Legal Assistant Corporate Governance

Durham County Council; North East; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council in the North East is seeking a Legal Assistant to join the Commercial and Corporate Governance Team. In this role, you will support qualified lawyers in governance, employment, and procurement law. You will manage your own caseload while receiving quality supervision and development opportunities. The diverse nature of work will require excellent communication skills and adaptability. This position offers a competitive rewards package, opportunities for professional growth, and the chance to make a difference in the community.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous annual leave entitlement

Membership in Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Must have strong academic background in English and legal studies.
• Recognised legal qualifications or equivalent practical experience is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Assist with documentation reviews on large cases.
• Prepare Employment Tribunal bundles and directions.
• Support advice on HR related employment law topics.
• Assist in contracts and procurement advice.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Proactivity

Adaptability

Flexibility

Education

4 GCSE Grade A-C or equivalent

Recognised legal qualification or significant practical legal experience

Job description

A vacancy has arisen within Legal Services for a Legal Assistant who will be responsible for undertaking legal work allocated to the Commercial and Corporate Governance Team.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

You will be responsible for working with the qualified Lawyers in the team undertaking governance, employment and contracts and procurement. This is an exciting opportunity for you to be able to develop your own caseload whilst accessing quality supervision.

If you would like to begin an exciting career in law undertaking varied, high quality legal work supporting colleagues in providing excellent public service and making a difference within the local community this could be the role for you.

As a Legal Assistant you will be a talented and enthusiastic member of the team and will deliver a wide range of duties in a timely manner, ensuring efficient support to the team. Being an exceptional communicator, the successful candidate will also need to be proactive in their delivery and adaptable in their working style in order to assist the team in meeting its objectives and requirements.

The team covers three distinct areas of law, so flexibility and a willingness to learn and develop in the role is essential. In return you can expect to receive learning and development opportunities, interesting and varied legal work, gain in-depth knowledge and experience in different areas of legal practice and responsibility commensurate with ability.

The Legal Assistants assist with:

• Documentation reviews on large cases, inquiries and inquests to include use of electronic disclosure tools and for data transfer.
• Preparation of Employment Tribunal bundles and supporting with preparation of Employment Tribunal directions.
• Supporting with consideration of member code of conduct matters and drafting of decision notices.
• Supporting with advice to HR colleagues on a wide range of employment law related topics.
• Supporting with advice on contracts and procurement matters.

We encourage you to contact Jennifer Rogers via email at [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

You will need to have 4 GCSE Grade A-C or equivalent (academic subjects including English) and a recognised legal qualification either obtained fully or in part of be studying towards such a qualification (eg Law Degree, Institute of Legal Executives or Para-legal Association or equivalent) OR significant practical legal experience.

Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews will be held week commencing 19th January 2025.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

OUR OFFER TO YOU

We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

HOW TO APPLY

Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website.

If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email [e-mail].

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from [e-mail]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates.

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