LA Lawyer- Akkar

BACKGROUND

Legal Action

Legal Action (LA) is a Lebanese non-profit organisation comprised of human rights lawyers focused on identifying creative avenues for accessing justice for those who are experiencing protracted violations of their human rights. LA is funded by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), an independent and unique non-profit network and think tank of lawyers who provide creative legal assistance in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

EU MADAD Programme

In 2019, a consortium led by Euromed Feminist Initiative has been implementing a multi-county project “Strengthening access to protection, participation and services for women refugees, IDPs and host communities”, funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis – MADAD. T

In Lebanon, the project is implemented by a consortium composed of Euromed Feminist Initiative, Care International in Lebanon, Lebanese Democratic Women Gathering and Legal Action. The objectives are to enhance in Lebanon security and resilience for Syrian women refugees and women from host communities through supporting and coordinating comprehensive and structured services and referral mechanisms, as well as to support national institutions in their work towards more gender sensitive policy frameworks and legislation. LA’s focus is on the provision of legal aid, advice, information and representation for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, refugees needing to reigster the births of their children, and statelessness cases. Legal aid services will be provided by lawyers and Legal Information Officers (LIOs) operating out of Social Development Centres (SDCs) and LA legal aid centres across Lebanon.

LA is now looking for a project lawyer to be based in Akkar, working out of an LA legal aid centre, and in the future potentially also working out of an SDC.  The position will be a consultancy position for one year with the possibility of extension, including a three-month probation period. The position is Akkar-based. 

Functions/Key Results Expected

The lawyers will perform duties and responsibilities in accordance with the objectives and activities mentioned below:

Duties

• Provide legal assistance and advice to community members through the SDCs/ LA legal aid centres, with a focus on survivors of SGBV, Syrian refugees requiring birth or marriage registration and stateless Lebanese people;
• Provide representation in court to clients as necessary;
• Input all client information into a secure database and ensure database contains a comprehensive record of all cases and has been updated on  a daily basis;
• Supervise 2- 4 Legal Information Officers (LIOs), who will identify cases to bring to the lawyers, provide initial legal information and conduct outreach with the communities;
• Attend monthly meetings with the LIOs to monitor progress and discuss observations and lessons learned.

Required Skills and Experience

• Practicing lawyer with at least five years’ experience;
• Previous experience working with SDCs or other organizations providing legal services for vulnerable communities, for example refugees, people with a disability or the urban poor;
• Previous experience in gender-based violence cases;
• Previous experience working with the police and/or a good relationship with the police stations involved in this project is an asset;
• Demonstrated understanding of Lebanese law relating to refugees, documentation of stateless persons, criminal law, family law and human rights law;
• Demonstrated understanding of international human rights law.

Skills

• Skilled and sensitive communicator with people who have experienced severe trauma;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Excellent organisational skills;
• Ability to take initiative and work without close supervision.

Language requirements

• Fluency in writing, speaking and listening in Arabic;
• Proficiency in writing, speaking and listening in English, including ability to write basic reports in English