Senior Regulatory Lawyer
Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.
Previous applicants:
Previous applicants who have not been successful for this role in the last 6 months are not eligible to apply on this occasion.
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 Senior Lawyer to join us to provide a comprehensive legal service to the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner for both Staffordshire and West Midlands Police. This role will have a focus on the practice areas of Police Misconduct/Performance/Vetting , Inquests and Public Order incidents but Joint Legal Services provide a complete and varied legal service for its clients and flexibility to work across all areas of police law and practice is required.
Key Responsibilities
You will: - Advise & provide representation (including advocacy where required) in relation to legal proceedings and hearings before the relevant courts & tribunals.
- Operate at a strategic level, supporting the Principal Solicitor in providing leadership & direction to a team of lawyers and support staff within Joint Legal Services
- Support the Principal Lawyer in accountability for budget spend and/or the financial oversight and accountability for their team, including delegation for settlement of claims and authorisation of expenditure on external costs
- Support the strategic objectives of Joint Legal Services by leading upon delivery of objectives whilst identifying and managing any relevant risk.
- Provide timely legal advice, legal support and representation for both West Midlands Police and Staffordshire Police regarding operational matters and a wide range of other issues affecting the forces
- Work with external legal services (including Counsel) where necessary in the most cost effective manner
- Identify and manage risk whilst ensuring that performance management of the team is adhered to.
- Allocation & delegation of work to the team.
- Work collaboratively with a variety of clients, colleagues and other stakeholders.
- Carry a complex case load providing advice & advocacy as required & draft legal documents.
- To carry out any other duties commensurate with the purpose and grading of the post that may from time to time be determined
Qualifications - Essential Skills and Experience
- You must be a qualified, practicing solicitor, barrister or chartered legal executive and must hold a valid Practicing Certificate for England and Wales with significant PQE experience.
- You will have knowledge and experience of handling a complex case load and high profile legal work with minimal supervision.
- In the role of Senior Lawyer you will have the ability to advise at a senior level in the organisation demonstrating your strong leadership skills and the ability to show others.
- Your team will excel from your coaching and mentoring 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 and be able to demonstrate experience of advising on a range of complex police related matters.
- With capability as an advocate before the Courts, you will have strong analytical skills & judgement, 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 also be able to evidence prior experience of providing legal advice to senior figures in an organisation, and have a constructive approach to problem solving.
- In addition, 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 whilst ensuring that you have a flexible, innovative and proactive approach to your work.
- As a Senior Lawyer, you will have excellent negotiation skills and interpersonal skills which will excel your creditability to work with Senior clients and influence others.
Previous experience of leadership working within a public-sector in-house team and/or experience in the following areas is desirable;
- Police discipline/misconduct/performance/vetting
- Inquests/coronial process
- Public Order
- Other Regulatory work
Probationary Policy:
Under the Probation Policy, if you are currently in your probation period, “during your probationary period you will not be permitted to apply for alternative police staff roles within the Force unless there are exceptional circumstances. In such cases, you would require the support of your line manager prior to applying for alternative roles, and if successful, your probationary period will start over.”-Policies - Probation Period (Police Staff) (wmpad.local)
Vetting
Successful applicants will be required to pass Management Vetting and Security Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.
Medical
Appointment to this role may be dependent upon successfully completing medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.
Interviews
Interview Dates To Be Confirmed - But will likely take place within 2 weeks of the advert closing.
Diversity & Inclusion
West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader and committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences.
Benefit Statement
By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:
- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities and access to a very competitive pension scheme.
- Enhanced annual leave in addition to public holiday entitlements.
- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities.
- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs.