1.4.1 Engagement with community-based paralegals at the desk

A supervision visit should follow the steps below:

• Review case files handled by the community-based paralegal, based on a sample of minimum 3 to 5 files;

• Give feedback on the monthly/periodic reports submitted by the community-based paralegal;

• Discuss challenges faced by the community-based paralegal with justice institutions and other justice actors;

• Discuss complicated matters handled by the community-based paralegal which require advice/ guidance from the supervisor;

• Discuss achievements reached by the community-based paralegal;

• Come up with strategies to address identified challenges and how to manage clients’ and stakeholders’ expectations.

1.4.2 Getting further feedback from clients, referral institutions/organisations and stakeholders

Beyond engagement with the community-based paralegals at the desk, the supervisor should also engage with clients, referral institutions/organisations and stakeholders within the community (including Local Courts and the traditional leadership). This should be done with a view of determining the performance of the community-based paralegals, identifying weaknesses and areas for improvement.

1.4.3 Observing client interviews, mediation and legal education sessions

To better appreciate the work being done by community-based paralegals, the supervisor should sit in and observe client interviews, mediation and legal education sessions. This will provide the supervisor a first-hand opportunity to make their own assessment of the work being done by the community-based paralegal at the desk.

However, care should be taken by the supervisor and the community-based paralegal so as not to frighten the client(s) or create suspicion. In particular, the supervisor must obtain prior consent from the client(s) before observing a client interview or mediation session. The supervisor must also reiterate her/his adherence to ethical standards in the process, including ensuring confidentiality.

1.5.1 Reaching out to supervisor for questions and other urgent assistance

In between supervision visits, the supervisor should encourage community-based paralegals to reach out to the supervisor with questions and issues that in their opinion require urgent attention. In so doing, the supervision of paralegals will not take a rigid but rather more fluid and practical approach that ultimately will be to the benefit of the paralegal’s clients.

1.5.2 Regular catch ups or check-ins with supervisor

The supervisor should encourage the community-based paralegals to regularly catch up and check-in with the supervisor, to ensure a constant and reliable flow of communication between the supervisor and paralegals.

1.5.3 Reporting by community-based paralegals to supervisor/CSO

In between supervision visits, the supervisor should ensure that community-based paralegals submit regular reports of their work to the supervisor and organisation within which they are operating, using the reference reporting template (if any). This may include monthly as well as quarterly and/or yearly reports depending on the CSO to whom the paralegal is affiliated. Where need arise, the supervisor should provide further guidance to community-based paralegals on how to fill in the reports.

1.5.4 Refresher training, group meetings and other similar initiatives (where possible)

The supervisor should conduct and advocate for comprehensive orientation sessions for new community-based paralegals, ensuring they understand their roles and responsibilities.

Further, the supervisor is encouraged to conduct and lobby for ongoing professional development opportunities to enhance community-based paralegals' skills. In this process, supervisors should collaborate with training institutions and CSOs working with community-based paralegals. This should extend to group meetings, mobile legal aid clinics and legal awareness events where possible.

2.9.1. When engaging and mobilising communities and stakeholders

Community-based paralegals should be sensitive to the needs of vulnerable groups, including women, children and persons with disabilities, for paralegals to better respond to specific needs and situations. The supervisor should therefore check whether community-based paralegals:

• Identify and understand the legal issues faced by women, children and persons with disabilities in that community, and the obstacles they encounter when trying to access the legal desk;

• Whether community-based paralegals are proactive in reaching out to women, children and persons with disabilities, so they can receive legal aid.

2.9.2. When conducting client interviews / meetings with women, children and persons with disabilities

Community-based paralegals should ensure meaningful access to legal aid for women, children and persons with disabilities. The supervisor should be emphatic with the need for the paralegals to take the following into account when dealing with these vulnerable groups of clients:

• When receiving a woman, community-based paralegals should consider asking if she would prefer to speak to a female paralegal (as most legal desks have a gender balanced team of paralegals). This is to ensure that female clients are comfortable with sharing all aspects of the legal problems that they are faced with. During client interviews, paralegals should provide gender sensitive legal aid, ensuring discriminations and practices infringing on women’s rights are not encouraged or supported;

• When dealing with child clients, community-based paralegals need to make sure that a safe space is created for the child to be able to open up about his or her legal problem. Paralegals must provide age appropriate legal aid, providing legal information in simple language and not using professional terminology that a child may not understand. Importantly, the paralegal must ensure that the child’s legal problem is kept confidential in the best interests of the child;

• When handling clients with disabilities, community-based paralegals should provide disability sensitive legal aid. Paralegals should be careful to use acceptable language when referring, should they need to, to the disability of the client. Paralegals should not only be patient but also accommodative of the client. Paralegals should liaise with specialised CSOs whenever further information on disability rights is required, or when specialised services are needed (such as sign language interpretation).

2.10.1. When handling clients of different cultures

Community-based paralegals should be mindful of and sensitive to the cultural backgrounds and practices of the individuals they are interacting with. This involves several key aspects such as understanding cultural differences, respecting cultural norms, effective communication, avoiding stereotypes and biasness, cultural competence, and inclusive practices.

Incorporating cultural consideration into professional practice helps build trust, improve interactions, and ensure that services or support are equitable and respectful to all clients, regardless of their cultural background.

2.10.2. When handling clients with different educational levels

Community-based paralegals must adjust the complexity of language and explanations to suit the educational background of the individuals they are in contact with. For instance, using simpler language and avoiding jargon when communicating with someone with limited literacy, or providing more detailed and technical information to someone with a higher level of education. Community-based paralegals should show patience and respect regardless of an individual's educational background. Similarly, they should avoid making assumptions about a person’s abilities or worth based on their level of education.

