Solicitor (Court)

Job Advert

Working within Legal Services, you will assist in the provision, delivery and management of the Council’s in-house court service. The successful candidate will have good experience of the full range of civil court work carried out on behalf of a local authority.  They will be expected to manage their own caseload, to supervise and assist junior members of staff and to provide advice and guidance to other Council staff.  The workload will involve all tasks from pre-litigation advice, drafting court documents, to court and tribunal appearances covering aspects of the Council’s core businesses and, in particular: adult social care; children and family social work; heritable actions; and, education advice.  The majority of the court service is focused on in-house advice and representation, with staff also providing input to policy and procedure reviews, governance matters and acting as legal advisers to Council committees and subcommittees.

The post will be based in Midlothian House, Dalkeith (although the post holder may be required to work remotely).  The post will require regular attendance at court in Edinburgh, and other courts as required.

It is essential that the postholder possesses a Law degree, post graduate Diploma and an unrestricted practicing certificate from the Law Society of Scotland – this is the only qualification route for this post.

The successful candidate will have organisational knowledge, interpersonal skills, an understanding of public sector legal issues and a proven track record to offer advice and guidance.  Ideally they will have experience in providing advice and representing clients in litigation matters including Permanence Orders, guardianships, community care disputes, education and housing. Experience in other areas of litigation including data protection, debt recovery and licensing would be beneficial (but not essential as in-house training will be provided).

A minimum of 18 months post qualifying experience, good IT skills, experience of supervision of administrative/paralegal staff and a willingness to be involved in designing and delivering training for client services is also desirable.

The successful candidate will work as part of a small team to provide a full range of litigation, advocacy and advisory work across the Council or on behalf of any other body for which the Council provides legal advice. Key work areas include (but are not limited to):

• Representing the Council at Court, Tribunals and Inquiries (including all relevant preparatory work)
• Taking legal action on behalf of the Chief Executive and all Divisions
• Provision of professional legal advice to ensure the lawful execution of duties to stakeholders including elected members, council officers, panels and boards
• Provision of legal advice to the Council’s quasi-judicial committees and boards.
• Representing Legal Services on ad hoc corporate working groups as necessary.

The jobholder should be aware of the initiatives which affect council services in order to be aware of the pressures and influencing factors on the client before giving legal advice.

CLOSING DATE - 27 March 2023

INTERVIEW DATE - Week Commencing 3 April 2023             

Vacancy Information

Position Title: Solicitor                  

Position Number: C565

Directorate: Place                        

Location: Midlothian House                                       

Contract Status: Permanent        

Hours of Work: 36  

Working Pattern: Monday – Friday         

Weeks per year: 52

Please note that it is Midlothian Council’s policy that successful applicants will be appointed to the first point on the salary scale.

Based on you working 36 hours over 52 weeks per year the minimum actual salary for this position is £47,657.04 per annum.

Requirements

Compliance with the mandatory Cabinet Office PSN (Public Sector Network) Code of Connection requires the Council to meet a baseline personal security standard. This requires completion of a disclosure check for all employees who can access official information. The fee for this PSN Disclosure check is £25. 

Additional Information

If you have difficulty applying for this post or accessing attached documents, or if you have a disability and reasonable adjustment is required, please call 0131 271 3063 to speak to a member of the Recruitment Team stating the post reference number.

Midlothian Council is currently undergoing a period of transformation, changing and improving the way it delivers services in Midlothian. As a consequence, there are a number of existing employees for whom we are committed to seeking suitable alternative employment within the Council in accordance with our legal obligations. Candidates are advised that, for some vacancies, internal candidates in this situation will be interviewed before the wider selection pool and a slightly longer delay may be experienced before application outcomes can be advised to you. Thank you for your patience in this matter.