Opportunity: JD RA (Lit Review)

Part-Time Osgoode JD Research Assistant — Refugee Law Lab Citation digitization and literary review

The Refugee Law Lab (RLL) is looking to hire a part-time Osgoode JD research assistant to work  with the Migration Technology Monitor (MTM) to digitize citations and write a literary review of gaps in global literature on border technologies

About the Refugee Law Lab

The Refugee Law Lab, based at York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies and Osgoode Hall Law School, is devoted to research and advocacy related to new legal technologies and their impact on refugees, other displaced communities, and people on the move. We develop datasets and legal analytics that enhance transparency in refugee law processes, critique the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies in the migration field, and build open-source legal technology to advance the rights and interests of marginalized communities.

Position Overview

The successful candidate will be responsible for digitizing citations and subsequently writing a comprehensive literary review of the material, including explicitly identifying missing gaps in literature and profiling work from Global Majority scholars. The direction of the review will be decided upon through collaboration between the successful candidate and the supervisor. The literary review will be published on MTM’s blog. Full training on the technology along with technical and substantive support will be provided.

This is a 100 hour project to be completed during the Summer 2026 term. We are specifically seeking students early in their JD, either incoming 1ls or students who have just completed their 1L and those that are interested in immigration law, migration technology monitoring.

Note that time and interest permitting, there may also be other smaller ad hoc research opportunities at the intersection of migration and tech.

Qualifications & Competencies

  • Current Osgoode Hall Law School Student Fall 2026
  • Attention to detail
  • Interest in immigration and refugee law
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
  • Other language skills are an asset but not required (particularly Spanish, Arabic, and French)
  • Lived experience with forced migration or membership in equity-seeking communities is an asset

Terms & Conditions

  • Place of work: Remote
  • Salary: $30/hr (inclusive of vacation pay, less statutory deductions)
  • Time commitment: hours are flexible.
  • This is a 100 hour project to be completed during the Summer 2026 term. We can discuss how you would like to allocate your time and we can accommodate spacing out the work over the whole summer (at one day/week for 10 weeks), or we can front load it if you prefer
  • Start date: June 2026

 

What You’ll Gain

  • Increase familiarity with global border technologies and reliable reporting sources
  • Develop skills in research, citations, writing literary reviews which help identify missing areas in research and suggest areas for further study
  • A published literary review on the MTM blog

Supervisors:  Petra Molnar, RLL Associate Director; Jessica Turje, MTM Administrator

Application Deadline: June 1, 2026

Application Method: Please send your CV and a one page cover letter outlining your interests to admin@migrationtechmonitor.com