2.11.1. Mobilising communities and stakeholders

The supervisor should check whether paralegals mobilised and introduced themselves to their community and local stakeholders, providing information about:

• Their role as community-based paralegals;

• The type of paralegal services and help they can provide;

• Their location, and the days of the week and times when community members can access paralegal services.

Mobilisation involves bringing the community and local stakeholders together. The supervisor should discuss with community-based paralegals how they conduct mobilisation, such as during public meetings in the community, using radio programmes, through contacts and engagement with local stakeholders, and other channels.

The supervisor should remind community-based paralegals of the fact that they will not be able to resolve all problems in the community. Thus, paralegals must manage expectations, informing communities about the limitations of paralegal work so that their intervention will not disappoint or cause dissatisfaction in the community.

2.11.2. Collaboration measures/strategies

The supervisor should ensure that community-based paralegals actively and effectively collaborate and engage with relevant institutions and organisations in their community. This may include other CSOs, justice institutions, local government, traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, community representatives and other stakeholders, as well as correctional facilities, police stations or posts, and courts.

Paralegals should maintain open and regular communication with such stakeholders. This will foster a collaborative and supportive environment for the legal desk to operate in, based on effective coordination and teamwork.

2.11.3. Conducting legal education

The supervisor should encourage paralegals to conduct legal education sessions within their community. Legal education empowers community members to learn and use the law to protect and promote their rights. Sessions should be used to:

• Educate the community on the law (both statutory and applicable customary law) focusing on legal issues that are relevant in the community; and

• Advertise the existence of the community-based legal desk and the services provided there.

The supervisor should ensure that community-based paralegals use participatory methods when conducting legal education, allowing for discussion, questions and exchanges with participants.

2.11.4. Providing legal information

Community members approach paralegals for different reasons with different levels of knowledge of the law. Supervisors should ensure that community-based paralegals provide accurate information on what the law or custom says and who is competent to deal with that issue, when approached by clients seeking information on a particular legal issue. Supervisors should ensure that the correct information is being sent out in communities.

2.11.5. Conducting mediation

In matters that are not complex, community-based paralegals may be encouraged to conduct informal mediation as a form of resolving problems brought to their desks. In doing so, the supervisor should emphasise that community-based paralegals can only mediate in matters that are not complex.

In so doing, the supervisor should guide community-based paralegals on the use of good mediation tips such as listening to both sides, being impartial and avoiding favouring either of the sides, and most importantly assisting both sides to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement.

2.11.6. Providing legal advice (only applicable to paralegals level 2 and 1)

To start with, the supervisor will need to remind community-based paralegals that legal advice can only be provided by paralegals qualified at level 2 or 1 of the TEVETA-approved paralegal training scheme; it cannot be provided by paralegals level 3.

The supervisor should verify that community-based paralegals, when conducting client interviews, start with understanding and analysing the problem faced and legal issue(s) involved in the matter brought by the client. Once this is done, the supervisor should guide paralegals on how best to explain the law, the rights, remedies available to the client, and ultimately how best the problem faced can be resolved and possible next steps. In so doing, the supervisor should remind community-based paralegals about the steps and skills required to conduct client interviews in a professional manner.

The supervisor should remind community-based paralegals to seek support from their supervisor in relation to the provision of legal advice whenever necessary, and that they should refer matters that exceed their competencies and skills.

2.11.7. Conducting legal assistance (including drafting) (only applicable to paralegals level 1)

To start with, the supervisor will need to remind community-based paralegals that legal assistance can only be provided by paralegals qualified at level 1 of the TEVETA-approved paralegal training scheme; it cannot be provided by paralegals level 2 or 3.

The supervisor will need to guide the paralegal on the various ways in which the paralegal can aid the client with a view of arriving at a solution for the client’s problem. In this way, the supervisor should emphasise the use of drafting documents or letters under proper supervision, navigating the justice system, conducting negotiations and ultimately referring the client to a legal practitioner for further action including taking the case to court.

2.11.8. Carrying out orientation, referral and accompaniment

The supervisor should remind community-based paralegals that it is not all problems that are brought to them that they will be able to resolve. The supervisor should ensure the community-based paralegals know and make use of the different options available to the client by way of orientation or referral. In so doing, the supervisor should verify that community-based paralegals identify the appropriate institutions or organisations for clients to receive the required assistance, and that they explain to the client why and where he or she is being oriented or referred. In the case of a referral, paralegals should fill in a referral form or letter.

The supervisor should check whether community-based paralegals accompany vulnerable clients who may not be able to go to the designated or referral institution by themselves. Such clients may include persons with disabilities, children, elderly or women, depending on the type and circumstances of the matter.

2.11.9. Managing a legal desk

The supervisor should emphasise to community-based paralegals key aspects of the proper management of a legal desk. These aspects include, among others:

• Adherence to ethical standards, including ensuring confidentiality;

• Accurate record-keeping and documentation for each matter handled by the paralegal team;

• Adherence to the financial and administrative procedures and standards of the CSO to whom paralegals are affiliated; and

• Proactiveness in identifying and addressing issues that may affect the smooth operation and reputation of the community desk.

2.11.10. Number of clients attended to by community-based paralegals/desk per month

The supervisor should verify that community-based paralegals attend to a relevant number of clients every month.

Should this number be considered as low, the supervisor should check and discuss possible measures taken or strategies put in place by the community-based paralegals to ensure that the legal desk is recognised and that services provided by paralegals are known and supported by the community and stakeholders.