Legal Aid South Africa vacancies regularly publish the best legal jobs for your career. Named the best employer in South Africa for many years making it an ideal place to start your career or solidify your position in the industry.
Whether you are a recent law school graduate or a professional with a degree in a non-legal field, use this list to find the jobs that suit you best. Also, you can learn how to apply to Legal Aid South Africa jobs and what it takes to be a highly-qualified candidate.
About Legal Aid South Africa
Legal Aid South Africa is the largest law practice on the African continent. The largest law practice on the African continent is Legal Aid South Africa. The Legal Aid Act of 1969 founded it as an independent agency. During the first two decades of its existence, Legal Aid South Africa hired private practice lawyers to represent persons in need of legal assistance.
However, in the late nineties, Legal Aid South Africa opted to shift to a system of commissioned legal practitioners as the principal means of providing legal aid in the future. The organisation now has 64 local and satellite offices across the country that provide legal assistance.
Legal Aid South Africa’s primary goal is to provide legal assistance to destitute people within the limits of its financial resources. Furthermore, it also legal representation at no cost to the state, as required by the Constitution. Also, the agency educates and informs people about legal rights and obligations.
Most importantly, Legal Aid South Africa assists those who cannot afford legal assistance on their own, including the poor and vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the rural poor. The agency does so in an independent and neutral manner to improve justice and public trust in the law and the administration of justice.
Products and Services
For starters, here are some of the many life-changing services that Legal Aid South Africa provides, including:
- Family matters: Providing legal aid when the clients are experiencing problems between members of their family or household.
- Evictions: Providing legal aid when the clients have been illegally forced out of their property or rented accommodation.
- Employment issues: Providing legal aid when the clients have to deal with conflicts at work.
- Impact litigation: Taking on legal work that has the potential to change the lives of a whole community.
- Contract issues: Providing legal aid when the clients are experiencing problems relating to a contract or an agreement between them and another person.
- Criminal cases: Providing legal aid when the clients are involved in certain criminal cases.
Legal Aid South Africa Vacancies Available Career Opportunities
Legal Aid South Africa recruits approximately 600 Candidate Attorneys at any given time. Now, the organisation hires over 2,000 legal staff in its employment. They are people of all races and genders. Moreover, Legal Aid South Africa publicly employs persons with disabilities.
If you are looking for an opportunity to be a lawyer, this is the right place for you. Once you are hired, the organisation will offer you a comprehensive career path where you can establish a specialisation in criminal and civil law.
Then, you will also have the opportunity to attend training programmes that include a combination of legal and support interventions. Plus, Legal Aid South Africa has several employee assistance programmes, including emergency trauma counselling, life skills training, and stress management.
Generally, the agency employs professionals specialising in the following areas:
- Legal
- IT
- Human Resources
- Finance
- Corporate Communication
And, here are examples of some of the career opportunities commonly advertised in Legal Aid South Africa vacancies:
1. Legal Practitioner
Like most law firms, the job of a legal practitioner is one of the hottest positions in Legal Aid South Africa vacancies. It is not surprising considering the agency needs a lot of them to carry out its noble mission over the long term.
As a legal practitioner, your main duties are to uphold the law while protecting a client’s rights. Also, you will advise, research, and collect evidence or information to create a progress in your case. Oftentimes, you will defend or prosecute in court.
2. Human Resources Manager
As a human resources manager of Legal Aid South Africa, you will plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions of the organisation. You will also oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff. It’s also part of your main duties to consult with top executives on strategic planning and serve as a link between the agency’s management and employees.
3. Attorney
You can apply as an attorney to these Legal Aid South Africa vacancies. Working as a lawyer means you will be advising clients and representing them and their legal rights in criminal and civil cases. You can start by advising and preparing documents and defenses. Then, eventually, you will appear in court to advocate on behalf of clients.
