Manager – Legal Department Jobs Manchester, England

Overview

Position Title: Manager

Company: Government Legal Department

Location: Manchester, England, UK

Job Description

While previous experience or knowledge may be relevant to some vacancies, Government work is likely to involve a rapid learning curve to acquire legal skills and knowledge not required in private practice. Strong intellectual and analytical skills are important. We will provide support to help you acquire the necessary expertise and have a thriving CPD-accredited in-house training programme.

GLD encourages its people to develop their skills and provides opportunities to move between advisory, litigation, employment and commercial law services during their careers. For Newly Qualified lawyers with under one year’s experience, GLD operates a ‘2+2’ policy, whereby these lawyers are allocated to two, 2 year postings over their first 4 years working with GLD; 2 years in a contentious team (litigation or employment), and a further 2 years in a non-contentious advisory post, or vice-versa. The scheme is intended to help NQs to develop a broader range of skills and stay ‘fresh’ in working on different areas of law and in new environments.

Responsibilities:

• The actions and decisions of government are under increasing scrutiny and challenge.
• Military action overseas, Brexit, immigration policy, welfare reform, climate change and energy policy are just a few of the issues that generate legal challenges that can hit the headlines.
• GLD litigation lawyers conduct a wide range of often high profile cases, frequently involving questions of constitutional importance.
• Our public law litigation practice covers the full range of judicial review challenges in areas such as immigration, planning and national security as well as the Government’s wide ranging reform agenda.
• We also have a substantial private law practice representing large Government Departments such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence in personal injury, clinical negligence, misfeasance in public office, false imprisonment, and other claims.
• Litigation lawyers also provide expert representation in relation to inquests and public inquiries.
• We regularly litigate through the higher courts to the Supreme Court and offer the opportunity to handle cases at the forefront of the developing law.
• Our litigators gain early responsibility for their own caseload within a supportive team environment, working alongside counsel from the Attorney General’s Panels.
• They also play an important co-ordination role when litigation involves several Government Departments.
• Litigation lawyers work closely with policy colleagues and advisory legal colleagues in client Departments to reduce the exposure to litigation risk and to develop realistic contingency plans when the litigation risk materialises.

Requirements:

• Government Departments need to draw on the skills of advisory lawyers to bring to life policies for which Ministers are accountable to Parliament and the electorate.
• The legal issues are often complex, novel and politically sensitive.
• The legal approach may be scrutinised by Parliament, the media, courts, and other institutions, domestic, European and International projects are often fast moving and the problems brought to lawyers are often both urgent and unpredictable.
• Our advisory lawyers work closely with policy officials and other professionals in the Department to find legally sound solutions to deliver Ministers’ priorities, even where these change overnight.