Careers

  • Salary: £45,000 – £51,000 (depending on PQE)
    Location: Hybrid working (work from home and in CWJ office, Bethnal Green, London)
    Contract details: Permanent, 30–37.5 hours per week
    Deadline: Friday 10 July 2026

    We have extended the deadline for this exciting new role at Centre for Women’s Justice. We are seeking a feminist criminal lawyer with experience in criminal appeals and CCRC reviews. You will work with our CEO, Harriet Wistrich, on potential miscarriages of justice relating to women who have offended in response to male violence. Cases will range from convictions arising from coerced offending, counter allegations, victims of trafficking and grooming gangs, to advising on appeals by those convicted of murder or manslaughter at the CACD and CCRC.

    Essential criteria:

    • A minimum of three years’ post‑qualification experience, holding a current practising certificate as a solicitor, or barrister, in England and Wales for at least three years.

    • Experience of, and a strong understanding of, criminal law practice, including appeals against conviction and sentence.

    • A clear understanding of, and commitment to, the aims, values and feminist approach of the Centre for Women’s Justice.

    For further information, please email vacancies@centreforwomensjustice.org.uk

    *Women-only: We deal directly with victims of sexual violence, therefore it is a genuine requirement that this is role is carried out by women only - Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR), Schedule 9 (Work; Exceptions), Part 1 (Occupational Requirements), of the Equality Act (2010) applies.

azra kemal
internship Programme

Every year we offer two part-time six month paid positions with us for women from Black, Asian and/or minoritised background. Open positions will be advertised on this page.

The legal profession is making strides to improve diversity, promote inclusion and tackle discrimination, although it certainly still has a long way to go before it eradicates inequality.

As part of our anti-racism strategy, which we launched in March 2021, we have created a paid part-time (3-day) internship for women from a Black, Asian and/ or minoritised background. Currently only 21% of solicitors and 14% of barristers come from a Black, Asian and/ or minoritised background. This is not good enough.

We are committed to promoting and increasing diversity in the legal profession and creating an inclusive culture in which everyone regardless of their ethnic background can reach their full potential. We have therefore set up a unique paid internship for women from underrepresented groups to work with our lawyers who focus their work on holding the state to account for violence against women and girls. What sets us apart isn’t just our process—it’s the intention behind it. We take time to understand, explore, and create with purpose at every turn.

About Azra Kemal

Azra was a force of nature. Although she was thrown out school as a teenager, through grit and determination she graduated in law from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2019 and was due to begin her LPC. She cared deeply about injustice, wanting to highlight the struggles of people from minoritised and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds which led her to working as a ‘fixer’ with Sky News home editor, Jason Farrell, on stories about county lines drug dealing. Jason’s tribute to his friend can be read here - Remembering '‘phenomenal’ Azra Kemal

Azra tragically died on 16th July 2020 at the age of just 24 in circumstances which are currently under review.

In 2021 Azra’s mother, Nevres, approached Centre for Women’s Justice after raising £10,000 in her daughter’s name.

Her wish was to give disadvantaged women the opportunity to succeed in the legal profession - a cause she knew was close to Azra’s heart - and so the Azra Kemal Legal Internship Programme was born.

How to become an AKLIP intern…

We hope to be able to offer 1 placement every, 6 months subject to funding.

The internship is open to any woman who :

  1. is of Black, Asian and/or minoritised ethnicity, and

  2. has completed or is in the process of obtaining a law degree/or law conversion course, from

  3. a non-Russell Group University (a list of Russel Group Universities is available on the here)

How Can I Support the Azra Kemal Legal Internship Programme?

The internship programme will be funded mainly by donations. Please do support us as we strive to improve diversity in the legal profession. To donate, please visit https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/azra-kemal

Potential corporate sponsor and major donors are invited to contact Nic Mainwood n.mainwood@centreforwomensjustice.org.uk to discuss funding.

We are grateful to the many friends and family of Azra who have enabled this programme to be established, and to The Oak Foundation for providing funding to cover start-up costs.

If you are a lawyer who would like to mentor a women entering the profession, please see details of our mentoring scheme for Black, Asian and minoritised women.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • We are keen to assist the most disadvantaged aspiring lawyers. The perception of Russell Group Universities being more prestigious than others, often puts graduates at an advantage when seeking experience in the legal sector.

  • The full list of Russell Group members is as follows:

    1. University of Birmingham

    2. University of Bristol

    3. University of Cambridge

    4. Cardiff University

    5. Durham University

    6. University of Edinburgh

    7. University of Exeter

    8. University of Glasgow

    9. Imperial College London

    10. King's College London

    11. University of Leeds

    12. University of Liverpool

    13. London School of Economics & Political Science

    14. University of Manchester

    15. Newcastle University

    16. University of Nottingham

    17. University of Oxford

    18. Queen Mary, University of London

    19. Queen's University Belfast

    20. University of Sheffield

    21. University of Southampton

    22. University College London

    23. University of Warwick

    24. University of York

  • Unfortunately we do not have the resources to offer any other internship schemes at this time.

  • Due to the majority of clients we deal with being victims of sexual violence, it is a genuine requirement that this is role is carried out by women only - Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR), Schedule 9 (Work; Exceptions), Part 1 (Occupational Requirements), of the Equality Act (2010) applies.

  • This internship is a positive action initiative under the Equality Act 2010 and forms part of our commitment to addressing the under-representation of women from minoritised communities and socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, in the legal profession.

  • Within this programme we refer to Black, Asian and minoritised women. We know that language matters, that labels are always problematic and that there are differences of opinion on the most appropriate wording, including within CWJ. In using this expression we refer to political Blackness, we also include Asian to provide recognition to our own staff, and “minoritised” to represent the fact that black and brown people are a majority globally but become a minority in the UK, and also in recognition of other groups who are very much part of the ‘by and for’ sector such as Latin American women, Roma and traveller women, Turkish, Eastern European and others.

VOLUNTEERING

If you are interested in volunteering at Centre for Women’s Justice please complete the form below.

Please note:

  • We do not have any Paralegal volunteering opportunities

  • We are currently unable to offer volunteering placements to under 18s

  • We do not offer work experience or summer placements

By submitting this form you consent to this data being held on our volunteer database for either 12 months from the date of submission or 12 months from the date you last volunteered with us.