Starting Salary: £41,500 pa (Scale £41,500 - £44,000), based on a full-time, 37-hour week. Part-time working is available subject to a minimum of 18 hrs per week.
Home-based, with some travel and occasional attendance at our Birmingham office
Sometimes things go wrong. At the CCRC, we help to put them right.
From time to time, a criminal case ends with a wrongful conviction or sentence – there may have been errors at trial – or fresh evidence may have emerged. Sometimes there are developments in the law that require matters to be reassessed in the light of modern standards of fairness.
- Can you research and advise on issues of criminal law and evidence?
- Can you design and deliver training to keep colleagues updated on developments in criminal justice system?
- Could you contribute to managing a portfolio of litigation including judicial reviews?
If the answers are yes, then this could be the start of an incredibly rewarding career – the work you do with us can transform lives and ensure justice is finally done.
We’re looking for a lawyer to join us on a permanent basis (although we can also consider secondments and loans). The role is varied and intellectually challenging. You’ll need to be analytical, articulate, resilient and proactive. You must be able to juggle competing priorities, planning your work to ensure you give reliable and practical advice and that litigation timetables are kept to.
You’ll be part of a legal team supporting Commissioners and Case Review Managers with advice on the investigation and review of criminal convictions and sentences prosecuted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This includes helping to design and deliver a continuous learning programme that ensures colleagues are updated on key cases and new legislation through modules and resources that develop knowledge of the law and legal skills. You’ll also be asked to provide objective advice on challenges to the Commission’s decisions by way of judicial review and draft appropriate defences.
So if you enjoy variety, helping colleagues and have an interest in miscarriages of justice, we’d be delighted to hear from you!
About the role
Under the supervision of the Head of Legal, you will assist in providing advice on legal matters and undertaking litigation. This exciting and challenging position requires you to support and challenge our Commissioners and staff on legal issues arising in casework.
You’ll be involved in advising and training colleagues on aspects of criminal law and evidence, ensuring that legal knowledge is kept updated and legal resources are maintained. Whilst managing a portfolio of judicial review work, you will make recommendations to the Head of Legal as to the appropriate course of action, draft effective responses to pre-action correspondence and claims, and contribute to developing strategies to reduce instances of judicial review, identifying any learning points.
About you
We’re looking for a qualified lawyer to join us on a permanent basis. You will have experience of dealing with sensitive cases and providing legal advice on complex and technical areas of law. Your strong analytical and legal research skills, including experience of analysing complex legal, factual and evidential issues and data, will enable you to quickly identify the critical issues and assist you in establishing where there is insufficient information and taking appropriate action.
Excellent oral and written communication skills are also important as your role will involve communicating effectively with applicants, their representatives, members of the public and senior figures in the criminal justice system. You will therefore need to have the ability to draft a variety of complex legal and non-legal documentation to a high standard.
About the Criminal Cases Review Commission
We are the independent public body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice. It’s down to us to tackle complex issues across a broad range of criminal cases. We’ve dealt with some of the most serious miscarriages of justice of the last 50 years. This is your opportunity to play a part in this essential, often life-changing work.
At the Criminal Cases Review Commission, we work in the interests of justice and we are wholly independent. We don’t represent the police, prosecution, court or government. We don’t represent the person applying for a review of their case. Staying independent helps us investigate alleged miscarriages of justice objectively and impartially.
We have unique statutory powers that allow us to obtain any material in the possession or control of a public body, including sensitive material like medical or intelligence records. Not only that, but we’re empowered to form a complete picture of a case from start to finish, and we’re the only people who can send a case back to court for a second or subsequent appeal.
Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including remote and flexible working options (you can vary your working day as long as you complete 37 hours each work). You can also look forward to:
- A Civil Service pension – this will see us making a significant contribution to your pension fund
- 29 days’ annual leave allowance, in addition to eight statutory bank and public holidays
- Reimbursement for any travel, subsistence and overnight expenses
- Flexitime
- Trained Mental Health First Aiders
- Three paid days for volunteering activities each year
- Occupational Health Services and an Employee Assistance Programme
- Free eye tests and a contribution towards lenses or spectacles for VDU users
To find out more and apply, please visit our recruitment site.
Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to being an inclusive organisation and support diversity in the Criminal Justice System. We welcome people who will bring diversity of thought and provide constructive challenge. We encourage applications from black, Asian and ethnic minority candidates and from individuals from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The CCRC is a Disability Confident Committed employer.
