Contract: 2 years minimum
Hours: As required, a minimum of 6 cases per year
Location: Any location, working remotely
Salary:  £30 per hour

Freedom from Torture is looking for Legal Contractors to ensure that cases are adequately prepared prior to an MLR assessment by one of our MLR Doctors and to provide legal reviews of draft MLRs prior to issue. All successful candidates are required to attend our mandatory training, which is currently scheduled from 9 – 12noon Tuesday, 29th November 2022.

The team of Legal Contractors work closely with the team of MLR Doctors and Senior Legal Officers who are spread across all 5 centres – London, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow.

As the work is remote, Legal Contractors have the flexibility to work around their other commitments. As a service, we aim to issue reports within 6 weeks, and therefore we require legal preparation and reviews to be completed in a timely manner, usually within 7 days.

As a Legal Contractor, you will provide the following services:

1. Reviewing: Legal preparation work for MLR Doctors in advance of MLR assessments and legal reviewing for draft MLRs. Legal contractors will also be required to answer any questions the MLR Doctor may have about the case in general or the legal preparation or review in particular.
2. Attending reviewers’ meetings: To attend reviewer meetings on a quarterly or biannual basis, as required. Reviewers will be invited to attend MLR Service Study Days.

You will need to have:

• A current practising certificate from the Law Society of England and Wales or the Bar Council (for centres in England and Wales) or the Law Society of Scotland or be a member of the Faculty of Advocates (for the Scotland Centre)
• Or, be an accredited caseworker IAAS level 2 or OISC level 3
• Knowledge of how expert medico-legal evidence should be presented in asylum and human rights proceedings in the UK
• Knowledge of relevant UKVI policies and case law relating to survivors of torture and expert medical evidence in asylum claims
• Substantial experience in conducting asylum casework in the UK
• Experience in instructing experts, including medical experts, in the context of asylum casework, reviewing draft reports and liaising with experts to finalise reports

Freedom from Torture is dedicated to healing and protecting people who have survived torture. We provide therapies to improve physical and mental health, we medically document torture, and we provide legal and welfare help. We expose torture globally; we fight to hold torturing states to account, and we campaign for fairer treatment of torture survivors in the UK. Our team of dedicated professionals provide direct support to survivors, including psychological therapy, physical health services, legal and welfare support, and expert medical reports for use in survivors’ asylum claims. We also support other providers to deliver high-quality rehabilitation services to survivors. Thanks to the dedication of our staff and volunteers – as well as thousands of passionate supporters and funders – thousands of torture survivors have been able to rebuild their lives in incredibly difficult circumstances.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.

Closing date: 11th November 2022
Expected date of interviews: to be discussed
Mandatory Training: Currently scheduled 9 – 12 Tuesday 29th November 2022

Freedom from Torture is an Equal Opportunities Employer
No agencies please.