Volunteer — Intervene Project

A Unique Opportunity to Gain Pro Bono Legal Work Experience

CASEWORKER | LEGAL ASSISTANT | RESEARCHER | BLOGGER| TRUSTEE

Volunteer Caseworker

If you choose to volunteer with us, you will have an unparalleled opportunity to assist with all stages of the legal process, from initial conversations with clients to trial hearings. We will give you the tools you need to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and you will be given the responsibility to handle their cases at every stage. This experience is ideal for aspiring barristers and solicitors. Our past volunteers have secured pupillages, vacation schemes, training contracts, RCJ Judicial Assistant roles, GDL/BPC scholarships and Central London paralegal and legal assistant roles following their placements with us.

This opportunity is NOT remote. You will work from Kesar & Co Solicitors’ premises, and thus, have the benefit of networking with and seeking assistance from their talented array of solicitors, caseworkers and paralegals.

We are in need of talented individuals to work on our cases. Your skills will not go unnoticed here, and you will be making a huge difference to people’s lives. The individuals we represent have often given up hope they will ever be treated fairly; you can help bring positivity back into their lives. Indeed, in the last academic year, the most talented of our volunteers were invited to attend our summer vacation scheme as well.

We typically recruit volunteers on a rolling basis, and ask you commit one weekday per week, for at least three months.

Unfortunately, we do not have any spots at this time. However, if a slot is to open up, we will contact you. In order to be considered please complete this google form. https://forms.gle/DhHLEmu2qsM2KAc67

Check out the reviews and career progression of our past caseworkers below!!

Volunteer Legal Assistant

As with the caseworker position, this opportunity is NOT remote. You will work from Kesar & Co Solicitors’ premises, and thus, have the benefit of networking with and seeking assistance from their talented array of solicitors, caseworkers and paralegals.

This position is aimed more towards those with no experience or people early in their legal studies.

Once again, we are in need of talented individuals to support our project manager and caseworkers. Your skills will not go unnoticed here, and you will be making a huge difference to people’s lives. The individuals we represent have often given up hope they will ever be treated fairly; you can help bring positivity back into their lives. Indeed, in the last academic year, the most talented of our volunteers were invited to attend our summer vacation scheme as well.

We typically recruit volunteers on a rolling basis, and ask you commit one 1/2 weekday per week, for at least three months.

Check out the reviews and career progression of our past caseworkers below!!

Volunteer Researcher -

In addition to our caseworker volunteering opportunities, we are offer research opportunities.

Over the past year the increase in case work has meant we have had to place this position on hold but we are looking to restart this project early 2024.

Research will be both self-guided and supported. You will have the freedom to approach the sources you feel are most appropriate and have the opportunity to work with others findings as well and contribute to our developing paper. Additionally, we are looking to streamline processes for our clients and caseworkers for the most common complaints we receive. This will involve building databases, developing self-help kits and creating forms which are easily read by everyone. We would also like to have the items developed translated to other languages as well so once again we can give our vulnerable clients the opportunity to access justice and gain redress for their complaint.

These opportunities are remote and typically we would expect a commitment to be an average of 3 hours per week. If interested, please send a CV and Covering Letter to contact@interveneproject.org

The Application Process

We will typically recruit based on the following criteria:

Demonstrable interest and motivation in our areas of work;
Academic achievement (usually demonstrated through LLB, GDL, LLM, LPC or BPC results);
Relevant Skills (for casework, ensure you have emphasised your interpersonal skills, for research, ensure you have emphasised your research skills).

To apply to us, please submit an updated CV (of no more than two pages, font size 12) and cover letter (of no more than 500 words within the main body, outlining your motivation and interest in our work). Please send applications to contact@interveneproject.org.

Use ‘Volunteer Caseworker Application’, ‘Volunteer Legal Assistant Application’ or ‘Volunteer Researcher Application’ as the subheading and if applicable the day and session you would like to apply for.

Please note, it may be some time before we are able to respond to you, and before we have availability to accommodate you. However, we do not reject by silence although it can sometimes be several weeks before we reply as we have to prioritise our client support first.

Blogging Opportunity -

This can be paired with the above roles, or undertaken as a standalone role. Whatever stage you are at and regardless of whether you have a legal background or not, if you are passionate about our cause, you could become a contributor to our upcoming blog. We are aiming to build a bank of blogs so we can regularly raise awareness to the issues arising and abuse are processes which occurs within our prison system.

