Immigration Paralegal

Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd):

Regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority, Duncan Lewis Solicitors was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in the City of London (Fenchurch Street EC3M), with offices nationwide. We are recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK independent legal directories as a top-tier law firm - "a diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients". A paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, we service both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We give people a voice - that is our ethos.

Choosing a career with Duncan Lewis is choosing a law firm that is the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country, has been Investors in People Gold Standard accredited for over 15 years and is continuously applauded nationally for the work that it does.

In 2022 we were named as one of the Times 200 Best Law Firms. In 2021 we were celebrated by the Chambers Europe Award as an 'outstanding firm’ for diversity and inclusion. In previous years we have been awarded a number of awards, including the Law Society Excellence Award for Large Law Firm of the Year in 2020, Access to Justice at the UK Legal Diversity Awards in 2019 and the Family Law Firm of the Year at the 2015 Family Law Awards, to name just a few. Duncan Lewis is Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 Information Management accredited.

Immigration department Background:

We have one of the largest legal aid immigration law practices in the UK and are ranked and recommended as a top-tier practice by The Legal 500 directory for our services including, business immigration, human rights, appeals and overstay. The Legal 500 legal directory applauds the services we provide nationwide, stating: "The breadth and depth of the team makes Duncan Lewis a real market leader for immigration matters. The "innovative and courageous" team "are one of the most successful and effective immigration practices in the UK". "They are a credit to the profession".

Specialists in the full spectrum of immigration law; including asylum, human rights, nationality and business immigration - our immigration lawyers have an established reputation in acting for high net worth individuals, new and established business men and women, and innovative and skilled individuals under the Tier 1 visa categories. We offer a wide range of services to all foreign national individuals and families wishing to enter, remain, or settle in the UK. With over 160 specialist Immigration lawyers nationwide, we bring the highest level of expertise to all immigration matters. The department has a number of highly skilled lawyers who have trained as barristers, and undertake complex appeal cases in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Our immigration team is renowned for their extensive experience in asylum (international protection) claims and challenging human rights violations for unaccompanied minors and victims of torture, trafficking, and domestic abuse. In these cases, we are committed to assisting no matter the individual client’s circumstance.

Main Responsibilities of the Role:

• Report directly to Department Director
• Professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of clients’ needs
• Assisting with casework including dealing with a range of Immigration matters (LAA Funded and Private client work) as well as undertaking your own advocacy
• Attending clients, taking instructions and preparing cases
• Dealing with correspondence
• Preparing and managing funding applications to the Legal Aid Agency,
• Preparing draft documents including witness statements and processing evidence
• Preparing applications to meet Home Office requirements (incl drafting application forms, index of documents and letters of representations)
• Attending conferences and court
• Maintaining accurate time costing procedures
• Implementing any recommendations made by your supervisor following monthly file reviews ensuring that these are dealt with promptly
• Ensuring compliance with file management.

Key Skills Required:

• Level 1 or Level 2 Immigration Accreditation (or) Willing to work towards Immigration Accreditation
• Demonstrate passion and experience in a broad range of publically funded Immigration Law
• A strong academic background with a Law degree
• Legal experience as an Immigration Paralegal/Advisor
• Clear understanding and application of Immigration Laws
• Business acumen and the ability to market the Company
• Excellent communications skills to work effectively with all types of people
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills and ability to use own initiative but know when to seek guidance
• Committed team player, self -motivated and professional
• Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills

What we offer

• Competitive salary
• A fantastic supportive team
• Excellent progression opportunities
• Support for appropriate legal awards/recognition

The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role.

Equal Opportunities:

Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce.
We guarantee an interview for candidates that disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the post. Please provide additional details in your covering letter if this applies.

If you are interested in applying for this vacancy, you can also visit our website and apply using our online process.