*please note, information will be coming soon regarding provision and referrals*
Office number: 0737 63 48 663
PROJECT
The Azra Kemal Legal Internship Programme
To make sure that people from Black, Asian and minoritised backgrounds have equal access to legal support and expertise, we need more representation in the legal profession. Today, only around 21% of solicitors and 14% of barristers come from a Black, Asian or minority background. That is why we raised £10,000 in Azra’s name to create opportunities for women from Black, Asian and minoritised backgrounds to experience a paid 3-day internship programme with our partner, the Centre for Women’s Justice. The Centre is 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.
The programme provides one, three-day, paid internship opportunity every six months on a rolling basis, giving women with an interest in advancing their legal careers the opportunity to progress their skills whilst doing important work for and on behalf of other women. Interns will work alongside professional lawyers whose work focuses on holding the state to account for violence against women and girls.
“The CWJ internship for women from Black, Asian and/or Minority Ethnic backgrounds is a fantastic initiative. By ensuring that the internship is paid, CWJ have removed the financial barrier to completing this sort of work experience that many women from these groups face, while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to advance their careers in the legal profession by doing important work for and on behalf of other women.”
Una Morris, barrister, Garden Court Chambers
To find out more and to apply, visit the Centre for Women’s Justice internship page now.
CWJ say:
Centre for Women’s Justice is a legal charity which was founded to hold the state to account in relation to male violence against women and girls, and to challenge discrimination in the criminal justice system.
The Centre is proud to have supported a number of individuals and groups in successfully challenging institutions, and laws, that perpetuate violence against women. It also provides and facilitates legal assistance, wherever it can, for women and girls affected by male violence.
In 2021, Nevres Kemal – founder of Raising My Voice Foundation – joined forces with Centre for Women’s Justice to launch the Azra Kemal Internship Programme in Azra’s memory. The Programme, funded/supported by the Foundation, offers paid 6-month legal internships at Centre for Women’s Justice to recent law graduates from Black, Asian or other minoritised ethnic backgrounds. Successful applicants are mentored by the legal team at Centre for Women’s Justice, and will develop valuable legal skills and experience that will help them gain access to the legal profession.
Although the legal profession has made strides in recent years to promote inclusion and tackle inequality, Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic lawyers remain underrepresented within the legal sector. The RMV Foundation and Centre for Women’s Justice have committed therefore to providing opportunities for junior lawyers from underrepresented groups with a view to improving diversity in the legal profession.
