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How do we sum up Barnsley Council? Well, we’re a double award-winning, high-performing council with a growing economy, a thriving town centre and some truly impressive outcomes in our communities. This is why we’ve been awarded Council of the Year for 2023 by the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) and The Municipal Journal (MJ).

Our excellent core service has been a key part of our win; we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved not just for the council but for our partners and Barnsley. Our legal service recently won in-house legal team of the year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards recognising the progress made over the last 12 months and the significant impact of the service.

We’re impressed. Are you? It’s the perfect time to join our excellent team.

About the Post:

Barnsley Council is an award-winning team and one of the biggest employers in the borough, supporting around 243,000 people. There’s so much happening in our thriving borough, and your talent will help us make Barnsley the place of possibilities.

As a Council we pride ourselves in being an inclusive employer where a people-centred culture is at the forefront of supporting our people’s well-being, motivation, and productivity.

We understand the importance of flexibility, and we offer a range of flexible working patterns to aid a work life balance that accommodates individual needs. 

As a modern employer we actively remove the barriers to employment.  Whether you are looking for a part-time opportunity, a working parent or carer, living with a disability or long-term health condition, we welcome and value your application to join our team.

 Key responsibilities of the Litigation Lawyer role:

Depending on the level of experience, the lawyers in the Litigation team deal with the following type of work:

• Handling general civil litigation matters, examples include general civil claims, ASB possessions, rent arrears, injunctions, access for electrical inspections, warrant applications, and closure orders.

• Cross-cutting working with the Litigation team dealing with regulatory and environmental prosecutions and licensing matters

• Reviewing case files, evaluating evidence, analysing witness statements, and drafting court applications, orders and other associated documentation

• Attending court and tribunal proceedings, conducting advocacy including contested hearings alongside instructing and briefing counsel where required

• Working closely with our internal colleagues including our Safer Communities, and Public Health and Communities team to provide advice, support and training

• Liaise with external agencies and partners as required including Berneslai Homes under our Service Level Agreement

Benefits of the Litigation Lawyer role:

• Legal assistant support

• Highly supportive environment with training and development opportunities

• Competitive salary

• Local government pension scheme, including the option to contribute to an Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme

• Flexible and hybrid working

• Flexi time, including the use of up to 5 banked flexi days per year.

• Generous annual leave allowance, increasing with length of service and an additional 5 discretionary leave days used for Christmas shutdown

• Salary sacrifice scheme for extra annual leave, cycle to work, home electronics and childcare vouchers. 

• Discounts on car parking, rail travel, eating out, leisure attractions and gym memberships. 

We actively develop our lawyers and provide them with opportunities to grow and challenge themselves. We do not focus on PQE but require Lawyers to be enthusiastic about the work we do and willing to self-develop and grow into our work.

We are very interested in hearing from candidates who have experience in either civil or criminal law, possess a proactive attitude, and are eager to broaden their legal knowledge to gain exposure in wider litigation practice areas and enhance their advocacy skills.

We encourage candidates from a range of background and experience to apply as Barnsley Council has excellent training and development opportunities for candidates.

Please ensure you view the job profile for this role, as you will need to demonstrate in your CV & covering letter how you meet the required criteria.