The blog shall address pressing issues faced by our clients, with a particular emphasis on healthcare, mental health and disability discrimination. However, we would love to receive any entries you feel address a pressing prison issue.

To apply to contribute alongside the roles above simply state so in your email. To apply as a standalone role simply email contact@interveneproject.org with the subject title ‘Blog Contributor Application’. Please include in the covering email a little bit about you and what you would like to write about. If you want to become part of our regular contribution team, we ask that you outline your motivations, and also send us a CV as listed above in the application process.

We welcome opinion pieces, research pieces and personal experience pieces. Those with experience of prison and/or the prison system are particularly welcomed.

Volunteer Trustee

Overseeing the charity we also have the opportunity for you to join our board of Trustees - This opportunity is remote.

As the Intervene Project continues to grow, we are on the hunt for some fresh trustees who share our values to support us and our aims! Our primary demand from you is you are hands on and passionate about our cause: people in prison deserve access to justice and to have their human rights respected. We require funding to continue the work we do so we ask this as one of the main support functions to our project manager.

Why Be a Trustee?

As a trustee, you will help ensure our charity continues to benefit the people in prison who depend on our service. You will play a role in helping us:

• obtain funding to allow the project to continue as a going concern
• safeguard the funds we receive
• support and promote our reputation
• ensure our clients’ interests are protected.

You will also have the chance to support our work and offer suggestions on areas for improvement and development. By joining our board of trustees, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with others who share your values. Our modest size means your voice and ideas will be heard.

In terms of our expectations, we would ask you:

• meet quarterly as a board remotely
• meet quarterly with our project manager
• reach out to potential donors
• assist with fundraising applications
• support in fundraising challenges, such as Legal Walk & Legal Quiz
• promote our activities through social media

The key role for trustees at present is fundraising so we may continue as a going concern. However, this will progress in future and as a team of trustees we would ask for further support with remote workshops or self-help guides for volunteers in areas such as:

• Legal Aid
• Healthcare and Mental Health
• Prison Law
• Independent Advocacy
• Data Protection
• Equality and discrimination
• Human Rights

Moreover, help to develop the training pack and self-help guides for clients to understand the process and for volunteers to process their enquiries and develop the case on trending areas such as:

• Lost/damaged property
• Healthcare complaints

• GDPR breaches and data protection

• Equality and discrimination
• Personal Injury
• Re-categorisation and transfers

Furthermore, we would like to develop to challenge government policies and the establishments who misuse the policy and abuse their power. For example, people in prison are moved around the different establishments regularly. Each time they are faced with the strong possibility their belongings will be either lost or damaged in the transfer. After following the internal process, it can take some two years or more for the client to be reimbursed for their loss and then it is only a small fraction of the price and rarely is more than 15% of the cost as they state reasons such as:

• The property card does not state it was a Nike top
• You had too many T-shirts
• You did not have a receipt
• It’s a canteen item
• It’s an old item

Therefore, if you do share our values and are passionate about our cause, please apply to be a trustee today. We guarantee the experience will be deeply rewarding. All you need to do is simply contact us at contact@interveneproject.org , briefly outlining in no more than 600 words your relevant life experiences and motivations.

VOLUNTEER CAREER SUCCESSES

CLAIRE MAINWARING - FUTURE PUPIL BARRISTER, 5 KING’S BENCH WALK

Claire volunteered as an Intervene Caseworker last year. She is glad she was able to get stuck into cases from the very first day, and believes the experience enabled her to develop an accurate understanding of the criminal justice system and improve her written advocacy. She says volunteering with Intervene is one of the most worthwhile and rewarding things she believes aspiring barristers can do and was an invaluable factor in securing pupillage.

LEYYA KITMITTO - PARALEGAL, KESAR & CO SOLICITORS
Leyya volunteered as a Caseworker recently. She says working at Intervene provided her with valuable experience in legal research, drafting, client communication, and assisting with cases from start to finish. She says the work gave her the skills she needed to progress with her career and led to her getting her current position with Kesar - somewhere where she had always been interested in working. She says she has taken the skills she gained from working with us and is applying them to her career now, which is putting her in a great position to succeed. She says her Intervene experience was invaluable and she couldn’t recommend it more for those aspiring to become a solicitor or barrister, as a platform for beginning your career!

