Our benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.
About the role
At West Northants Council, we are committed to delivering high-quality services that support and protect our communities. As a Senior Lawyer (Civil Litigation), you’ll play a key role in representing the Council in a diverse range of contentious legal matters, helping to safeguard public resources and support effective decision-making across the organisation.
Working within our in-house Litigation Team, you’ll handle complex and varied civil litigation cases while providing expert legal advice to officers and elected Members. This is an exciting opportunity to join one of England’s newest and largest unitary councils, where you’ll enjoy a broad and interesting caseload, work closely with experienced colleagues and contribute to the continued development of a modern, ambitious and customer-focused legal service.
Whether you are already working within local government or looking to bring your litigation expertise from private practice, you’ll find a supportive environment where your skills can make a genuine impact.
What will you be doing?
You’ll manage a varied caseload of civil litigation matters, representing the Council in County Court proceedings and advising on a wide range of contentious legal issues. Your work may include contractual and commercial property disputes, debt recovery matters, possession proceedings, anti-social behaviour injunctions and supporting the Council in responding to judicial review challenges and other claims.
You’ll provide high-quality legal advice and advocacy, draft complex legal documents, instruct Counsel where required and work closely with officers across a range of Council services to achieve positive outcomes. Alongside your casework, you’ll contribute to service improvement, help develop colleagues within the Litigation Team and support the implementation of legal developments and best practice across the organisation.
It’s an exciting time to join our legal team as we continue to develop and strengthen our services. To find out more about working in our Legal teams, please visit: https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/working-our-legal-teams
About you
You’re a qualified Solicitor with strong experience in civil litigation and advocacy. You’re confident managing complex and sometimes high-profile matters, providing clear and practical legal advice, and representing clients effectively in court proceedings. Experience of commercial property disputes, contractual matters, debt recovery or wider contentious civil work would be particularly valuable.
You bring excellent communication, negotiation and analytical skills, together with the ability to build effective working relationships across a wide range of stakeholders. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, can balance competing priorities and are committed to delivering high-quality outcomes for your clients.
West Northants is a great place to build your legal career. With a focus on wellbeing, flexibility, mentoring and professional development, we are committed to helping our people thrive. Above all, you’ll share our THRIVE values and our ambition to provide outstanding legal services that support the Council and the communities we serve.
About us
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner
The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.
If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [email protected] for support.
Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
