Position:
The National Law University, Delhi (“University”) is seeking to engage on a contractual basis, Legal Fellows for Nagpur (2 positions) for the Fair Trial Fellowship programme of Project 39A supported by a grant from the Azim Premji Foundation.
The Legal Fellow will be assigned to work on cases of undertrial prisoners being represented by District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) through the panel advocates and the office of the Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC) and will be in charge of providing assistance in court hearings, legal research, drafting and prison visits (for client interviews) to the legal aid lawyer leading the case. The period of engagement will be for one year and any extension will be subject to the needs of the Programme and availability of funds.
About the programme:
The Fair Trial Fellowship Programme (“the Programme”) is an opportunity for young lawyers and social workers to work for providing quality legal representation to undertrial prisoners. The Programme will train and mentor a group of young professionals to work in collaboration with the State Legal Services Authority towards ensuring fair trial for undertrial prisoners at both pre-trial and trial stages. The Programme is being currently rolled out for work in Nagpur and Pune Central prisons. The twin goals of the programme are to reduce the under trial population in prisons in Pune and Nagpur and to work towards strengthening the legal aid system in Maharashtra. The programme has its offices in Pune and Nagpur.
Responsibilities:
This is a full time paid position based in Nagpur. Selected candidates will be expected to reside within the municipal limits of the city of their selection but may be required to travel frequently to other districts as per programme needs.
The responsibilities of the Legal Fellows will include:
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Visiting prison with the duty counsels of the DLSA and providing legal counseling to inmates requiring legal aid.
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Coordinating with DLSA and authorities from the Prison Department to ensure allocation of DLSA panel advocates for undertrials who do not have any legal representation.
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Briefing and assisting the LADC and/or the panel lawyer of the DLSA assigned on a case during court hearings at both pre-trial and trial stage.
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Regular Prison visits to seek instructions from an undertrial client on behalf of the LADC counsels and/or the DLSA panel advocates.
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Reviewing documents brought on record in a case, providing research inputs and devising legal strategy in consultation with the LADC counsels and/or the DLSA panel advocates concerned.
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Assisting the LADC counsels and/or the DLSA panel advocates in drafting legal documents to be submitted at both pre-trial and trial stage.
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Following-up ongoing cases in court and updating the client (undertrial) and/or the family members concerned.
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Regularly communicating with prison authorities to obtain case specific information and documents.
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Preparation for Recording evidence and cross examination.
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Preparing written arguments based on the evidence for the final submissions before the court.
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Travelling as required to meet and communicate with family members of undertrial prisoners and other persons who may have oral and documentary information relevant to the case procedure.
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Organising and conducting training workshops and conferences.
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Documentation and Reporting as per programmatic needs.
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Any other work that may be necessary to further the aims of the Fellowship Programme.
Qualifications:
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Registration as a practicing advocate (Sanad) with Bar Council of any state in India.
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Minimum of two year experience of criminal law practice at trial court level.
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Proficiency in reading, writing and speaking Marathi.
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Ability to read, write and speak English.
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Familiarity with the use of MS-Office, emails and the internet.
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Prior work experience in work with the District Legal Services Authority is desirable.
The above qualifications may be relaxed in exceptional circumstances
Compensation: Fellows will be paid a fellowship amount of INR 30,000- 40,000 per month.
Application Process: Interested persons must attach their resume and a statement of purpose, explaining their role and interest in working on this programme. The statement of purpose must not exceed 700 words. Shortlisted candidates will be called for the selection process which will be held in Nagpur. The selection process may have multiple rounds.
Applications and documents will be accepted only through the form given below.
Deadline: Applications must reach us by midnight of February 17, 2024 after which the applications will not be accepted.
Note:
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National Law University, Delhi is an equal opportunity employer.
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National Law University Delhi reserves the right to not fill the position or vary the number of positions vacant for this call. Also, we shall be unable to cover the costs of attending interviews.
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National Law University Delhi reserves the right to conduct additional rounds of interviews or written tests.
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If you do not hear from us within two (2) weeks after the deadline, please assume that your application has not succeeded. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to individual queries about the status of applications.
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The position shall be paid under the grants received by Project 39A, National Law University Delhi.
For more details, click here.