Lawyers and Paralegals

 

Organization:                         Somaliland Lawyers Association (SOLLA)
Position:                      5 Lawyers
Location:                    Somaliland (Hargeisa, Borama, Berbera, Burco, Erigavo)
Duration:                    8 Months
Application Deadline: 25 December 2025
Apply to: ???? somalilandbar_association@yahoo.com (copy to: solla.dep.operations@gmail.com)

About SOLLA

The Somaliland Lawyers Association (SOLLA), established in June 2004, is a non-profit professional body of legal practitioners. With more than 580 registered lawyers nationwide, the association provides legal aid, advocacy, and professional development to ensure equal access to justice for all citizens. Its membership includes lawyers, law professors, legal advisors to lawmakers and ministries, and corporate legal service providers. SOLLA is dedicated to advancing justice, strengthening the rule of law, and protecting human rights across Somaliland.

Since 2009, SOLLA has partnered with UNDP is currently leading the Somaliland Joint Rule of Law Program, supporting efforts to strengthen legal aid services across Somaliland regions (Maroodi-Jeex, Awdal, Sahil, Togdheer, and Sanaag). The Somaliland Joint Rule of Law Program is designed to strengthen justice institutions, expand access to legal aid, and promote human rights across Somaliland. It responds to the challenges of limited legal awareness, high costs of services, and disparities in access to justice, particularly for women, IDPs, prisoners in the marginalized groups in the country.

Role Overview

The Lawyers will manage legal aid caseloads, represent clients in court, supervise paralegals, and contribute to the development of effective legal service delivery systems. The role requires strong legal expertise, ethical integrity, and a commitment to justice and human rights.

Key Responsibilities

Role and Responsibilities for Lawyers

1. Litigation & Legal Representation

• Courtroom Advocacy: Provide full legal representation in formal courts, specializing in bail applications, defense of fair trial rights, and protection orders for SGBV survivors.
• Case Management: Lead the legal strategy for 250+ complex cases, ensuring that prioritized groups (women, IDPs and prisoners) receive professional counsel.
• Judicial Follow-up: Track proceedings to secure interlocutory and final judgments, ensuring all court orders are documented and executed.

2. Technical Drafting & Legal Quality Control

• Policy & Manual Development: Lead the drafting of 3 comprehensive training manuals and guidelines for lawyers, paralegals, and community leaders.
• Legal Documentation: Prepare high-level legal instruments, including court pleadings, petitions, legal opinions, and formal correspondence with the Attorney General’s Office.
• Case File Review: Conduct monthly technical review of all 250 beneficiary files to ensure they meet legal standards and donor compliance.
• GBV cases: Enter and update case data in the database from the Baahikoob SGBV referral system and central legal aid registry, disaggregating by gender, age, displacement, and detention status

3. Capacity Building & Mentorship

• Technical Instruction: Deliver specialized workshops for justice actors and paralegals on human rights law, criminal procedure, and SGBV legal frameworks.
• Paralegal Supervision: Provide ongoing mentorship to the 12 paralegals, reviewing their fact-finding reports and providing legal advice on their community mediation efforts.
• Institutional Strengthening: Mentor community justice facilitators to ensure ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) mechanisms align with statutory law and human rights standards.

4. Institutional Coordination & Advocacy

• High-Level Liaison: Represent the program in national and regional coordination meetings with the Ministry of Justice, Judiciary, Police Commanders, Attorney General’s, Service Providers, duty peerers and UN agencies.
• Referral Pathway Design: Establish and maintain formal referral mechanisms with police stations, prisons, service providers to ensure survivors have immediate access to lawyers.

5. Monitoring & Reporting

• Narrative Reporting: Consolidate field data into monthly narrative reports, highlighting legal trends, human rights violation patterns, and systemic justice gaps.
• Outcome Analysis: Analyze case outcomes and judgments to provide recommendations for internal reforms and pedagogical improvements to the legal aid program.

Qualifications & Competencies

§  Bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B) from a recognized university.

§  Valid license to practice law in Somaliland, in good standing with the Committee for Lawyers Licensing and Disciplinary.

§  Minimum 3 years of professional experience in litigation, legal aid, or human rights law.

§  Strong knowledge of Somaliland’s legal system, including statutory law, Sharia principles, and customary dispute resolution mechanisms.

§  Excellent legal writing and advocacy skills, with proven ability to draft pleadings, reports, and donor-facing documentation.

§  Demonstrated commitment to ethics, human rights, and equitable access to justice.

§  Capacity for professional translation and bilingual communication (English and Somali), ensuring accessibility in diverse contexts.

§  Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills for engaging courts, communities, and donor partners.

§  Digital literacy and case management proficiency, including use of legal databases, CRM systems, and secure communication platforms.

