Legal Researcher, Legal Team, Judicial College (Ref: 20989)

Please refer to Job Description

Job advertisement – Legal Researcher

Number of jobs available: 1

Detail of reserve list: 12 months

Region: London, Midlands, or, North-East

City: London, Loughborough, or Leeds

Grade: EO

Post Type: Fixed Term (up to 2 years)

Working pattern: Full Time, with flexible options available

Role Type: Legal Services

Job Description:

This is an existing, fixed term, role within the Judicial College Legal Team and presents an exciting opportunity for the post holder to develop and build a portfolio of interesting and varied legal experience. The post of Legal Researcher was created by the Judicial College in recognition of the volume and quality of training required by an ever growing and more diverse magistracy. It is intended to provide those considering a legal career with a unique opportunity to work at the very heart of the judiciary, gaining a distinctive perspective on the legal system and what it takes to deliver justice for a period of 2 years.

You will be a self-motivated, enthusiastic, and flexible person with excellent legal research and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex information clearly and succinctly. You will have excellent organisational skills, be able to prioritise workstreams and deliver at pace, with strong interpersonal qualities that create good working relationships with a diverse range of people.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Job Title / Group / Directorate

Legal Researcher, Judicial College, Judicial Office

Reports To

Legal Training Developer, Judicial College

Location & Terms of appointment

This is an FTC and can be based in any one of the Judicial Office locations in London, Loughborough or Leeds, however travel would be expected to attend meetings and training events. The main office is Judicial College, 9th Floor Thomas More Building, The Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL

Salary and Grade

This post is Grade EO

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

The Judicial College

The principal role of the Judicial College is to support the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals in fulfilling their responsibilities for the arrangements for training the judiciary in an ever-evolving justice system.

The Judicial College is part of the Judicial Office (JO), an arm’s length body of the Ministry of Justice. Our purpose is to strengthen the rule of law and improve the administration of justice through delivery of essential training for the judiciary in courts and tribunals, as well as a framework of training for magistrates.

We are a unique branch of the civil service, independent from Government, dedicated to supporting the judiciary and promoting judicial independence, to maintain confidence in the rule of law. The Judicial Office reports to, and is accountable to, the Lady Chief Justice and was set up in 2006 to provide support to the LCJ and to the wider judiciary following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. In addition, we support, and are accountable to, the Senior President of Tribunals, whose responsibilities extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland. We support some 26,000 judicial office holders, providing policy, legal and handling advice and operational support.

Role Purpose

You will be joining the Judicial College Legal Team, who are a supportive, dynamic, and committed team. Legal team members assume personal responsibility for national delivery of projects, in all jurisdictions including adult crime, youth crime and the Family Court for both legal advisers and magistrates.

Legal team members advise the relevant Judicial College training committees, supporting them to identify where national training is required and then work with stakeholder groups to develop, draft, update and deliver training material for magistrates and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) legal advisers.

Within each jurisdiction, the legal team are also responsible on a national basis for the development and delivery of mentor training to those HMCTS legal advisers appointed as mentors to trainee legal advisers.

The Legal Researcher will be line managed by the Legal Training Developer and will work closely with the rest of the legal team, the publications team and the digital learning design team by aiding in the preparation and review of training materials for magistrates and legal advisers, updating those materials and ensuring that they remain current. You will have excellent relationship-building, organisational, planning, drafting, formatting, I.T. and research skills. You will also possess a sound understanding of the legal systems and processes in England and Wales and be able to examine and interpret complex legal information. You will keep up to date with relevant legislative and case law changes in order to identify those materials that require updating. You will provide legal research into specific areas of law as requested by the legal team. You will support a wide range of governance groups and in doing so will gain excellent secretariat experience.

Duties and responsibilities

The job holder will be required to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

• To assist the legal team with updating the current training materials by keeping up to date with legal changes and their effects on training material.
• To work with the publications and the digital learning design teams to ensure new and current training materials are in line with Judicial College branding and house style guidelines.
• To support the legal team to achieve and maintain the required accessibility standards in materials published on Judicial College Learning, the learning management site for judicial office holders.
• To complete legal research into discrete areas of the law as requested by the legal team.
• To attend face to face training with the team and work with the Planning and Operational Support Teams as required.
• To support the secretariat function for the Judicial College magistrates and legal adviser training committees.
• To attend face to face team meetings and training events.

Other Duties

The post holder will be required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by the legal team or their line manager which are commensurate with the level or responsibility of this post.

Person specification

Technical skills/qualifications

Candidates for this post must be able to demonstrate rigorous and sound legal research and analysis skills at degree level or equivalent.

You will be asked to provide a CV.

Experience

Experience of practical, contemporary and robust methods of legal research is essential. Whilst you do not require a specific area of expertise, you must be able to demonstrate sound and competent legal research ability and will be selected to provide cover for the range of work handled by the legal team.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.