AddressLocation: Boorloo/ Perth
Term: Ongoing
Job Type: Full-time 37.5 hours per week
Remuneration: SCHADS Level 8: 1 FTE $127,140 - $141,668 + 11% super + 17.5% Annual Leave Loading
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.
Job title: Managing Lawyer – Western Australia
Reporting to: Legal Director
Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia Pacific, dedicated to protecting our climate, communities, and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation and leading law reform advocacy.
As the region’s legal experts in our field, we aim to be a brave, unified, and focused team, committed to inclusion and excellence in all that we do. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace supporting a highly skilled, engaged, and effective team, where everyone can feel that they belong.
The Opportunity
We have an exciting opportunity for an aspiring leader to join EDO to lead our Western Australia Practice. We are recruiting a Managing Lawyer, who is responsible for the WA Legal Practice to deliver legal services and reform within the WA jurisdiction and confidently lead and supervise legal staff.
The Managing Lawyer, Western Australia is a leadership position, responsible for EDO’s Western Australia Legal Practice. You will hold expertise in environmental law or related disciplines and be an expert in West Australian legal frameworks. You will provide legal services with respect to the key environmental challenges of our time, including and work with the community to address issues including climate change, nature protection and environmental justice in Western Australia.
The Managing Lawyer will be expected to work closely with the Legal Director and other Managing Lawyers as relevant to develop and implement planning and actively manage the legal practice operating in Western Australia. You will be expected to successfully oversee a programme of legal work aligned with the organisation’s strategic priorities and as agreed with the Legal Director.
In this role, you will have the opportunity to work with a high level of autonomy and self-direction. This will include leading on media work, seminars, publications, as well as having carriage of litigation, law reform and advice work, supervision of staff and practice management. It is expected that you will be largely self-directed in the carrying out of day-to-day duties of the position with responsibility for managing staff and relationships within Western Australia.
Candidate Profile
You are an experienced lawyer and aspiring leader with the ability to quickly build trust and enjoy leading a team.
You enjoy working with and managing people and build relationships with ease. You will have experience working with diverse communities, First Nations people and are confident working in remote and isolated areas. You will have resilience, tenacity, and compassion.
You will have the ability to lead a team, develop and empower your staff, lead a strong culture of collaboration and collective accountability both within the Boorloo/Perth office and across Australia.
You are driven by your connection to your local community and your desire make change on the pressing environmental issues of our time. You apply a rigorous eye and strong professional ethics to the pursuit of environmental justice.
You have demonstrated experience in legal practice in environmental or administrative law or related field, and you enjoy a mix of litigation, law reform and legal advice.
The role offers a high level of autonomy, independent and strategic thinking, a skilled communicator and litigator, and someone who can demonstrate an ability to think outside the box and deliver effective results for clients. Lawyers who want a chance to think creatively about delivering systemic change in relation to fossil fuel developments and climate change are strongly encouraged to apply.
You will thrive on building trusted relationships with a diverse range of clients and other stakeholders, including government, partner organisations and local media.
You will have an unrestricted practising certificate, and strong PAE working as a senior lawyer with demonstrated strong litigation experience and leadership skills.
EDO is a diverse and inclusive workplace. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.
Key Selection Criteria
Essential
- An unrestricted practicing certificate in an Australian jurisdiction, or entitlement to one, and entitlement to a Principal Practising Certificate in WA*
- A minimum of 5 years PAE working as a solicitor with litigation experience, 8 + years PAE highly desirable
Core skills
- Strong autonomous litigation focus
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on consideration of different views
- Capacity to supervise legal staff in delivering on advice and litigation work
- Competence in mentoring lawyers and overseeing their performance and development
- Demonstrated ability to work productively and to deadlines
- Excellent oral and written communication skills suited to a range of audiences
Substantive experience
- Demonstrated litigation experience in administrative or environmental law and/or related disciplines
- Demonstrated experience in administrative and/or environmental law highly desirable
- Demonstrated experience in supervising legal staff in delivering advice and litigation work, including responsibility for reviewing and approving court documents and associated work
- Demonstrated experience in undertaking law reform or policy highly desirable
- Demonstrated experience working with First Nations peoples or diverse communities and individuals highly desirable
- Practice management experience highly desirable
Personal qualities and cultural competency
- A champion of EDO values
- Strong initiative and self-motivation
- Commitment to the protection of human rights and the environment
- A strong sense of ethics and understanding of professional obligations
- Demonstrated awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and concerns of First Nations peoples and peoples from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations in both the delivery of our work and our internal culture
- Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative and team-based environment
*Note: It is not expected that you will have completed a practice management course. For information about eligibility please see here LPBWA - Practice management course
Our culture and benefits
We care deeply about creating a workplace where our team members feel valued, respected, and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunity regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or life stage.
- The chance to be part of the largest environmental legal practice in the Australia-Pacific
- A very flexible and family-friendly workplace
- Option to work from home and the office
- 8 weeks paid parental leave, regardless of gender or carer status
- 15 days personal/carer’s leave per year
- 3 days paid cultural leave per year
- Extra leave over the Christmas period
- Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Ongoing professional development opportunities
- EDO proudly has a JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and a Mental Health Ambassador Committee, and has developed a First Nations Program with the aid of indigenous-led consultancies.
- Three Affinity groups for the following: Disability, Global Majority* and LGBTQIA+
*Global Majority is a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or, have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’.
Our Values
Commitment – We are committed to; a united organisation, to each other, to collaboration, to justice, to our communities and to creating a world where nature thrives.
Diversity – We respect First Nations Peoples’ knowledges and experiences, and work with them to protect their Countries and cultures.
Integrity – We work effectively, efficiently, strategically, professionally, and ethically; “justice is in our nature”.
Vision – We lead change and environmental empowerment using innovation, creativity, and courage.
How to apply
Click 'Apply here' above.
Applications close: 7th of July 2024
Applications must include a CV and a letter that clearly addresses each of the key selection criteria.
Other Information
All offers of employment may be subject to satisfactory background checks including a National Police Check, disclosure of previous or current disciplinary action, referee checks, proof of eligibility to work in Australia and qualification checks.
Please note: Your application may be considered for future roles at the EDO within the next 12 months without additional advertising. Please notify us in your application if you would not like to be considered for similar roles beyond this recruitment.
If you have any accessibility needs for the recruitment or interviewing process, please let us know in your application or by emailing ***********@edo.org.au.
To read the position please click here: https://www.edo.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/EDO-Position-Description-Managing-Lawyer-WA-May-2024-1.pdf
