Volunteer Intake Officers (Legal Assistants)
Volunteer Intake Officers build skills in communicating with the public, assisting people in crisis, client interviewing and drafting instructions for lawyers. They also increase their knowledge of referral services and the practical application and constraints of the law.
Duties
1. Legal Information and Referral
As an Intake Officer, you work in a team to staff the front office and respond to requests from the public, clients and RLC staff. You provide legal information and referrals to other organisations. You may occasionally provide non-legal assistance such as helping people fill in forms.
2. Client Intake and Interviewing
As an Intake Officer, you discuss with each client their situation and the advice they are seeking, you create client records and appointments, and synthesise the client's story into a clear and succinct set of intake instructions to guide the solicitor who will give the legal advice.
3. Additional Duties
Intake Officers also help with administrative and reception work including answering phones, delivering and collecting files and documents, photocopying, filing and maintaining office supplies. Intake Officers draft letters and emails, contact clients, other solicitors, and community agencies and occasionally conduct legal research.
Intakes
- Social Justice Intake (University of Sydney): USYD students can enrol in a Social Justice subject and earn course credit as a Volunteer Intake Officer. Do not apply directly to RLC - you must apply via the university. More information: University of Sydney Social Justice Legal Clinic.
- General Intake (full day) Volunteer Intake Officers work a full day shift per week, for a minimum of six months.
- Winter and Summer Intensives - RLC is not currently running short intensives.
For more info, see Dates and how to apply.
Selection criteria
Essential
- Completion of at least two years of an undergraduate law degree, or accepted into a graduate law degree, or relevant experience
- Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to social justice causes and volunteering in the community
- Demonstrated understanding of legal ethical issues affecting lawyers and community legal centres, and what this would mean for the work of volunteers in legal centres.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a) dealing with people who are in high stress; and b) precise communication of detailed information to the general public
- Available as required by the specific intake.
- Fully vaccinated against COVID.
Desirable
- Lived experience relevant to RLC's clients or areas of law.
- Able to speak a community language.
- Experience in administration or customer service
Can intake work count towards PLT requirements?
RLC’s policy is that intake work by itself cannot count towards PLT hours. This is because the structure of intake volunteering is inconsistent with a number of PLT requirements, depending on the college in question, because the work may be only 3-4 hours per day; supervision is by multiple staff who are not lawyers; and the nature of intake work does not fully meet the range and level of work that a PLT requires.