Senior Solicitor - legal Officer Grade IV - Prisoner Legal Service

Senior Solicitor - Legal Officer Grade IV

Prisoners Legal Service - Criminal Law Division
Parramatta Justice Precinct

Full time – Temporary

About us

Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. We can help people with most areas of criminal law, family law and every day civil law legal issues. We give legal advice, help at court and do family dispute resolution. We can do this over the telephone or at one of our 27 offices.

About you

We have 1 x Temporary Solicitor (LO Grade IV) opportunity in the Prisoners Legal Service (PLS).

The Prisoners Legal Service is a specialist team, providing advice and minor assistance services to people who are prisoners across NSW. In addition, solicitors conduct advocacy in the State Parole Authority. This role will form part of the senior management of the team.

You will be a highly motivated, experienced, and collaborative team player with demonstrated ability to balance the demands of a high-volume legal practice, a vulnerable and challenging client group, and supervision/mentoring of other solicitors.

You will also have the skills to navigate various internal and external stakeholder relationships, including as a representative of Legal Aid NSW with other justice sector agencies.

We may use this recruitment to create a talent pool for similar ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.

WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN LEGAL AID NSW!

We are committed to diversity and inclusion

We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.

We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities. 

We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. If you need a reasonable adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you’d like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at erecruitment@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

Other benefits of working with us

• You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities.
• We are an accredited Flex Ready certified employer and are recognised as leaders in the area of flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life.

The essential requirements for this role

You must:

• be admitted or be eligible for admission as a legal practitioner in NSW
• be able to provide a current NSW Practising Certificate before you start work with us
• be willing to do a Criminal Record Check 
• hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency (for ongoing vacancies)

How to apply

You MUST submit your application online through www.iworkfor.nsw.gov.au. If you submit your application late or by email it will NOT be accepted.

Your application must include:

• current resume / curriculum vitae (CV) (maximum 5 pages)
• cover letter (maximum 2 pages) responding to the following two questions:

1. What skills and experience do you have in conducting and supervising a high-volume telephone advice-based practice?
2. What strategies and resources would you use in this role to supervise Grade I-III solicitors who are working with clients who are in custody and are in distress or are behaving unreasonably?

Make sure your application is complete, and you have answered all questions before you submit it.

The selection process will include a range of comparative assessment techniques to assist in determining capability and suitability for the role.

Do you need help to apply?
 

It’s important to properly prepare before you apply for a role. Here is some other information to help you:

• If you have questions about the role, you can contact the Hiring Manager – Claire Stimpson on (02) 9219 5891 or email claire.stimpson@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.
• If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact the Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have.
• The Role Description sets out the responsibilities of the role.
• The focus capabilities and key accountabilities in the role description indicate what is expected at that level. Being familiar with these will help you understand what the panel will be looking for in the successful candidate. 
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• Working at Legal Aid NSW