Legal Assistant

The work of the Children's Social Care legal team is varied and includes all aspects of advice and representation in relation to child protection from emergency protection orders and care proceedings to adoption, as well as judicial reviews, disclosure work, leaving care advice and immigration issues relating to children and families. As a legal assistant in the team your role would be:

• To support a team of lawyers in their specialist departmental work


• To have conduct of routine legal work, with supervision


• To assist with drafting routine legal documents including applications, notices, agreements and statements subject to supervision



• To assist with preparation for court hearings/tribunals under the direction of a qualified lawyer


• To assist with production of documents and disclosure work in relation to criminal disclosure requests/subject access requests/freedom of information requests/court directed disclosure/as required by legislation under the supervision of a qualified lawyer



• To contribute to the Legal & Democratic Service objectives, ensuring the provision of an effective, consistent and high-quality service that is responsive to customer demands.


Working Style:

Legal Services works in a hybrid manner with a mixture of office based and home working. You will be required to work from the Council's Walton Street office 40-60% of the week or in line with business need and team requirements. You will have full remote access to enable you to work from home the remainder of the time. You may also be required to attend Court and meetings across the county and at times further afield.

During any probationary/learning period you may be required to attend the office more frequently for training., The Deputy Chief Executive directorate is central to Buckinghamshire Council's journey to establish itself as one of the best councils in the country. With a clear focus on service improvement through transformation and a drive to build better relationships with the local community, the directorate is fast-paced; but extremely rewarding. Our teams are not only proactively delivering on projects and plans but also reacting to developing situations. If you are ambitious, innovative, and would relish the opportunity to influence change - a role within our service area could be your next career move.

The team includes exciting areas of work, including a brand new localities model - delivering 16 community boards across the county to make it easy for our residents to engage with us as we work together to plan for the future. Other teams include our Policy and Communications and Legal and Democratic Services teams - innovating the way we communicate with our colleagues, Members and the local community, and role-modelling best practice through policy, planning and legal services. If you think you can help us achieve our goals, and want to be a part of this exciting journey, we would love to hear from you!

Detailed legal knowledge is not an essential requirement for these roles, but a genuine interest in the law, a willingness to learn and a good understanding of the work of local government are essential. In Legal Services we are passionate about career development, and we offer a number of supported structured training initiatives. You will also receive regular on the job training and guidance from colleagues' as you develop your knowledge and experience., We are looking for someone who is highly motivated and proactive with a positive 'can do' attitude and the ability to work, at times, under pressure. The applicant should:

• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills;


• Have excellent planning and organisational skills;


• Be IT literate including the use of Microsoft applications


And be either:

• Educated to degree standard or equivalent, with a qualification in law OR


• Experience working in a legal environment OR


• Have experience of working in local government and be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in a career in local authority law
  
  Legal Services is at the heart of the Organisation and provides a fast-paced and rewarding career in a supportive environment. The in-house legal service supports the Council's ambitions to establish one of the best councils in the Country, creating positive change for local people, communities and business.


This is an exciting time to join us, as we continue to grow and develop our service. The recently redesigned in-house legal service is expanding to support the varied work of this diverse authority and to provide a wider range of in-house specialism.

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally., Selection will be based on an interview to take place at the Council's offices in Walton Street, Aylesbury., By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

a fair and inclusive culture

• the chance to really make a difference to those around you


• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops


• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group


• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us


• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events


At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that's why we're working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it's important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions


• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).


For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled 'Exceptions Order')., Hard work and success deserves recognition. That's why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.