Licensing Solicitor/Barrister
Contract type - full time, permanent
Full-Time (37 hours per week)
Salary range -£50,788 - £54,971
Our Team
We are a multi-award winning, Lexcel accredited Legal Services team, ahead of the game when it comes to legal excellence, offering the opportunity to excel as individuals and as part of a team.
The Civic Centre where Legal Services have dedicated office space, has been modernised in recent years offering an attractive andpleasantplace to work.
The City itself has seen rapid development with major projects of which more are planned to further enhance Wolverhampton as a place where people come to work, shop, study and enjoy our vibrant City.
For those traveling into the City, Wolverhampton benefits from being in a prime location; with excellent transport links to Birmingham, Shropshire and neighbouring Black Country towns.
This is an exciting period for the City of Wolverhampton, the Council and our Legal Services team and a fantastic time to join us.
What The Role Offers You
A career with our team offers opportunities to develop beyond qualification. Every member of the team has a learning and development plan personal to them and running alongside that an annual appraisal which combined with being mentored and developed within the wider leadership team, means that by joining us will see you set your career on the right path for success.
Legal Services are at the heart of the Council’s functions and are vital to its work. This role gives you the opportunity to play an integral part in the City of Wolverhampton Council achieving its goals and aspirations.
Our team continues to go from strength to strength and with that, to grow and expand providing more opportunities, such as this, for the best people to join us.
We are looking to recruit a motivated andenthusiasticLicensing Solicitor or Barrister. Candidates from both Local Government and Private Practice are welcomed.
This role will offer you the opportunity to:
* Manage your own varied caseload including but not limited to licensing;
* Support colleagues when required;
* Work with minimal supervision;
* Undertake technical and complex research which requires developed interpretation and analytical skills as well as partnership working with both colleagues and clients;
* Active involvement in client care and business development
What We Are Looking For From You
* Handling a licensing caseload from start to finish including private hire, taxilicences and premises,includingadvising and advocacy both in internal mini-committees, full committees, and Courts
* Private hire taxi appeal hearings
* Drafting summons, indictments, case summaries and disclosure requests
* Attending Magistrates Court, committees and meetings including dealing with the Court lists.
* Conducting litigation for client departments covering civil, regulatory crime and public law.
* Working with and advising elected Members on the full range of practice areas and on standards issues.
* A passion to further a career in Licensing ;
* Recent in-depth knowledge and post qualification licensing;
* Advocacy experience and skills in all tiers of court and a willingness to undertake advocacy, particularly welcoming applications from those with an interest in developing their advocacy practice;
* Excellent oral and written communication skills as well as demonstrable skills and strengths in negotiation, drafting, persuading, and influencing;
* An ability to command the respect, trust and confidence of your clients and senior managers as well as the court;
* Flexibility to assist other team members as required;
* The ability to work confidently and effectively either alone or as part of a team;
* A desire to develop legal skills to enable you to achieve technical excellence;
* The willingness to take on challenges;
* To be solutions and outcome focused; seeking to provide practical options by removing or working around what may be regarded as barriers;
* The ability to form strong working relationships with client departments to enable you to provide the best service you can for clients and the residents of Wolverhampton;
* To be organised with an eye for detail;
* A practical and commercial approach; and
* To be willing to consistently go above and beyond to provide good client care, sound legal advice and a fantastic quality of work.
Our Benefits – What We Can Offer You
* Competitive salary with pay progression through multiple increments;
* Flexible working including hybrid working; requiring only 2 days office attendance per week combined with flexi-time will enable you to put your health and wellbeing first and make work fit around your life, not your life fit around work;
* Generous annual leave, starting at 26 days and rising to 35 days (plus bank holidays) in line with length of service;
* The opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme;
* Free parking at a number of sites across the City; and
* Wellbeing and lifestyle savings though our benefits App.
Responsible Business
We care about each other and in 2022 unveiled our Wellbeing Pledges:
* Our People Wellbeing Pledge
We recognise our people are the foundation and greatest asset of our organisation
* The Manager Wellbeing Pledge
Managers are integral to our organisation and essential in maximising the wellbeing of our people
* The Organisation Wellbeing Pledge
The Council are dedicated andcommittedto the wellbeing of its people
We pride ourselves on the diversity and inclusivity of our team where colleagues can be themselves and succeed regardless of their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, culture, age or disability.
We arecommittedtosupportinglocal people starting out in their legal career and are proud of ourcommitmentto providing work experience placements andsupportingapprenticeships within the team.
Our volunteering scheme, which enables everyone to undertake 2 days fully paid volunteering for a local cause per year, also provides the opportunity for us as individuals and as an organisation, to give something back to the local community.
Additional Information
If you want to progress your legal career with a successful, innovative and forward-looking organisation and team, then look no further than the Legal Services Team and the City of Wolverhampton Council and apply today.
To learn more about this role then please contact Mushtaq Ahmed-Khan on 01902 or Tracey Christie on 01902 554925 for an informal chat.
Closing Date: 20.12.2024
Interviews: week commencing 13.01.2025
Diversity
We arecommittedto building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve.We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality.Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.
Our status as a Disability ConfidentEmployer showcases our commitmentto people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential.We've received the Stonewall Silver Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring,inclusive, and equal workplace. As of March 2023, the RACE Code Quality Mark signifies ouractiveengagement with racial equality.These recognitions validate our continuous efforts towards fostering an inclusivework environment that respects and values our diverse employees.
As part of our commitmentas a DisabilityConfidentemployer, a Gold Award Armed Forcesemployer and our commitmentto supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post.
We encourage, inspire and value an inclusiveculture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, theyfeelempowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums here
Recruitment of Ex-Offenders
We arecommittedto the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background.The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against anyindividualon the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here
Employment Information & Support
If you are considering applying for an apprenticeship or a role where the salary is (Grade 2-5), and would like to visit us to learn about the application, interview process and what it is like to work for the council, please click on this link to find out more - support.html">Learn more here
Attached documents
Job Description and Person Specification
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