Senior Solicitor - The Hill, Australia - Aboriginal Legal Service Nsw/act Limited

Description

Senior Solicitor (FAMILY LAW) Legal Assistance for WomenFull-Time | Fixed Term contract ending June 2025 | Newcastle
Make a meaningful impact for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families.
Provide holistic, person-centered legal and social support services.
Leadership role with opportunities for supervision and practice management.
Primary Purpose of the role

LAW (Legal Assistance for Women) offers multidisciplinary services for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Hunter region, empowering them through legal representation, advice, and culturally safe support.

This role provides family law assistance, supervision, and practice management, adhering to relevant legislation and Aboriginal Legal Service policies.

The purpose of this role is to:

Provide effective representation in family law litigation and family dispute resolution parenting matters to vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

Provide family law early intervention advice and non-court legal assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

Provide duty lawyer services in the specialist lists for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2).

Supervision of Junior Solicitors and assist with management of the family law practice in Hunter LAW.
Why join the ALS team?At the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) you can make an impact.

You will join a strong movement fighting for social justice and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities.

Our focus is our people:
the people we support and the people we employ.
We offer a career you can be proud of and a place where you feel safe to be yourself.
We invest in our people and appreciate the rich diversity of lived experiences, languages, and culture.

Born out of a protest movement over 50 years ago, the ALS is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation delivering high-quality, culturally safe legal and support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW and the ACT.

It's an exciting time to be joining us.

We recently received additional funding to deliver a range of new programs aimed at addressing systemic issues and driving structural reforms.

This is creating significant opportunities for the ALS, our staff and communities.

As well as the satisfaction of working in a job that really matters, we offer our staff benefits including:

Not-for-profit salary packaging to reduce your tax liability and maximise take-home pay
Annual leave loading of 17.5%
Career and professional development opportunities
Access to personal counselling for you and your family
Additional paid leave of up to 6 days per year, paid parental and study leave
Flexible work options – talk to us about how we can make this role work for you
About the role

The Senior Solicitor Family Law is part of the Hunter the Legal Assistance for Women (LAW) which is a multi-disciplinary service that aims to address the legal and non-legal needs and facilitate wraparound support for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities are as follow but are not limited to:

Effectively manage a busy caseload, prioritize tasks, and deliver culturally safe family law services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, including litigation, dispute resolution, advice, and duty services.

Demonstrate an understanding of family and domestic violence dynamics and their impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families.

Contribute to law reform and policy initiatives to improve access to justice and address systemic issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Maintain up-to-date legal knowledge and professional development, complying with practising certificate requirements.

Engage in systemic advocacy to enhance access to justice and create better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families within the family law and care & protection systems.

Ensure ethical conduct, compliance with ALS policies, procedures, and applicable guidelines or legislation.

Adhere to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Work Health and Safety (WHS) policies, and demonstrate alignment with ALS values and Code of Conduct.

About you

We're looking for someone who:
Have a current NSW practising certificate or eligible to apply for a NSW practising certificate.

Have at least 5 years' experience in family law, ideally in providing representation to clients in family law parenting litigation and family dispute resolution matters.

Ability to meet deadlines, work autonomously to manage a diverse and busy workload.
Have experience in, knowledge and understanding of, working with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Knowledge and appreciation of the cultural and social needs of Aboriginal people combined with continuing respect and support for Aboriginal cultural practices when considering service delivery and other support for clients, their families, communities, and employees.

Identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Specialist Accreditation in Family Law.
Unrestricted NSW Driver's licence and a willingness to drive in metropolitan and country locations, travel intrastate and stay overnight.
Pre-employment requirements:ALS is committed to implementing safe recruitment practices.

Your application may be subject to pre-employment checks such as reference checks, Working with Children (NSW) or Working with Vulnerable People (ACT) check, Right to work in Australia, COVID-19 vaccinations and National Police History check.

If you have any enquiries or would like to discuss the role, please contact our recruitment team
I identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait IslanderI consent to receiving occasional updates from the ALS
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and travel.

We pay our respects to Elders both past and present and acknowledge the contribution and sacrifices our Elders have made to better our community and future.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this site contains names and images of people who have passed away.

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