Paid Job: Associate (Mitigation) at The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, New Delhi (Rs 65,000 per month, 3 Posts)

NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, through The Square Circle Clinic (TSCC), is seeking to engage three Associates (Mitigation) on a contractual basis at its New Delhi office. The contract is for one year initially and may be extended on an annual basis at the discretion of the University. The Associates will work on cases handled by The Square Circle Clinic, primarily concerning prisoners sentenced to death.

In April 2025, the entire team from Project 39A moved from the National Law University, Delhi, to establish The Square Circle Clinic at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. The Clinic builds on its work in pro bono criminal defence, forensics, death penalty litigation, mental health and punishment, and is expanding its scope to wrongful convictions, the criminalisation of poverty, and the role of science and technology in the criminal justice system.

Death penalty law as settled by the Supreme Court of India treats guilt determination and sentencing as two distinct phases. After conviction, a separate and detailed hearing on punishment allows the defence to lead evidence and present materials different from those considered on guilt.

The Associate (Mitigation) is part of the defence team representing death row prisoners. Working closely with lawyers, the Associate collects and analyses detailed qualitative information to build a life history of the accused: engaging with the accused, their family and acquaintances, and tracing records on the accused's childhood, social context, and physical and mental health. This requires sustained contact to build a working relationship of trust. The findings are presented as a mitigation investigation report to help courts decide an appropriate punishment.

• Devise strategies and communication tools in each case to establish contact, build rapport, obtain relevant anecdotal, biographic and documentary information, and collect records from prisoners, their families and other persons and authorities.
• Travel extensively throughout India to meet prisoners, their families and others holding information relevant to mitigation.
• Incorporate the information collected into the prisoner's legal case for senior counsel, a judicial forum or a mercy petition.
• Draft Mitigation Investigation Reports and other documents to be presented before courts.
• Engage with mental health professionals and other allied experts for their professional opinion on individual cases.
• Engage with academic work to develop frameworks of analysis for each case.
• Produce op-eds, blogs and academic writing on developments in the field.
• Engage with and organise workshops and conferences for prison officials, judges, lawyers and others in the criminal justice system.
• Present the Clinic's work at various fora, and undertake any other work needed to further its aims.

• A postgraduate degree in social work, psychology, criminology, development studies, economics, sociology, law or any allied discipline.
• Two years of work experience in the respective field is preferred.
• Previous fieldwork with an emphasis on ethnographic research, interviewing, investigative capacities and/or mental health is an advantage.
• Substantial proficiency in reading and speaking Hindi is necessary. Proficiency in Bhojpuri, Bengali, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil or Telugu is an advantage.

Rs 65,000 per month, commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position is paid under the grants received by The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Submit your resume and a written assignment of no more than 800 words through the online application form. The assignment question is:

What is your strongest held belief? How did you come to hold it?

Applications must reach the Clinic no later than 11:59 PM on 25 October 2026; applications received after that will not be accepted.

• Shortlisted candidates must be present at the New Delhi office for the selection process. The University will not cover the costs of attending interviews.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted by email. If you do not hear back within four weeks after the deadline, assume your application has not succeeded; the Clinic cannot reply to individual queries about application status.
• The University may conduct additional rounds of interviews, written tests or simulation exercises, and reserves the right not to fill the position or to vary the number of positions.
• NALSAR University of Law is an equal opportunity employer, and the Clinic ensures access to legal representation for prisoners regardless of the offence.