Job Description

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the legal team at Ipswich Borough Council. You will be part of a busy in-house legal team where you will manage your own caseload and ideally you will have experience working in civil litigation matters and/or commercial contract and procurement work.

Day to day

• Providing a high-quality comprehensive legal service to all members and officers of the Council primarily in litigation and licensing work.
• Conducting a range of case work, taking instructions, drafting and negotiating documents and settlements, and generally providing high quality accurate legal advice on a range of legal issues.
• Acting as advocate at Court, tribunals or public inquiries and vetting reports and representing the Council as legal advisor at business meetings and such other duties as may be required from time to time in line with the post.

About you

• You will be a qualified solicitor/barrister/Fellow of the institute of Legal Executives or equivalent relevant qualification with proven experience preferably of working in the field of litigation, and desired experience in a local authority context. 
• Applications are welcome from those with expertise in a different field and not from local government background, who would like to take on a new challenge and could apply themselves to litigation matters.
• You will have proven experience of providing comprehensive legal advice in your legal field, particularly of drafting, negotiating and settling matters with minimal supervision and some experience of advocacy at either Magistrates’ Court and/or County Court. 
• You will have a ‘can do’ attitude, be a team player and will need excellent communication and IT skills.
• You will also be able to work under pressure to meet competing priorities and deadlines and be able to offer clients a pragmatic approach.

Hours of work are 37 per week, Monday to Friday. 

As well as a good salary, we offer a career average pension scheme, generous holiday and sick pay entitlements, subsidised parking, public transport discounts, free swimming, cycle purchase scheme, plenty of personal and professional development opportunities, flexible working, hybrid working opportunities, Employee Assistance Programme and the opportunity to work with great colleagues.

For more information about this role please contact Jonathan Reed on 01473 478627 or via email Jonathan.Reed@ipswich.gov.uk.

Please download the Job Description and Person Specification to find out more about this role:  Job description and Person specification

The selection process will be an interview. The interview process will be carried out remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Interviews will be held in the week commencing Monday 24th April 2023.

Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to interview candidates who meet the essential criteria prior to the closing date and / or to close the opportunity to applicants once we receive sufficient applications.