Trainee Solicitor

Work Rights Centre; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A charity focused on migrant rights in London is seeking a Trainee Solicitor for a two-year fixed-term position. This full-time role includes working on immigration and employment cases, engaging with marginalized communities, and participating in a fellowship program that covers legal training costs. Ideal candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice and have completed or be on track to complete legal practice requirements. The position offers a hybrid work model with opportunities for impactful legal work.

Benefits

Coverage of legal training costs

Well-being support

Independent social justice project opportunities

Qualifications

• Must have passed the LPC or SQE Part 1 by 14 March 2026.
• Strong commitment to social justice and charity values.
• Experience working in a team towards common goals.

Responsibilities

• Support clients with immigration status issues.
• Handle employment cases including wage non-payment and discrimination.
• Conduct legal research for social justice projects.

Skills

Enthusiastic and proactive

Confident and resourceful

Commitment to social justice

Experience working with marginalized migrant communities

Public-facing work experience

Education

Completed LPC or undergraduate degree & SQE Part 1

Job description

We’re recruiting a Trainee Solicitor (Immigration and Employment)

Salary: £30,000 - £32,000

Contract length: Fixed-term for 2 years

Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)

Location: London hybrid (1 day per week working in the office)

The Work Rights Centre, in partnership with the LEF Fellowship Programme, is looking for a Trainee Solicitor to join our ambitious and driven team. We are a charity set up by migrants and for migrants, and every day our multilingual team of legal advisers stand up for their employment rights and secure their immigration status.

This is an ideal opportunity for a candidate with a strong sense of justice, who is looking to build a career in a legal profession. It will suit someone who values impact, and the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable migrant workers and disadvantaged Britons.

You will be able to learn from three experienced solicitors, exercise your skills as an adviser, and progress your career in a friendly and supportive environment. The LEF Fellowship Programme will cover the cost of your mandatory legal training and exams. By the end of two years you will have had the chance to complete your SQE training and gain the required practical experience to fully qualify as a solicitor.

The role

As the Trainee Solicitor, you’ll work on a stimulating range of issues across two wide areas of law - Immigration (in Year 1) and Employment (in Year 2). You will learn how best to support vulnerable clients with limited English language and digital skills, how to spot signs of modern slavery or manage safeguarding concerns.

Working with our immigration team, you will help clients understand and secure their immigration status in the UK. You will support clients who have limited leave to remain (e.g. on employer-sponsored visas, Ukraine Visa Schemes, or pre-settled EUSS status) or who are entirely undocumented. Working with our employment team, you will work on cases involving non-payment of wages, non-provision of work, unlawful deductions, race and gender discrimination, or unfair dismissals. Crucially, you will have the opportunity to understand the real-life intersection of the two areas of law, as they are often experienced by the same clients.

This is a brilliant opportunity to gain well-rounded experience across all stages of the legal process, including interviewing clients, collecting information and assessing evidence, taking down witness statements, providing over the phone and written advice, and collating evidence bundles.

Alongside your legal work and SQE2 study, you will complete an independent social justice project aligned with your personal interests and objectives of the charity. This might entail legal research, sourcing strategic cases, or compiling data on the impact of the current policies. Working on this project will give you an opportunity to conduct strategic legal work contributing to systemic change.

The fellowship programme will cover the cost of both your legal training and wide-skills training, as well as providing you with well-being support. Please find a full list of benefits on the LEF website.

About you

We’re looking for an enthusiastic and confident colleague who shares our commitment to providing excellent legal advice to migrant workers. Key criteria include :

• Completed and passed (or expect to pass by 14 March 2026) the Legal Practice Course (LPC) OR have an undergraduate degree and completed and passed SQE Part 1.
• Enthusiastic and proactive, motivated by a strong sense of justice.
• Confident and resourceful, you enjoy public-facing work and are keen to learn.
• Experience of working with marginalised migrant communities
• Experience of working in a team, and progressing towards shared objectives.
• Can demonstrate commitment to social justice, and the aims and values of the Work Rights Centre.

How to apply

Download the full job description and person specifications, then please apply directly on the LEF Fellowship website.

Successful candidates will be notified if they have been shortlisted for an interview by January 2026. The interviews will take place online between 26th January and 6 February 2026. The traineeship will commence on 1st April 2026.