Solicitor in Taunton

Responsibilities

• Provides comprehensive legal, procedural and administrative advice in relation to area(s) of work allocated, e.g. Social Services, Education, Property, Planning, Employment, Highways and Rights of Way ensuring that staff dealing with their area of the law are kept updated in changes in the law.
• Personally conducts cases in Courts and Tribunals including Public Inquiries to represent the County.
• Clerks internal hearings as required.
• Prepares cases for hearing, including instructing Counsel where necessary.
• Prepares reports for and provides comprehensive legal, procedural and administrative advice to Committees, Sub-Committees and other bodies including ensuring the legal accuracy and practicability of proposals contained in reports or proposed meetings.
• Checks the accuracy of minutes and takes legal action as required following the meeting.
• Drafts any documents needed, such as contracts, court applications, creating new and original documents as required e.g. Service Level Agreements.
• Negotiates with other Solicitors or third parties in settling documentation or disputes concluding agreements and settlements on the best terms available or as instructed by the client Department.
• Keeps officers and elected Members and legal colleagues informed of legislative changes in their area of work.
• Understand, uphold and promote the aims of the council's equality, diversity and inclusion policies; health, safety and wellbeing of self and others; and Organisational values in everything you do.
• Equality and Diversity practice covers both interaction with staff, service users and communities and includes challenging discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity for all.

Qualifications

• Interpersonal Skills: Develops and sustains professional working relationships based on mutual trust, respect for individual rights and cultural needs and the promotion of equality and diversity. Create, maintain and enhance effective working relationships. Able to be persuasive and to influence others. Prepared to listen and invite views of others.
• Communication: Ability to communicate complex legal issues at all levels in an appropriate and concise manner, both orally and in writing. Good report writing skills.
• Advocacy: Able to understand, analyse and interpret a specific area of law and present complex matters in Court, Inquiry or Tribunal with the ability to instil confidence in others.
• Organisational Skills: Able to plan ahead and cope with priority and time pressures and unexpected changes to workload to meet departmental and corporate objectives, deciding priorities and managing resources. Able to prioritise and set realistic targets for self and others, to make decisions with regard to priorities and work sequences to meet deadlines.
• Problem Solving: Able to identify problems, analyse and provide effective and appropriate solutions.