Position:
The National Law University, Delhi (“University”) is seeking to engage on a contractual basis, with one ‘Legal Strategy Co-ordinator’ for the Nagpur office of the Fair Trial Fellowship Programme (‘Programme’) supported by a grant from the Azim Premji Foundation. This is a full-time paid position based in Nagpur with the requirement to travel, as and when needed. 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.
The Legal Strategy Co-ordinator will be responsible for the everyday functioning of the Programme in Nagpur and for strategizing and handholding the work of the Legal Fellows and the Social Workers. The maximum period of engagement will be for three years and the contract will be renewed on an annual basis.
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 mentors a group of young professionals to work in collaboration with the State Legal Services Authority towards ensuring fair trials for undertrial prisoners at both pre-trial and trial stages. The Programme is rolled out for work in Nagpur and Pune Central prisons. The twin goals of the programme are to reduce the undertrial population in prisons in Pune and Nagpur and to work with the legal aid system in Maharashtra. To this end, there is a research as well as a litigation component to the programme. The programme has 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. The responsibilities of the Legal Strategy coordinator will include :
A. Developing and implementing litigation strategy for cases of under-trial prisoners and coordinating the work of the Legal Fellows in each office.
B. Reviewing the progress of individual cases assigned to Legal Fellows in the respective offices.
C. Co-ordinating and liaising with District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), Legal Aid Defense Counsel System (LADCS), LADC counsels and DLSA panel advocates, prison authorities, police system, criminal law experts and other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the programme.
D. Managing the overall functioning, administration and coordination of the Nagpur Office.
E. Writing reports and compiling data extensively, as may be required for the purposes of programme documentation, monitoring and evaluation.
F. Assisting the programme team in any other work that may be required for effective programme implementation.
Qualifications:
A. Registration as a practicing advocate (Sanad) with Bar Council of any state in India
B. Minimum 5 years experience of litigation in trial court/ criminal appellate court.
C. Familiarity with the workings of the State and District Legal Aid Systems would be preferred
D. Proficiency in English and Marathi is necessary.
E. Familiarity with MS-Office, emails and the internet is required. The above qualifications may be relaxed in exceptional circumstances
Compensation:
Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, and will be within the range of Rs. 65,000-Rs.75,000 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 here in the link
https://www.project39a.com/legal-strategy-coordinator-fair-trial-fellowship-2023
Deadline:
Applications must reach us by midnight of June 25, 2023, after which the applications will not be accepted.
