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Legal Officer (insurance)

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

Job Introduction

We are looking to recruit a Legal Officer to work within our Education, Litigation, Insurance and Pensions team, primarily working within Insurance Litigation. This is ideal if you have some civil litigation experience.

You must be an Associate Member of CILEX (i.e. you must have completed the CILEX Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice), or be a graduate with a Qualifying Law Degree (as determined by CILEX)).  There is no requirement for you to be either a Graduate Member or a Fellow of CILEX although this is desirable. The post holder must also have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in a relevant legal environment. 

You will undertake reasonably complex legal case work relevant to length of experience / job requirements and the workload must be clearly and consistently in excess of the general level of complexity dealt with at Lawyer 1.  You will also be expected to assist other more senior lawyer grades with appropriate levels of work.  Full case load / chargeable hours target. (i.e. 1350 hours for a FTE).

Staffordshire Legal Services is a support service within the Corporate Services Directorate.  It provides quality services, within resources, promoting Staffordshire County Council’s pursuit of excellence.

Staffordshire Legal Services also provides services to a range of external clients which are effective, customer friendly and provide value for money.

Main Responsibility

  1. Support Insurance colleagues by delivering a service to internal and potentially external clients by: 
    • Managing a full caseload of litigated and pre-litigated civil claims (depending on experience) relating to claims made against the Council
    • Supporting Insurance colleagues in relation to their cases by undertaking various legal or case-related tasks
    • Specific tasks may include but are not limited to:
    • Applying and considering the law relating to Highways / Employers’ Liability / Occupiers’ Liability where appropriate
    • Undertaking legal research
    • Providing advice to clients
    • Taking and drafting witness statements
    • Preparing other court documents and letters
    • Preparing and maintaining “management information” in relation to the work undertaken
    • Trial preparation
  2. Adherence to the Legal Services Unit’s quality standards (Lexcel) including time-recording and contributing to the process of securing re-accreditation as and when.
  3. To undertake in-service training as required by the training plan and to participate in the in-service training of other staff.
  4. To comply with employee’s health and safety responsibilities.
  5. Such other duties as may reasonably be required.

 

The Ideal Candidate

Applications are invited from an enthusiastic, innovative, suitably qualified individual for an opportunity that has arisen for a Legal Officer to join our busy, experienced and friendly Education, Litigation, Insurance and Pensions Team. 

The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator and able to prioritise a varied workload.  Self-motivated with excellent organisational skills and an eye for detail will also be important.

You will be expected to conduct and manage your own caseload with appropriate supervision.  You must be able to communicate effectively with members, senior officers and clients.

For more information about this role please contact: Donna Arrowsmith, Team Senior Solicitor, on 01785 276179 or Kelly Render, Solicitor, on 01785 278099.

 

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:

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 a range of benefits.

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 Silver Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. 

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Disability confident committed Armed Forces Covenant. Proudly supporting those who serve. Gold Award