Contract Details

• Type: Full-time position
• Duration: 8 months

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications no later than 25 December 2025. The application package should include an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV), a cover letter outlining relevant experience and motivation, a copy of the valid legal license and academic credentials, and two professional references with contact details. All documents must be sent by email to somalilandbar_association@yahoo.com, with a copy to solla.dep.operations@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Organization:                         Somaliland Lawyers Association (SOLLA)
Position:                      6 Paralegals
Location:                    Somaliland (Hargeisa, Borama, Berbera, Burco, Erigavo and Gabiley)
Duration:                    8 Months
Application Deadline: 25 December 2025
Apply to: ???? somalilandbar_association@yahoo.com (copy to: solla.dep.operations@gmail.com)

About SOLLA

The Somaliland Lawyers Association (SOLLA), established in June 2004, is a non-profit professional body of legal practitioners. With more than 580 registered lawyers nationwide, the association provides legal aid, advocacy, and professional development to ensure equal access to justice for all citizens. Its membership includes lawyers, law professors, legal advisors to lawmakers and ministries, and corporate legal service providers. SOLLA is dedicated to advancing justice, strengthening the rule of law, and protecting human rights across Somaliland.

Since 2009, SOLLA has partnered with UNDP is currently leading the Somaliland Joint Rule of Law Program, supporting efforts to strengthen legal aid services across Somaliland regions (Maroodi-Jeex, Awdal, Sahil, Togdheer, and Sanaag). The Somaliland Joint Rule of Law Program is designed to strengthen justice institutions, expand access to legal aid, and promote human rights across Somaliland. It responds to the challenges of limited legal awareness, high costs of services, and disparities in access to justice, particularly for women, IDPs, prisoners in the marginalized groups in the country.

Purpose of the Role

Paralegals will work under the supervision of SOLLA Lawyers, supporting case preparation, community outreach, and legal empowerment activities in prisons, police stations and IDPs. The role is critical in bridging the gap between vulnerable populations and formal justice systems.

Key Responsibilities

Role and Responsibilities for Paralegals

1. Community Outreach & Mobile Clinic

• Intake & Screening: Operate intake desks and mobile clinics to conduct first-level screening, documentation, and basic counseling for walk-in clients.
• Rights Awareness: Lead legal education sessions in IDP camps and outreach, focusing on bail rights and SGBV protections,
• Mobilization: Identify vulnerable individuals (women, IDP, and prisoners) and facilitate their access to the legal aid program.

2. Case Preparation & Lawyer Support

• Fact-Finding: Conduct field-level investigations, interview witnesses, and collect survivor statements to build evidence for the lawyers.
• Administrative Support: Assist lawyers by drafting basic correspondence, filing documents in court, and helping clients’ complete detention or bail forms.
• Client Liaison: Act as the primary point of contact between the client and the lawyer, ensuring clients are prepared for hearings and understand the status of their cases.

 

 

 

 

3. Detention & Prison Monitoring

• Police Station Visits: Conduct twice-weekly visits to monitor custody time limits, interrogation practices, and advocate for the release of unlawfully held detainees.
• Prison Empowerment: Facilitate weekly 2-hour legal empowerment sessions for the remand population to screen cases and identify human rights violations.
• Visibility: Ensure that legal aid posters, hotline numbers, and contact information are visibly displayed inside all police stations and detention centers.

 

4. Mediation & ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)

Mediation Facilitation: Facilitate mediation sessions for civil and family disputes, ensuring that community-led resolutions are peaceful and documented.

• ADR Integration: Work with traditional elders and community leaders to align their mediation practices with rights-based approaches.
• Complex Case Referral: Identify and refer criminal or high-conflict cases that cannot be resolved through ADR to the specialized lawyer’s representations.

5. Data Management & Referral Services

·         Database Entry: Maintain and update the referred from Baahikoob SGBV cases into SOLLA database and the central legal aid registry with daily field data and hotline logs.

·         Integrated Referrals: Escort survivors to medical, psychosocial, and shelter services, ensuring a "warm handover" between different service providers.

·          Reporting: Submit a weekly updates and monthly activity reports documenting case breakdowns.

Qualifications & Competencies

• Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Law or related field.
• Prior experience in legal aid, community outreach, or paralegal work preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Somaliland’s legal system and customary dispute resolution.
• Excellent communication, mediation, and documentation skills.
• Commitment to human rights, justice, and ethical standards.
• Ability to work independently and in diverse settings.

Contract Details

• Type: Full-time position
• Duration: 8 months

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications no later than 25 December 2025. The application package should include an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV), a cover letter outlining relevant experience and motivation, a copy of the valid legal license and academic credentials, and two professional references with contact details. All documents must be sent by email to somalilandbar_association@yahoo.com, with a copy to solla.dep.operations@gmail.com.