Refugee Legal Support
Immigration Paralegal
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Job Title:
Paralegal
Team:
UK Casework Team
Reporting to:
UK Casework Lead
Rate of Pay:
£15.80 per hour
Work Pattern:
Part-time, 3 days per week (22.5 hours)
Contract Type:
Independent contract
Location:
RLS London office, with hybrid working available
Application:
Send your CV and a short cover letter (no more than 500 words) to Olivia.Clark@refugeelegalsupport.org. Deadline to apply is midnight Sunday 13 September 2026.
About RLS
Refugee Legal Support (RLS) is a UK registered charity and a Greek registered AMKE providing expert legal information, advice and casework to people seeking safety. In the UK, we work on asylum claims and family reunion applications, as well as litigation arising out of existing casework projects. We also provide casework support to asylum seekers and refugees who have been criminalised for their irregular arrival and produce sector-leading research reports on the asylum system.
Since our founding in 2017 we have grown rapidly and now hold both an Immigration & Asylum and a Public Law legal aid contract and run two established pro bono partnerships with commercial law firms.
We are a small and ambitious team of around 15 staff, united by a genuine commitment to access to justice and the rights of people who migrate. As well as the direct legal representation to which this role pertains, we do community legal work, producing multilingual information resources and delivering group information sessions for people struggling to access legal support.
About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join RLS as a part time paralegal, supporting our solicitor and senior caseworkers in delivering high-quality immigration and asylum legal advice.
Working under supervision, you will play a hands-on role across all stages of casework: from initial client interviews and legal research through to preparing tribunal bundles, drafting statements, and managing Home Office correspondence.
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You will be part of a collaborative team that values both legal excellence and client care, supporting RLS's asylum clinic and pro bono partnerships, and helping to maintain strong relationships with referral agencies, support workers, mental health professionals and other experts.
About You
We are looking for someone with a law degree or relevant legal qualification, and a genuine commitment to refugee and migrant rights. Accreditation as a trainee caseworker under the Law Society's Immigration and Asylum Law Accreditation Scheme is desirable but not essential.
You will be confident working directly with clients from diverse cultural, ethnic and educational backgrounds, including those who have experienced trauma, approaching every interaction with sensitivity and professionalism. Strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent IT skills, and the ability to manage multiple competing tasks across different team members' caseloads are all essential.
Experience in a solicitors' office, law centre or legal aid charity and familiarity with legal aid billing would be an advantage, though we welcome applications from those earlier in their legal career.
Main duties & Responsibilities
- To assist solicitors and senior caseworkers with casework and legal advice under supervision, in compliance with RLS's operating procedures and legal aid contract requirements.
- To undertake legal research, prepare legal aid applications, speak to clients by telephone, video call and in person, prepare tribunal and court bundles, interview clients and draft statements, and draft letters and emails to the Home Office, Legal Aid Agency, courts, clients and third parties.
- To assist solicitors and senior caseworkers in all aspects of casework, including applications to the Home Office, appeals to the First-tier and Upper Tribunals, and judicial review litigation.
- To support RLS's asylum clinic and pro bono partnerships.
- To assist in billing files accurately and in a timely manner, in line with Legal Aid Agency and Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) requirements.
- To take responsibility for progressing allocated tasks and casework, and to communicate consistently with solicitors, caseworkers, clients and third parties.
- To help maintain relationships with partner organisations, referral agencies, support workers, mental health professionals and other experts.
- To maintain awareness of your own and others' health and safety and comply with RLS health and safety policies and procedures.
- To maintain confidentiality of information and comply with all requirements under the Data Protection Act/UK GDPR.
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Qualifications
- Ideally be accredited as a trainee caseworker / casework assistant under the Law Society's Immigration and Asylum Law Accreditation Scheme (not essential)
- Have a law degree or other relevant legal qualification
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- Have a demonstrable commitment to working within the field of refugee rights and/or migrant rights
- Be able to work with clients of a wide variety of cultural, ethnic and educational background
- Be able to deal with clients in a sensitive, professional and compassionate way, including clients who have experienced trauma
- Have excellent IT skills with the ability to work with a case management system and normal office IT systems
- Have excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Be flexible and able to juggle several competing tasks at the same time
- Be able to assist several different team members in their work by undertaking steps on their cases
- Experience of working in a solicitors' office, law centre or charity operating under a legal aid contract (desirable but not essential)
- Knowledge and experience of legal aid funded casework, including billing procedures (desirable but not essential)
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