ILFA Flagship Secondment Programme – Application deadline: 12 December 2018
International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) Flagship Secondment Programme
The application deadline for the 2019 International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) Flagship Secondment Programme (IFSP) is 12 December 2018.
This is an annual international secondment programme where lawyers practising in various African jurisdictions are selected and sponsored on a 3-month secondment at highly reputed international law firms and corporations based in London, Paris, Lisbon and Dubai. Additionally, the programme provides an academic enrichment series that incorporates training modules on various topics relevant to the African legal sector.
A wide variety of practice areas and sectors are covered as part of the training modules which take place in London in the first two weeks of the programme before the lawyers then go to the various host cities. Finally, the ILFA lawyers undergo seminars at the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The overall objective is to ‘educate, equip and empower’ African lawyers.
Read more here on the advanced training, Oxbridge seminars and the professional development network.
What do host firms provide?
As part of the programme secondees are provided with
- roundtrip airfare;
- appropriate accommodation in the host city;
- short-term accommodation in London for the advanced training days and gala dinner (for non-London based secondees);
- visa fee and visa application assistance;
- airport transportation and local transportation within the host city;
- weekly allowance;
- transportation to Oxford and Cambridge Universities for the enrichment days;
- attendance at the Annual Gala Dinner; and
- an ILFA mentor (buddy) within the host firm.
Applicants must:
- Have a distinguished academic background and in particular a degree in law.
- Have a minimum of a second class upper division (2.1) or equivalent according to British undergraduate degree classification system) from a university with a reputable law faculty.
- Be a qualified practising lawyer in any African jurisdiction with a minimum of three years’ post qualified experience (PQE).
- Have permanent residence and currently be working in an African country (in-house, private practice, government). Exceptions made for approved sabbaticals i.e studying abroad etc).
- Be aged between 18 and 35 (at the time of the programme).
- Be fluent in English. French, Portuguese, Arabic are desirable for certain placements.
- Have a record of having performed high quality work which can be verified by strong referees familiar with the individual’s work
- A clear plan of returning to the home jurisdiction at the end of the secondment and a commitment to sharing the skills acquired on secondment with others.
- Be committed to developing legal skills across a range of practice areas and to participating in all aspects of the secondment programme.
Secondees will be placed within one of ILFA’s sponsor firms and corporations. The expectation is that the secondee’s legal expertise matches the relevant practice(s) of the host firm eg. corporate and commercial law, dispute resolution (arbitration, litigation and ADR), public international law, banking and finance etc.
Application deadline: 12 December 2018.
Read more here on eligibility and the selection process.
Application questions and answers.
Online application requirements.
Qualified individuals must apply directly through the ILFA website online application system. Apply online here.
