European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with Leila Bezdrob
This week we sat down with Leila Bezdrob to hear about her journey to becoming a trainee at one of the highest courts of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Responsible for interpreting and upholding the European Convention on Human Rights among 47 states, the judges and lawyers working here make decisions which have a big impact on the national legislation, domestic courts, and political discourse of many countries, as well as their individual citizens. Human rights is often considered to be a desirable but notoriously difficult area of the law to break into, but what is it like to actually work in this sector and how might you follow in Leila’s footsteps?
Like many people, Leila had an interest in the law long before she began her studies but wasn’t sure exactly where she wanted to go. She increasingly found herself drawn towards constitutional and international law and, while the commercial side of the law didn’t appeal, the more political nature of human rights attracted her. Eventually, via a circuitous route that encompassed degrees in France and the UK, charity and pro bono work, and a role at a private law firm, Leila eventually secured a trainee role at the ECHR. So, what’s it like working for one of the most important institutions for human rights in the world?
In many ways, being a trainee at the ECHR is very similar to being a trainee anywhere else. The real advantages are the insights you gain into the workings of the organization that you just can’t get from the outside. You also have the opportunity to work closely with some of the most important judges in Europe on a daily basis. As a trainee, Leila is paired with a judge; working on cases, providing comments, producing advisory opinions, doing legal research, and helping with writing projects are everyday tasks. It’s a very analytical job but one that allows you to enter the everyday life of a top judge. This provides a deep understanding of their fundamental role and the opportunity to attend section meetings, observing judges deliberating cases that might have an impact on millions of people, is invaluable to anyone wishing to work in human rights.
Working in such close proximity with such important and influential figures might seem incredibly intimidating and stressful. However, in Leila’s experience they are usually very humble and easy to approach. They take a genuine interest in you and how you want to learn from them. Their huge breadth of experience is an extraordinary resource for any early career lawyer to draw upon and mentorship from a person of this standing, who has had a long journey to get to where they are, is incredibly valuable.
When thinking about the skills you need to succeed as a part of the ECHR, or as any human rights lawyer, it’s important to keep honing the common skills you gain over the course of your studies. The nature of the role, where you spend a lot of time drafting, reading and reporting, means that communication, critical thinking and resourcefulness are absolutely key. If you plan to work in private practice, you’ll also need strong interpersonal skills and the ability to empathize with people, as you’ll be working face to face with clients on an individual basis.
However, there’s certainly more to landing your first job in this area than simply being able to demonstrate these core competencies. Anyone trying to start their career in human rights law will often have to contend within a classic Catch-22 situation. Many firms or organizations specializing in this area will require you to have some prior experience, and yet opportunities to gain this experience are hard to come by. Unlike the commercial side, where there’s a clear path from study, to internship, to training contract, it’s likely that you’ll have to find alternative routes to get into human rights. Leila recommends gaining a breadth of experiences to help you more clearly demonstrate and articulate your motivations for working in this area. Charity work is often a good place to start – although it’s likely that it won’t be directly related to human rights, the nature of the work will often touch upon adjacent issues. Also think about how the experiences you gain in practice relate to wider issues and consider doing some pro bono work; Leila’s first experience in Human Rights was working with The Innocence Project while at Cardiff University. Though she was working on criminal cases, a lot of her time was spent working with individuals to help them understand their rights and guide them through procedures.
There’s no getting around the fact that human rights is a difficult area to get into, but building a foundation of these little additional experiences will really help when it comes to applying for your first role. Even if you haven’t done a formal internship in this area, you’ll have a wide range of relevant experiences and knowledge which, combined with the academic understanding gained in your degree, will allow you to really sell yourself to potential employers. This is especially the case at the ECHR, where a lot of the emphasis during the application process is placed on your motivations and what it would mean to you to be part of this institution. For Leila, this was a refreshing, and rather surprising approach, and having a bank of relevant experiences that she could draw upon from her long journey to that interview meant she actually found it a lot easier than she expected.
If you’re considering embarking on a career in human rights but are daunted by the long road and the obstacles that stand in your way, Leila’s advice is simply ‘don’t give up!’ The process and the challenges are all part of the journey, and each stage will enrich you in some way and bring you one step closer to your goal. Resilience will be key; although you might have to take a more scenic route to get there, building a breadth of experiences will help you overcome obstacles and allow you to finally arrive at the roles you really want.
For all our LegalTea listeners (and readers) who are keen to work at the ECHR, or in human rights law more broadly, these are our 3 takeaways:
Don’t be intimidated. Working with human rights, and especially at the ECHR, you’ll find yourself interacting with top lawyers and judges on a daily basis. Although this can seem a stressful prospect, in Leila’s experience many of these people are very humble and take a real interest in you and your career.
Master key competencies. You’ll need to use the core skills that you learn as a law student on a daily basis. Make sure to keep working on your communication, critical thinking and resourcefulness even after your studies end. Anyone hoping to work in private practice will also need exceptional interpersonal skills and an ability to empathize with all sorts of people and situations.
Gain a breadth of experiences. Human rights is notoriously difficult to get into. Seek out opportunities wherever you gain to build up a bank of little experiences which will demonstrate your passion and motivation to work in this area. Charity and pro bono work are great ways to do this, even if they don’t touch directly on human rights. It can be a long road but be resilient and don’t give up!
Contact Leila Bezdrob on LinkedIn
