XClose

Centre for Access to Justice

Home
Menu

Tamil Welfare Association (Newham) UK Internship

Applications for this opportunity are now open.

About the Project
The Tamil Welfare Association (Newham) UK widely known by its acronym TWAN is a community organisation formed in September 1986 as a self-help group by Tamil refugees. We aim to relieve the Tamil migrant community from poverty and to assist the individual refugees in their resettlement in the UK.

The organisation became company limited by guarantee in 1992 and obtained charity status in August 1995. It has been awarded the Specialist Quality Mark status by the Legal Aid Agency and also has been exempted by the OISC to provide immigration advice. Since then, we have made important challenges to home office decisions and have successfully lodged judicial review in important cases involving asylum seekers.

What are we looking for?
We are actively seeking a dedicated student volunteer, who will initially be assisting and eventually leading on key elements of the organisation’s governance and day-to-day running. The opportunity aims to offer insight into how community law clinics are run. The applicant will be involved with:

  • Legal research
  • Development of case studies
  • Assistance with fundraising, including by drafting funding applications
  • Working with the organisation’s website
  • Reviewing business plans
  • Assisting with interpretation if the candidate is Tamil-speaking

Eligibility:
We are seeking applicants for students in the LLB and LLM, and are particularly interested in applicants in Year 1 or Year 2. Ideally, the candidate will be proficient in Tamil.

Time Commitment:
The student will commit approximately 1 full day a week between the end of October 2023 and the end of June 2025.

Pro Bono Skills Development Framework:

The Centre for Access to Justice now offers all students engaged in extracuricular pro bono the opportunity to participate in the Pro Bono Skills Development Framework. This framework allows you to reflect on the skills gained during your placement, aligned with the Aurora Competence Framework. Completing it earns you a Certificate of Commitment to Pro Bono, acknowledging your dedication and skill development. Your participation will help you document and showcase the valuable competencies you've developed, however, please note that participation in the PBSDF scheme is entirely voluntary and will not affect your placement in any way.

Training and Qualification: 
Selected candidates will undergo comprehensive induction training covering the areas of law involved in the advocacy, essentials of GDPR, advocacy role play and multidisciplinary training from the other team members.

In addition, all students will receive the CAJ Mandatory Volunteer training, which covers data protection and confidentiality, working with vulnerable clients, professional conduct and regulation, self-care, and our expectations of CAJ volunteers.

How to apply:

Applications for this opportunity are open. Please apply via the online application form.  

When applying, please make sure you have completed the CAJ Equality and Diversity Monitoring Questionnaire. You only need to complete this once per academic year.      

Should you have any questions, please contact Annika Melwani at annika.melwani@ucl.ac.uk