In House Advocate – Children’s Team
Grade M, scp £53,697 to scp £56,826 per annum
Allowances – Essential Car User
Closing Date 4th September 2023
About You and The Role
We are looking for an In-House Advocate to join us to provide high quality advocacy, advice and representation to the Council, Officers, and Elected Members.
You will be a skilled advocate with rights of audience and experience of undertaking cases before magistrates and circuit judges. The cases you receive will be well prepared and you will be given time to fully familiarise yourself with the issues and case law alongside meeting with the lawyer with conduct of the case. Principal lawyers and the Head of Legal will also be available to support you with regards to your role. We will continue to use counsel for advice and representation where appropriate. You will not be expected to cover any lengthy hearings.
You will need a current practising certificate and be able to demonstrate your ability to add value to an established team. This would be an ideal role for someone considering the possibility of conversion to the bar. The advantage of the role being that you will not be working every evening and weekends. We encourage flexible working and have a hybrid working policy so you can pace the speed at which you work.
Whilst previous local authority experience would be an advantage, we are also open to candidates who have private practice experience, are counsel who have completed their pupillage or who have experience in other in-house roles where they have transferable skills and would be a good fit.
About Us
Bolton is a wonderful and caring place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected, and prosperous. The Council is based in various locations across the borough, including in the historic Town Hall in Bolton, which provides a modernised and superb workplace. These and other Council locations are open plan offices in the town centre, with nearby parking and access to excellent rail and bus networks.
Our relationships with internal and external stakeholders are strong and warm. Our team uses technology that enables them to work flexibly and efficiently, including when working remotely. Legal Services use Iken as a case management system.
The Team is supported by a strong support team of our senior legal assistants, legal assistants and administrative staff who assist us with bundle preparation, requesting evidence and where necessary shadowing counsel. The team meet regularly for diary and Team meetings to ensure that staff feel supported and know what is happening in the service and Council. Staff development is important so you will have a development plan that is reviewed regularly with your manager.
As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including hybrid working, flexi time, discounts, exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, as well as access to employee support services and assistance programmes. You will also have the opportunity to top up your pension by saving via the AVC scheme where you will receive back some tax paid on savings.
For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see the Work with Us page on greater.jobs and see all the benefits you can get here:
Staff Benefits at Bolton Council
Alternatively, please contact Angela Hunt on (01204) 338769 or Alison Kelly on (01204) 331166.
Our Values are really important to us, read all about them here:
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Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see here for further information before you apply.
Greater Manchester Guaranteed Assessment Scheme | greater jobs
This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.
This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits.
Ready to apply? Then please click Apply, fill in the short application and upload your anonymised CV, and a short supporting statement covering points 1 – 4 on the Person Specification.
