Casework Volunteer

The Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (“HKRAC”) is the only dedicated provider of pro bono legal aid to refugees making claims for asylum before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) in Hong Kong. HKRAC also recruits, trains and supervises lawyers and interpreters in the protection and promotion of refugee rights.

HKRAC is made up of a small core staff of international refugee lawyers devoted to providing high-quality, pro bono legal aid to refugees, protecting their rights and generating awareness. We have represented over 50 different ethnicities, and speakers of 37 different languages. We have trained over 350 volunteer caseworkers who are involved in all aspects of our client assistance, including staffing our drop-in hours, taking statements, interviewing clients, researching country of origin information and case law, preparing legal submissions, providing general and customized advice, providing full representation, and disseminating information to our clients and the wider HK community.

HKRAC is seeking a full-time casework volunteer to begin in January 2012 for a period of at least 12 weeks. The casework volunteer should have a strong interest in and commitment to human rights and excellent research, writing, and oral communication skills. The casework volunteer will conduct intake interviews with potential refugee clients and write interview-based reports that require extensive country of origin research. Other responsibilities may include taking the testimony of a client, drafting legal submissions, providing self-representation advice, conducting legal and factual research, attending UNHCR interviews, and helping to prepare for trainings, meetings, and other events.

The ideal candidate should have the following qualifications:

• Law student or law graduate;
• Demonstrated interest in human rights and refugee issues;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Excellent research skills;
• Experience working with asylum seekers and survivors of torture preferred;
• Fluency in Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Ewe, Farsi, French, Hindi, Lingala, Lugandan, Pashto, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Somali, Swahili, Tamil, Tigrinya, Urdu or other languages preferred.

To apply, please e-mail your statement of interest, CV, and legal writing sample to Stephanie Jones atsjones@hkrac.org by 12 October 2011. Please note that this is an unpaid position. Due to the high volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.