Lawyer - Civil Litigation-12 Months Maternity Cover

Salary: £42,783-£50,250

Closing Date: 31 January 2022

The Role

An exciting and challenging opportunity has arisen to be part of the Joint Legal Services Team, which supports both West Midlands and Staffordshire Police Forces. We are seeking a Lawyer, specialising in Civil Litigation to join us for a 12- month period to cover maternity leave, to provide a comprehensive legal service to the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner for both Staffordshire and West Midlands Police.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• provide legal advice and assistance to the Chief Constable and other Chief Officers and the Police and Crime Commissioner
• advise and provide representation (including advocacy) in relation to legal proceedings and hearings
• attend conferences to ensure that relevant actions are planned and executed to protect the best interests of the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner ensuring compliance with court directions and Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) deadlines
• work with external legal services (including Counsel) where necessary in the most cost effective manner
• ensure that any ‘lessons learned’ are considered and fed back to the appropriate Force department and to Principal Lawyers

Essential Experience

You must be a qualified, practicing solicitor or barrister and must hold a valid Practicing Certificate for England and Wales, or must be a Fellow of CILEx, and in addition be a CILEx Advocate/Litigator holding all three advocacy certificates.

You will have knowledge and experience in the conduct and management of public liability claims (claims for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment, assault/battery, malicious prosecution, misfeasance and Human Rights), together with experience of general litigation claims, judicial review and debt recovery matters.

In addition, you will have advocacy experience within the court system or equivalent and be able to provide resilience for all work conducted for the wider Joint Legal Services in relation to all aspects and functions of its work.

You will also be able to monitor and advise upon any legislative changes and other legal developments affecting the Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.

Essential Skills

As a clear and effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills, you will have the ability to work with a wide range of personnel across the two Forces.

With capability as an advocate before the Courts, you will have excellent analytical skills, first rate drafting skills, and be able to demonstrate sound and balanced judgement with good attention to detail.

Having significant knowledge and understanding of police law, you will have the ability to work under pressure, excel at meeting tight deadlines and have strong file management skills. Being tactically aware, you will be able to evidence prior experience in providing legal advice to senior figures in an organisation, and have a constructive approach to problem solving.

You will be able to work autonomously or as part of a team, and capable of taking on new areas of work with minimal supervision. You will also be able to deal with sensitive and confidential information.

Conditions

The role is for 12 months to cover maternity leave. Based on 36.5 hours per week, the post holder will be required to work out of both West Midlands and Staffordshire Police force offices, depending on the demands of the service.

The post holder will be required to travel to locations throughout the Force areas and may be required to work at weekends and on Bank/Public Holidays on occasions.

The successful applicant will be subject to appropriate vetting.  

Diversity and Inclusion Vision:  Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities.

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions.  As part of our commitment we operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.

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