A rare opportunity has arisen for a Lawyer to join Darlington Borough Council’s Litigation Team. This post is the main point of contact for all civil litigation, including debt recovery and employment law, within the Council and a working knowledge and/or practical experience of civil litigation is therefore an essential requirement for applicants.
 
The postholder will have sole responsibility for defending housing disrepair claims against the Council. Housing Services are one of the main client areas for the role and the job will also include making applications to court for possession, injunctions and other anti-social behaviour casework. It is therefore desirable, but not essential, for applicants to have a working knowledge and/or practical experience of housing law generally and housing disrepair specifically.
 
Whilst responsibility for debt recovery and employment law also sit within this role, it is not essential to have previous experience of these specific areas, provided you have experience in other areas of civil litigation. However, if you do have experience of either of these specific practice areas, please highlight this within your application.
 
Our Litigation Team is small and friendly and the workload is varied. There will therefore be some opportunities to gain wider legal experience beyond civil litigation. For this reason, applications are welcomed from candidates who have a working knowledge and/or practical experience of either licensing law or prosecutions, but this is not essential as these areas will not form a day-to-day part of the role.
 
If you are an individual who will inspire others and command respect and confidence then we would love to hear from you. We invite applications from candidates who are newly qualified and/or applicants who have gained their legal experience outside of local government. Experience of working in local government is desirable, but not essential, as there will be many opportunities to develop local government understanding.
 
The working arrangements are flexible. The office base is the Town Hall in Darlington with the opportunity to work from home on an agile basis, in line with the requirements of the team.
 
This role is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
 
The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as:

• 32 days Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays, with the option to purchase additional Annual Leave
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with the option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
• Flexi-time scheme
• Flexible working
• Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes
• Staff equality forums
• Green Car Leasing Scheme
• Access to a wide range of training, learning and development
• Physiotherapy service
• Confidential counselling service
• Great wellbeing offer
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts
• Local and National retailer discounts
• Arriva Employee Travel Club

For the full range of benefits we offer, please see our “why work for us” internet page, which also includes our Total Reward Booklet and Employee Benefit Video.

https://www.darlington.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers-1/why-work-for-us/

Find out further information about us and what it’s like to work for our great team by visiting the Jobs and Careers home page.

https://www.darlington.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/

For detailed information on this role, please refer to the Role Profile and Employee Information Sheet.

For a further informal discussion please contact Amy Wennington, Principal Lawyer (Litigation) on (01325) 405466 or via email to amy.wennington@darlington.gov.uk

Provisional interview dates for this post are the week commencing 5^th February 2024.

General Information for Applicants:

All applicant email correspondence will come from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk and may be directed to your Junk folder depending on the settings of your email account. Please check both your email and Junk folder as all applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted.

If you are experiencing problems applying for this vacancy via North East Jobs, please contact the HR Team on 01325 405486 or HR@darlington.gov.uk , who will be happy to assist.