Call for Applications: Associate Solicitor (Senior Legal Officer) for Britain  

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is seeking an Associate Solicitor (Senior Legal Officer) for Britain.

Title: Associate Solicitor (Senior Legal Officer)  
Location: London with remote working with colleagues across Europe 
Reports to: Executive Director 
Line Management: Legal Officer and Junior Legal Officer  
Contract: One year consultancy contract, full-time with likelihood of extension and migration to permanent employment contract. We offer flexible hours, with a hybrid onsite London office /remote working.
Salary: [Officer 10.6 – 10.7]
£48,000 – £50,500 depending on PQE experience, with progression up the scale after each annual review.
750 EURO available to support staff well-being.
Assistance with home office equipment.

Start date: August 2024 or as soon as possible   

How to apply: Applications should be sent to application@elsc.support including the subject line ‘ASSOCIATE SOLICITOR’

Applications are due by 12 July 2024.

We are scheduling interviews as applications come in, don’t miss your chance and apply now!

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE  

The Associate Solicitor will lead our legal team in Britain and oversee our cases in England and Wales. 

The role requires a qualified solicitor with experience of running litigious cases. Our main practice areas in Britain are: (i) public law and human rights; (ii) employment and discrimination and (iii) defamation law. The post-holder will have particular expertise in one of these areas. Our cases also involve data rights, freedom of information, criminal law, actions against the police, charity law, education law, international humanitarian law, and immigration issues. 

The post holder will manage a growing team that consists of a Legal Officer and a Junior Legal Officer. In addition, our British work team has an advocacy and communication officer and two researchers who monitor anti-Palestinian racism.

We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, LGBT or relationship status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, or social class. We particularly welcome applications from Palestinians and those who identify as part of the Palestinian diaspora. 

ELSC recognises that applicants from marginalised communities are less likely to apply for jobs if they do not fulfil every single qualification. We encourage you to consider applying even if you do not meet every attribute listed. Our priority is to find the right candidate for the position.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Oversee all litigious and advisory casework in Britain alongside our junior legal staff and legal network. Provide expert legal advice and representation, to individual clients and movement partners.
• Manage our legal officers, providing training and feedback to them as appropriate. Collaborate closely with our legal network of solicitors and counsel with the goal of strengthening the wider movement. 
• ​​Develop and advance new legal strategies for challenging state and non-state repression of advocacy for Palestine in consultation with our legal network, national partners and experts. 
• Support the development of effective advocacy campaigns to increase the impact of litigation outside the courtroom.
• Support ELSC’s outreach and public engagement initiatives.

Required experience, knowledge and skills   

• 3 years + post-qualified experience (PQE) and admitted to practise as a solicitor in England and Wales.
• Experience leading on a variety of contentious and non-contentious matters, particularly in public, employment and/or defamation law. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to provide clear and concise legal advice on complex issues in a comprehensible and appropriate format. 
• An ability to engage with the law critically and develop strategies that serve broader political objectives. Track record of collaborating well with other lawyers, academics and civil society organisations.
• Excellent client care skills, particularly in relation to vulnerable or marginalised clients.
• Experience in a role which requires coordination of multiple projects and/or workstreams concurrently, and the ability to manage relationships with partner organisations, coalitions and counsel.
• High level of English-language proficiency.
• Commitment to the Palestinian liberation and solidarity movement.

Desirable experience, skills and knowledge 

• Dual-qualified in Scotland and/or Northern Ireland.
• Ideal candidate will already have LAA Supervisor status or meet the requirements to do so
• Experience working with campaigning and advocacy organisations.
• Experience with management and organisational development. 
• Understanding of and experience working with a variety of local, national, and international jurisdictions, including those governed by common law or civil law.

Other Requirements

• Demonstrate a commitment and sensitivity to the ELSC aims and objectives.
• Commitment to anti-racism, anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities.   
• Willingness to travel and work occasional unsocial hours as required.   
• Abide by all organisational policies, codes of conduct and practices and legal requirements.
• Treat with confidentiality any personal, private, or sensitive information about individual organisations, clients, donors and supporters, staff, and projects.