Associate

Weightmans is a Top 45 law firm with offices throughout the UK. Having been recognised as the leading legal employer at the annual Britain's Top Employers awards 2021 and achieved record rankings in Chambers UK, we are immensely proud of the work we carry out for our clients and the culture we provide to our people.

Our Emergency Services team is one of the largest in the UK. Our lawyers have hands-on experience of working in-house for the police. Our approach is focused on solving our client's legal problems as quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. We have considerable experience in handling sensitive and/or high profile matters and are equally skilled in handling the media attention that these cases sometimes attract.

Our specialist practitioners act exclusively for the police service, representing forces across England and Wales. As the largest dedicated police legal team in the country our lawyers have been involved in some of the most high profile and significant cases involving the police service over the last 10 years.

The department for this role sits within Surrey Police and is an in-house legal services team for Surrey & Sussex Police.  

PLEASE NOTE:  The department for this role sits within Surrey Police and is an in-house legal services team for Surrey & Sussex Police.  

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated qualified solicitor or barrister to provide legal advice to Chief Constables and to mentor and develop our in-house legal services team.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Be a senior figurehead for Weightmans in-house legal services team.
• To personally provide high quality legal advice at the most senior levels of the police organisation.
• Lead on the provision of a broad range of legal services in-house to two police forces.
• Reporting directly to and working closely with Chief Officers, you will have a strong background in the law as it relates to policing. 
• An excellent communicator, you will have a track record of delivering advice to senior leaders at short notice in a policing context. 
• You will have the ability to advise on a wide range of legal and compliance matters affecting the police service and a sound understanding and experience of the same.
• Mentoring an in-house team of qualified and non-qualified staff, you will provide some strategic leadership for the legal services team. 
• You will plan, evaluate, oversee delivery and continually develop the provision of reactive and proactive legal work, ensuring the provision of an effective and efficient, high-quality in-house legal service. 
• As a member of the force’s leadership team, you will use your professional skills to identify key legal issues and priorities. 
• You will provide professional, timely advice and challenge to influence positive change and to support the development of the force's strategic objectives.
• To mentor and support more junior lawyers and ensure that all of the force’s legal services provide high quality advice.
• To lead and contribute to force boards, committees and gold groups as required.
• To represent the legal services as required both internally and externally.
• To maximise the use of technology across the legal services portfolio.
• Advocacy experience and willingness to undertake all types of police led advocacy work in the magistrates and other courts.
• Willingness to write and deliver training to senior officers and staff on any aspect of legal services provision.
• Control Mattersphere diary and action lists.
• Attend at court hearings as appropriate.
• Draft various documents.
• Supervise junior staff on a day to day basis.
• Satisfy standards of client care in accordance with guidelines and directions.
• Complete Client MI procedures.
• Achieve set financial and chargeable targets.
• Comply with relevant rules, policies and procedures.
• Keep up to date with legal developments.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role.

• Self-motivated and self-directed.
• Experience of delivering advice to senior leaders at short notice in a policing context. 
• Experience of advising on a wide range of legal and compliance matters affecting the police service.
• Experience of dealing with professional misconduct cases.
• Experience of defending litigated claims, preferably claims against the police.
• Willingness to present cases in the magistrates’ court and at misconduct hearings.
• Willingness to develop and deliver training to senior leaders and staff at all levels.
• Ability to influence a broad range of people including key decision makers.

Please note:

• Any reference to experience or PQE in our adverts or job descriptions is to be used as a guideline only. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and with different levels of experience who can demonstrate that they fulfil the requirements of the role.

• The successful candidate appointed to this role will be subject to our standard background checking process, and any offer of employment made is conditional upon successful completion of those checks. Further details can be obtained from the Recruitment team.

• We're committed to diversity and inclusion and to creating an environment where everyone can reach their full potential.  For more information please click  on the following link:

https://www.weightmans.com/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion