Job description
- Be a part of a feminist community organisation supporting Victorian women.
- A fantastic opportunity to build the role and make it your own!
- Full time or part time (min 4 days) – Ongoing
- Your expertise will directly contribute to building a more gender-equitable society
- Located in Melbourne’s legal precinct, with public transport on your doorstep
- Hybrid working model (part in office/working from home), promoting a true work/life balance
- A welcoming, passionate, and supportive work culture
- Competitive remuneration, bonus leave days, flexible work arrangements, salary packaging
Your new role
This is a unique opportunity to support the development of our new trauma-informed criminal law service to support victim survivors of sexual assault and family violence. This service is a significant step towards improving victim survivor’s access to justice and is our first criminal law practice. You will work alongside our team of lawyers, social workers and financial counsellors to make sure women have what they need to make decisions for themselves and their children.
This includes:
- Maintaining a high caseload of legal matters primarily in criminal law, together with a smaller case load spanning family law, family violence, migration, child protection and/or victims of crime assistance.
- Providing legal advice and representation through Women’s Legal’s other service delivery programs.
- Working collaboratively with campaign staff to address systemic issues, including through strategic casework.
- Working constructively with administration, policy and paralegals, to progress legal and policy work.
This is a full time or part time (minimum 4 days) position.
What you’ll need to succeed
To succeed in this role, you should have experience in court advocacy and criminal law matters. Your ability to foster cooperation while working empathetically with a diverse range of clients, will be key. You must be eligible for admission to the legal profession as an Australian Legal Practitioner and have a minimum of four years post admission experience in summary crime. Previous experience in trauma informed legal practice and experience working with women experiencing disadvantage will be highly regarded.
- Experience in court advocacy and in the preparation of cases involving summary crime, subpoenas (highly desirable) in criminal law matters, family violence issues and/or child protection, family law and/or victims of crime assistance.
- High level oral and written communication skills, with demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with staff, clients, external stakeholders and organisations.
- Demonstrated ability to be flexible, particularly whilst working in an environment of change.
What you’ll get in return
In return for your dedication, we offer competitive remuneration, bonus leave days, flexible work arrangements, salary packaging, and a vibrant, supportive work culture.
The detail:
- Up to 7 bonus leave days outside of annual leave (yes, outside of annual leave!) to support a well-rested end of year break
- Above-award remuneration
- A strong commitment to your professional development, personal development, and wellbeing
- A very flexible working environment that supports work-life balance
- A hybrid working model that supports both in-office and work-from-home arrangements
- Salary packaging (which can add up to $15,900 in tax-free pay every year)
- Fresh fruit available in the office
- Access to our Employee Assistance Program
Our Purpose:
To improve outcomes for all women, with a specific focus on victim-survivors of family violence by:
- Providing high quality legal services for Victorian women who are disadvantaged or marginalised by structural and systemic barriers,
- Assisting women and professionals that work with women, to better understand the law and navigate the legal system safely, and
- Advancing gender equality by challenging unsafe and discriminatory policies and laws and informing and advocating for legal and policy initiatives that respect and promote the rights of women.
Our culture
We’re continually building on our culture of inclusivity, collaboration and safety so our teams and individuals thrive. Our values are more than words – they’re actions we take together.
Together, we are:
Authentic: We are reliable, trustworthy and transparent about how we work. We reflect on our work and take responsibility for our actions.
Collaborative: We are stronger when we work together. By sharing power and privilege with diverse voices, we achieve better outcomes. We respond to requests for help with generosity.
Courageous: We are brave, resilient and face challenges with integrity. We unapologetically advocate for our goals and back one another to take considered risks to increase our impact.
Inclusive: We believe respect, equality and opportunity must be afforded equitably and to everyone. We understand this will require critical reflection on where power lies and how it functions, and active effort to disrupt it.
Purposeful: Our services respond to the community, laws and people we work with. We value curiosity and relish opportunities to improve our work.
To apply
Submit a resume and covering letter to tell us how you are the right candidate for this role. Please ensure the cover letter addresses how you personally align to Women’s Legal values that are listed above.
See the Women’s Legal ‘Work with Us’ page for a full position description.
Any other enquiries can be emailed to Ruth McKendrick, HR Officer at [email protected] using the subject line: Senior Criminal Lawyer enquiry via EthicalJobs
We will begin shortlisting immediately, so please apply as soon as possible.
Equal Opportunity Employer
We recognise our work benefits greatly from the unique knowledge, skills and expertise of individuals with diverse experiences, including those with lived experience of family violence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women with disability and women from migrant, refugee or non-English speaking backgrounds. If this is you, we strongly encourage you to apply.
Women’s Legal relies on an exception under the Equal Opportunity Act to employ women only.