• Solicitor, Grade 3 (Criminal Law practice)
• Full time, Permanent

About the Role

The primary responsibility of the Solicitor Grade 3 (Intermediate), Criminal Law Practice within the Newcastle ALS Office is to:

• Maintain a Committals Practice by taking direct carriage of at least 50% of the committal matters including serious criminal indictable work
• Appearing as an Advocate in District Court appeals and sentences

• Prepare and run complex Local Court (‘LC’) and Children’s Court (‘CC’) hearings and sentence matters

About the ALS

Born out of a protest movement, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited is the primary legal service for Aboriginal people in NSW and the ACT. Our vision is to achieve social justice and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities.

It’s an exciting time for the ALS, with both our services and teams growing significantly. We recently received additional government funding to deliver a range of new programs aimed at addressing systemic issues and driving structural reforms. This is creating unprecedented opportunities for the ALS and our communities.

We offer a diverse, inclusive and supportive work environment. We’re passionate about what we do and we work hard. The ALS values the health and wellbeing of our employees, and we are proud to offer flexible work practices. Staff can choose to take advantage of benefits including salary packaging to maximise take-home pay.

What you’ll bring to the role

To be successful in this position you will need to demonstrate:

• Knowledge and appreciation of the cultural and social needs of Aboriginal people combined with continuing respect and support for Aboriginal cultural practices in dealing with clients, their families, communities and staff

• Legal qualifications and an NSW recognised Practicing Certificate with a minimum of 2 years’ experience in Criminal Law
• In-depth knowledge of the Criminal Law, including practice and procedure
• Proven capacity to provide a strong advocacy role in leading the District Court and Committal Practices, along with the Local Court/Children’s Court practice
• Demonstrated supervisory and mentoring skills of a multidisciplinary team of staff
• Capacity to provide high quality legal representation and advice to Aboriginal people and deal with any complaints by clients and/or family members
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and time management skills
• Ability to meet deadlines, work without supervision and manage a diverse workload
• Willingness to drive within the region and stay overnight or longer to undertake court work or training
• Demonstrated commitment to the effective implementation of Workplace Health and Safety and Ethical and Diversity practices in the workplace

How to Apply

For enquiries, please contact Ann Pitkeathly, Recruitment Manager at E: [email protected] using the subject line: Intermediate Solicitor - Criminal Law Practice - Newcastle enquiry via EthicalJobs.

The application package for this position is attached.

Please click on Apply Now to submit the completed application package to Shaun Mortimer (Deputy Principal Solicitor Coastal).

Note that Teams interviews will be conducted immediately following shortlisting, with a view to finalise candidate selection prior to Christmas closure.