Lawyer Rights of Way

Staffordshire County Council; Stafford; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working patterns

Remote working with Stafford office

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council is seeking a qualified legal professional to handle public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens matters. The role supports senior colleagues and provides advice and research across related areas.

The successful candidate will work within Staffordshire Legal Services, adhere to LEXCEL standards, and may supervise junior staff, with flexible arrangements including remote/hybrid working and potential part-time options.

Qualifications

• The minimum criteria: qualified Chartered Legal Executive, Solicitor or Barrister.
• Sound knowledge of countryside, public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens law.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Undertaking routine to moderately complex countryside, public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens matters including enforcement, hearings and inquiries.
• Providing support for senior team members in relation to large or complex matters.
• Providing general legal advice on public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens related matters including legal research.
• Supervising and delegate to other more junior members of the team
• Adhering to the Legal Services Unit’s LEXCEL quality standards.
• Such other duties as may reasonably be required including providing assistance with the drafting of Committee reports.

Skills

Independent worker

Team player

Strong communication

Organisational skills

IT skills

Education

Chartered Legal Executive

Solicitor

Barrister

Tools

LEXCEL

Job description

Staffordshire County Council is amodern,progressiveand forward-thinking authority that is ambitious and empowersits employeestobe courageous and innovativein their approach.

Staffordshire Legal Services is a large in-house corporate legal team, consisting of lawyers, trainees and support staff, with a key focus on staff training, retention and progression. The service supports the County Council in the delivery of its objectives by providing quality services to support every single function in the Council including Environment and Countryside, as well as to a wide range of external clients.

The successful candidate will undertake a rewarding varied caseload of public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens related matters so previous experience of these specialisms is essential, within either public sector or private practice.

There are a number of benefits to working at Staffordshire County Council including generous holiday entitlement, flexi time, annual leave purchase scheme, employee discounts, local government pension scheme, optional car lease scheme and a staff parking discount scheme.

We understand the importance of a work-life balance and currently offer remote working with attendance at our Stafford office on flexible patterns and in accordance with business need. We are also happy to consider requests for part-time working.

Fixed Term Contract 31 March 2028

Main Responsibilities

Responsibilities will include:

• Undertaking routine to moderately complex countryside, public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens matters including enforcement, hearings and inquiries.
• Providing support for senior team members in relation to large or complex matters.
• Providing general legal advice on public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens related matters including legal research.
• Supervising and delegate to other more junior members of the team
• Adhering to the Legal Services Unit’s LEXCEL quality standards.
• Such other duties as may reasonably be required including providing assistance with the drafting of Committee reports.

The Ideal Candidate

The minimum criteria that will be used to shortlist for this role will be:

We are looking for a qualified Chartered Legal Executive, Solicitor or Barrister with:

• Sound knowledge of the law relating to countryside, public rights of way, access land, highways, commons and village greens.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise a varied workload.
• Local authority knowledge preferred but not essential.
• Strong I.T. skills

If you are unsure if your skills and experience are suitable for this role or for an informal chat please contact Heather Morgan, Team Senior on 01785 277234 or at [e-mail].

Interviews will be held the week commencing 2 November 2026.

Our Recruitment Process

We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

• generous holiday entitlement
• flexi time
• annual leave purchase scheme
• employee discounts
• local government pension scheme
• optional car lease scheme
• a staff parking discount scheme

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as yourapplication meets the minimum criteria for the post.