In House Advocate – Children’s Team
Grade M, scp £53,697 to scp £56,826 per annum
Closing Date 3 July 2023
About You and The Role
Following a Service Review, Bolton Council is recruiting to several permanent positions within the Legal Services Team. We are looking for a highly motivated In-House Advocate to join us to provide high quality advocacy, advice and representation to the Council, Officers, and Elected Members, therefore a current practising certificate is key.
Candidates should have experience of working under pressure with challenging subject matters, given the nature of the role.
You will be a skilled and experienced advocate with rights of audience and experience of undertaking cases before the 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 and we will continue to use counsel for advice and representation where appropriate.
We are looking for someone prepared to assist colleagues who have competing demands and are unable to advocate on some of their cases due to the fact they will be balancing advocacy alongside carrying a caseload. Strong analytical abilities are necessary alongside the ability to think on your feet. You will possess excellent oral and written communication skills and will be responsible for managing your time effectively.
You will support the Principal Solicitors, Monitoring Officer and Deputy Monitoring Officer and will ensure that the service meets all its statutory requirements and responsibilities. Given the nature of the role there will be flexibility around working days/hours.
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 as people feel active, connected, and prosperous. The Council is based in various locations across the borough with nearby parking and access to excellent rail and bus networks. We also encourage our team to work flexibly and efficiently by using technology to work remotely.
We pride ourselves on our warm and professional relationships with both our internal and external stakeholders, as well as other members of staff. The team is supported by our senior legal assistants, legal assistants and administrative staff who assist us with bundle preparation, requesting evidence and where necessary shadowing counsel. The team meets regularly to ensure that staff feel supported, they understand their department and how they fit into our broader function as a Council.
We are proud of our history in promoting the development of our staff by offering opportunities for career progression where possible and maintaining an individual development plan so that we can support staff in meeting their potential.
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 such as flexi time and discounts. 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.
Ready to apply? Then please click Apply, fill in the short application and upload your anonymised CV, and a covering statement answering points 1 – 4 on the Person Specification.
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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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.
