Job Summary & Person Specification
Job Title:
Legal Assistant – Litigation
Job Ref No:
HCC1692105
Department:
Corporate Services
Branch / Section:
Governance – Legal services
Grade:
E
Salary:
£24,102 - £27,126 per annum
Job Purpose:
To work both individually and as a key member of a team, you will deliver high
quality legal services to the Council’s departments and clients.
Main responsibilities
Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
 Conducting negotiations on behalf of the County Council in connection
with contentious matters. Negotiations also take place with complainants
and litigants in person.
Direct Legal Role
 Determining Court pleadings (statement of case, defences, etc.), witness
statements, Court Orders/Directions, Consent Orders, and other legal
documents – to a high professional standard, to ensure they are
enforceable and secure the best outcome of a case for the County
Council.
Research and Advice
Research :
 Carrying out legal and other research covering a range of documents and
sources including legislation and case-law so as to formulate an
appropriate response for the County Council or valuation of a claim.
Advice :
 By telephone, face-to-face, conducting or attending meetings; by report,
by e mail to all levels – both internal and external clients to ensure that all
relevant parties are kept informed and appropriate information
disseminated and discussed in the best interests of the Council.
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Case Management
 Conducting a caseload of claims and other contentious and noncontentious matters to a consistently high standard, and within stringent
time limits laid down by the Civil Procedure Rules.
 Continually monitoring liability and assessing risks in relation to the case
and then determining an appropriate course of action.
 Regularly up-dating client in writing and by telephone.
 Good, effective liaison with Courts, Counsel and other external agencies
so as to achieve best possible outcome for the County Council.
 Giving Good, clear, precise instructions to Counsel and experts when
required so as to ensure the best conclusion of a case for the County
Council.
Practice, Support and Caseload Managements.
 To comply fully with the standards of performance demanded by the
Investors in People and Lexcel quality accreditation
 Compliance with Office Procedure Manual for the Legal Practice include:
 Datix Case Management System
 Recording cases
 Recording time spent
 Recording key dates
 Recording reminders
 Adhering to the County Council’s policies
Corporate and Statutory Initiatives
 Carrying out all duties within the role in accordance with County Council
policies and legislative and case law requirements.
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Person Specification:
Essential
Qualifications

Affiliate Member of Institute of Legal Executives, or equivalent
Desirable
Qualifications

N/A
Essential
Knowledge,
Skills and
Experience

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Significant relevant experience of highway law
Thorough working knowledge of and the ability to effectively
interpret and apply the Civil Procedures Rules to the benefit of
the County Councils interests
Excellent written and oral communication skills
An ability to work under pressure and deal with conflicting
priorities in a busy office environment
Proven experience of effective team working
Good proven experience of undertaking research, analysing the
outcome and applying effectively to emerging problem areas, so
as to resolve client difficulties
Good ability to deal effectively and positively with all contacts
external to the Chief Executive’s Department.
Sound IT ability including Microsoft Office applications and the
Datix Case Management System
Knowledge of local government
Knowledge of computerised case management system
Sound knowledge and understanding of statutory and case law
relevant to the area of practice
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Working Conditions
The following section provides an outline of the working conditions that may be
encountered in this role.
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Display Screen Equipment user
The information contained in this document is meant for the purpose of recruitment and selection
only. A copy of the formal Role Profile that has been used to evaluate the pay and grade
information for this post using the Hay Evaluation Tool is available on request from the IBC
Recruitment Centre by emailing [email protected]. Please quote: Role Profile Title –
Legal Assistant – Litigation / Role Profile Reference Number - 00260.
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