CHRIS FRAIN - CLAIMS HANDLER, THE MEDICAL DEFENCE UNION

Chris volunteered with us as a Caseworker for several months. He says his voluntary experience with Intervene was amazing for his confidence, communicating with clients as well as giving him something great to put on his CV. He says you are trusted to do important work that has a real impact, for real people. The experience enabled him to gain the legally-related position as a Claims Handler. He wholeheartedly recommends applying.

OLIVIA BEACH - PUPIL BARRISTER, 33 BEDFORD ROW

Olivia volunteered at Intervene for three months before pupillage. During her time at Intervene, she benefitted from liaising regularly with clients, gaining exposure to real-life cases & drafting particulars of claim and other documents. All of this experience helped her when she started pupillage at 33 Bedford Row, as it meant she had practical knowledge and understanding of how these sorts of cases start and progress, and what she needed to do at each stage. The experience also made her really interested in prison law and is now an area she hopes to build into her practice. She's really grateful to Intervene for their help and hopes to be able to pay it back in the future!

FAOUZIA EL SOUDANI - PARALEGAL, TUCKERS SOLICITORS

Faouzia volunteered with us before joining Tuckers. She is currently training to be a police station representative with the view of becoming a solicitor. Intervene was an eye-opening experience as it has made her fully aware of the mistreatment that prisoners receive whilst in custody. Although she mainly prepares cases for Crown Court trials, she is still required to actively highlight the abuse/ mistreatment that her clients report to her whilst they are in custody. She says Intervene has definitely equipped her with the skills and knowledge on how to engage with prison staff and governors. She can’t emphasise strongly enough how Intervene was a great addition to her CV. Despite the area of law that you wish to go, she says Intervene is definitely a unique experience which will definitely reinforce your legal skills and client care.

EDIE ESSEX BARRETT - FUTURE TRAINEE SOLICITOR, MORRISON FOERSTER

Edie volunteered with Intervene during her law conversion and at the start of the LPC. She says it provided her with confidence in her legal skills, especially in honing her written advocacy. She loved being able to put what she was learning at university into action by drafting letters before action, corresponding with clients or undertaking cases analyses and legal research. However, volunteering at Intervene was also deeply impactful. It opened her eyes to the extent of the injustices occurring in the UK’s prison system and the inhumane mistreatment that prisoners regularly experience. She says the close client contact that Intervene provided meant that it was possible to really get to know a case, and often see it from start to end, and really feel the impact of your work.

Edie says she is certain that the rewarding and invaluable voluntary experience she had at Intervene will assist her in her Training Contract at Morrison & Foerster, beginning this September. She says the substance of the work has also embedded her drive to both commit to pro bono work throughout her career, and to promote legal justice and human rights in the work that she does.

SERENA SEKHON - PUPIL BARRISTER, NO 5 BARRISTERS’ CHAMBERS

Serena volunteered at Intervene for five months before starting pupillage. She says her time at Intervene prepared her for a public law pupillage by giving her daily opportunities to improve her written advocacy, familiarity with prison law and life in prison and an understanding of how claims against public bodies work. She also gained huge insight into the important and challenging work of solicitors and volunteers, who are often a client’s first port of call when they need help or advice, and this was really helpful when it came to taking on her own cases in pupillage. She loved her time at Intervene and is excited to see how the charity continues to grow and carry out its fantastic work!

HOLLY KTOROU - JOINT LPC STUDENT AND PARALEGAL, PREMIER PROPERTY LAWYERS

Holly first volunteered at Intervene Project whilst completing her MA in Law, as a way of gaining first-hand experience within a particularly exciting area of law. From taking calls with clients, contacting prison governors and collating research to better understand the clients issues, and being introduced to a management system which the firm operated by, she says she really does owe a lot to Intervene and would encourage anyone interested in law (whichever area!) to volunteer here!

MADELEINE WENDLING - FUTURE PARALEGAL, KESAR & CO SOLICITORS

Madeleine is currently finishing her role as a volunteer caseworker. She has been volunteering with Intervene since March 2022. Madeleine originally trained as an Opera singer at McGill University, but has recently made a career switch and completed her GDL and Master of Law, in the hope of becoming a criminal, human rights, or immigration solicitor. She is fascinated by criminology and passionate about helping those wronged by the criminal justice system. Madeleine will be joining the team of Paralegals at Kesar & Co in October, at the same time as studying for the Solicitor Qualifying Exams.

Can’t Volunteer?

Should volunteering not work for you, please do consider donating, following us or applying to become a trustee. Please visit the ‘Help Us’ page for further details.