4. Financial Officer
Financial officers are in charge of monitoring a company’s financial transactions. These experts, sometimes known as chief financial officers, are in charge of setting budgets, monitoring transactions, and preparing financial reports. You will need excellent analytical and accounting skills to work as a financial officer.
5. Taxation Officer
Taxation officers are responsible for helping clients and businesses with their financial and income tax statements. These competent individuals do research, analysis, and interpretation of tax law. Thus, preparing payments, recognizing tax savings, and assessing tax difficulties will all be part of your job as a tax accountant.
6. Paralegal
Becoming a paralegal means that you will assist Legal Aid South Africa lawyers in preparing and organising various legal documents for future cases and trials. For starters, your main duties include preparing correspondence and discussing case details with attorneys and clients.
7. Legal Secretary
You can expect to apply as a legal secretary to Legal Aid South Africa vacancies. As the agency’s legal secretary, you will be in charge of providing administrative and clerical support to one or more lawyers. Hence, transcribing and proofreading legal documents, scheduling court depositions, hearings, and meetings, and filing and organizing crucial documents are all part of this job.
8. Forensic Auditor
Forensic auditors help to unravel and solve crimes through the use of financial information, embezzlement activity records, security fraud, bankruptcies and money laundering. They analyse financial data and histories to uncover information that could help solve a criminal case. You will be called in to conduct formal investigations if prevention fails and fraud is suspected or proven.
9. Administration Officer
It is another non-legal job you can expect to apply to Legal Aid South Africa vacancies. As an admin officer, you will be responsible for providing administrative support to the organisation. Basically, your general duties include organising Legal Aid South Africa’s records, overseeing department budgets, and maintaining inventory of office supplies.
10. Systems Analyst Programmer
An analyst’s role is to define, develop, test, analyse, and maintain new software applications in support of the achievement of the agency’s requirements. Furthermore, as an analyst, you will research, design, and modify software specifications throughout the production life cycle.
11. Call Centre Agent
A call centre representative of Legal Aid South Africa, also known as a call centre agent, takes calls from clients and answers their inquiries or addresses any concerns they may have. Generally, they are responsible for handling a large number of inbound and outbound calls from and to clients, as well as listening to their needs and delivering helpful answers to their difficulties.
Legal Aid South Africa Vacancies Application
Interested in applying to one of the aforementioned Legal Aid South Africa jobs? Follow this step-by-step guide to help you navigate your application:
- First, visit the official Legal Aid South Africa website to check the positions advertised.
- Then, click on a job opening and read the available job descriptions. Make sure that you have what it takes to work in the role.
- Scroll down the page and click on the “Please login/register to apply online” button. You will be immediately directed to the Legal Aid South Africa job portal.
- In the new window, log in to your account or create a new one by clicking the “Register” button.
- Follow the instructions given to complete your application and upload the required documents to the database. Please provide reliable data. Make sure you fill in all the blanks to qualify.
- Finally, hit the “Submit” button to end your application.
Legal Aid South Africa Vacancies Qualifications
By now, you are aware that Legal Aid South Africa vacancies have several jobs other than attorney. There are plenty of jobs in the agency without a law degree, such as legal secretaries and call centre agents. In other words, you don’t necessarily have to possess a degree in law to apply for Legal Aid South Africa vacancies.
On the other hand, skills essential for the organisation’s employees are as varied as its jobs. However, some basic qualifications are necessary to work in it. In short, you must meet the following qualifications:
- Written and verbal communication skills
- Analytical thinking skills
- Interpersonal and conflict resolution skills
- Computer and software skills
- Ethical behaviour in legal field
- Fiscal responsibility skills
Legal Aid South Africa Vacancies Requirements
Before applying to your dream role, you should prepare the necessary documents in advance. Typically, Legal Aid South Africa’s recruiting team will ask you to submit the following documents:
- A recent CV that reflects your practical application to the position’s outcomes and expected competencies
- Related qualifications and certificates
Official Website
Finally, apply to or find out more about Legal Aid South Africa vacancies at legal-aid.co.za.