Legal Consultant Full Time

ADF India and its partner organisations under the Alliance for Life and Liberty Project is calling for applications from interested candidates for 2 positions of Legal Consultant on a contractual basis (1 year, renewable) to be based in Delhi. The candidate shall be responsible for providing legal aid to people who have been targeted based on their religion or gender.

We are looking for a master multi-tasker with excellent communication skills and a positive attitude. The candidate will counsel clients, perform legal research, prepare legal documents, and represent clients in criminal and civil court proceedings including the High Courts and Supreme Court of India.

Candidates should be professional, polite, and attentive while also being accurate. They should always be prepared and responsive, willing to meet each challenge directly. They should also be able to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment and perform under stress and adopt effective courses of action. The candidates must be comfortable with computers, general office tasks, and excel at both verbal and written communication. They shall also ensure that appropriate approvals are in place before documents are executed

Job Responsibilities:

• Handle litigation matters independently or with colleagues before various Courts/Tribunals.
• Attend court hearings and provide regular updates to the Team Leader.
• Provide legal advice and guidance and meet with clients.
• Collate evidence, read witness statements, and research case studies.
• Draft pleadings, legal notices, and other legal documentation work.
• Prepare well-reached advocacy briefs on issues of Constitutional importance.
• Proactively and independently engage in strategy discussions with leadership and external counsels on legal matters.
• Provide litigation support on human rights issues such as discrimination of minorities, and women who are discriminated on account of having given birth to girl children.
• Provide training courses, seminars, documents, reports, etc. on religious freedom and the issue of female foeticide.
• Be available to travel for court appearances, client meetings and other work-related activities.

Admin and other responsibilities:

• Providing periodic updates to the Project Director.
• Flexibility in terms of working hours and undertaking any additional task assigned by the Project Director is a requirement.
• Preparing and maintaining monthly account statements.
• Maintaining confidentiality of clients and tasks undertaken.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B.) with minimum 3-5 years’ experience in litigation and court appearances. Exceptional candidates who apply without the requisite years of experience may be considered. 
• Keeping up to date with changes in the law. 
• Ability to work independently and as a team player with demonstrated leadership skills, networking, and presentation capabilities.
• Experience in legal research, drafting, negotiating, and reviewing legal documents.
• Excellent drafting skills and oral/written communication including public speaking/media communication.
• Candidates should also have good oral and written communication skills in Hindi and English.
• Good network with external counsels.
• Strong stakeholder management skills.
• Flexible approach to problem solving.
• Able to interact with stakeholders, internal clients, and leadership in a highly efficient and timely manner.
• Experience of reporting and documentation.
• Experience of working in any national or international NGOs and Human rights organisations for at least 2-3 years will be an asset.
• Computer literate with a great working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 suite.