to our values for a full-time, 1-year contract beginning in March 2025, with the possibility of extension. The work location is Vancouver with the option of part-time remote work.

 

About the Position;

 

The Staff Lawyer-Intake & Summary Advice will focus exclusively on providing legal advice to low-income clients who are facing legal problems related to their immigration status. The Staff Lawyer-Intake & Summary Advice will interview clients and provide legal advice in various areas of immigration & refugee law practice including refugee claims, appeals, removals, and inadmissibility (criminality, misrepresentation, etc.). The Staff Lawyer-Intake & Summary Advice will identify legal issues, ascertain facts, provide options, and explain their advice/recommendation in detail to the client in an accessible, client-centred, and trauma-informed manner. The Staff Lawyer – Intake & Summary Advice will support the client with facilitating access to meaningful legal support including making referrals to other service providers, including Legal Aid, and making recommendations for opening full-representation files within the IRLC where appropriate. The Staff Lawyer -Intake & Summary Advice will also support the work of the Legal Assistant (Intake) and Community Legal Worker to triage and prioritize intake processes for individuals seeking legal advice for matters that fit the IRLC’s mandate.

 

Responsibilities:

 

  • Provide client-centered, trauma-informed legal advice regarding immigration and refugee law matters to clients in Summary Advice appointments.
  • Perform legal and country conditions research and review documents prior to appointments; supervise/provide direction to intake support staff in terms of collecting appropriate documents to ensure an effective advice appointment.
  • Document legal advice given through advice/opinion letters and clear and effective note-taking.
  • Prepare legal merit assessments and support individuals with applications to Legal Aid BC as well as making referrals to other appropriate services.
  • Report back to the team regarding the Summary Advice appointments and systemic issues identified through conducting these appointments.
  • Liaise with the Legal Assistant and Community Legal Worker to triage and prioritize intake processes for individuals seeking legal advice for matters that fit the IRLC’s mandate.
  • Participate in team discussions about file work and systemic legal advocacy work as time and workload allows.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.
  • The Staff Lawyer reports to the Clinic Director.

 

Qualifications:

 

  • A member in good standing of the Law Society of British Columbia or eligible for immediate transfer
  • Extensive knowledge of and experience in immigration and refugee law
  • At least three years of experience as a practicing lawyer working in immigration and refugee law, including experience with judicial review applications is considered an asset.
  • Ability to speak a second language is an asset.
  • Must obtain a Police Information Check (PIC) with a Vulnerable Sector Check (VS)
  • Experience working with marginalized communities is an asset.

 

Skills and Abilities:

 

  • Demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion including a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regard to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance
  • Effective communication with clients using plain language, and sensitive communication considering the particular needs and vulnerability of low-income clients, including survivors of torture and sexualized violence
  • Excellent interviewing skills
  • Excellent legal research and writing skills
  • Excellent, clear and persuasive written advocacy
  • Effective at building trusting relationships internally and externally
  • Ability to analyze novel situations quickly and thoroughly
  • Self-reflective, critical thinker about their work, with an aim to improve systems and outcomes
  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy, and ability to multi-task, organize and meet deadlines.
  • Must possess a high degree of personal initiative and to work independently
  • Commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts
  • Ability to be flexible as circumstances and assignments change

 

Process:

 

Individuals interested in this role are invited to submit:

 

  • An expression of interest in letter format (PDF)
  • A resume or CV (PDF)
  • Writing sample – a legal advice/opinion letter or other similar document (max 10 pages). You may send up to 2 writing samples that showcase your legal research, writing & analysis. Please ensure that your sample does not contain any privileged/confidential information. (PDF)

 

Please email in PDF format. Please use subject line “Staff Lawyer – Intake & Summary Advice” and email to general@irlc.ca.

 

IRLC’s mission and values emphasize inclusivity and recognition of individuals’ unique talents. In recruiting and developing staff, we see strength in diversity of backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. We welcome and encourage applicants from equity-seeking groups to self-identify in their application.

 

Compensation:  $90,000-$112,500 per annum, depending on education and experience; benefits include extended health and dental benefits and defined-benefit pension plan.

 

Closing Date:     By 4pm on February 28, 2025

 

About the Clinic:

 

The Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic (IRLC) is the only legal clinic dedicated to refugee and immigration law in British Columbia. IRLC provides free legal advice and representation, with interpretation services, for low-income people across BC on immigration and refugee law matters. We aim to reach those who fall through the cracks of our legal system and provide them with excellent, respectful, and caring legal advice and representation. Alongside our casework, we advocate for change on issues that repeatedly come up for our clients by engaging in systemic litigation and law reform efforts. We provide legal education to community groups and service providers across BC. Clinic staff also serve as mentors to law students and junior lawyers interested in the refugee and immigration law field.

 

The clinic was jointly created by the Province of British Columbia and the Law Foundation of BC after the BC Government’s External Review of Legal Aid services recommended a refugee legal clinic be established to “take on urgent and complex cases” and supplement the legal aid system.

 

The IRLC operates as an independently managed program, hosted by the Community Legal Clinic Operating Society of BC. The Staff Lawyer would be an employee of the Community Legal Clinic Operating Society of BC.