Job summary
We are looking for a Deputy Director of Legal Services to join our expanding Legal Services Department. You will work alongside the Director of Legal Services to lead and manage all aspects of the Legal Services team, ensuring that there is a high performing, effective legal service that delivers best practice Trust wide. You will be required to provide expert, specialist legal advice to clinicians, senior managers and member of the Trust Board on a broad range of complex and sometime sensitive legal issues.
Main duties of the job
To support the Director of Legal Services with the department's strategic vision and ensure the department provides a professional service aligned with the Trust's needs;
To deputise for the Director of Legal Services as required
To act as the legal expert for the Trust, managing all aspects of the Legal Services Department, providing legal advice across a broad range of areas including clinical negligence, Coroner's Inquests, employer's and public liability, Powers of Attorney, Wills and other healthcare law issues
To provide senior management and leadership to the Legal Services Team including responsibility for staff development to enable them to perform to best of their abilities
Please refer to detailed job description attached.
About us
With more than 18,000 colleagues, we are the largest employer in Nottinghamshire and one of the biggest and busiest NHS Trusts in the country, serving more than 2.5m residents of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and a further four million people across the East Midlands and beyond.
We provide a range of national and internationally renowned specialist services and we are at the forefront of new surgical procedures and research programmes. We are home to the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, the Nottingham Children's Hospital and in partnership with the University of Nottingham we host a Biomedical Research Centre carrying out vital research into hearing, digestive diseases, respiratory, musculoskeletal disease, mental health and imaging. We are also one of the Trust identified in the New Hospital Programme.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To represent the Trust at court and Coroners Inquests, providing guidance to Trust staff that may be called to give evidence and analysing/interpreting evidence in order to make decisions on the management of the inquest to best represent the Trust and help minimise the risk of reputational damage. To conduct the oral advocacy throughout the hearing and question and examine witnesses
To work with the Patient Safety team to identify any key deficiencies in care and trends through the analysis and interpretation of the complex data contained within the legal portfolio and to contribute to the identification of learnings so that these can be effectively disseminated throughout the Trust to improve patient safety
To manage a mixed caseload of legal matters including but not limited to complex Inquests, high value clinical negligence claims, Court of Protection and mental health related matters. This includes responsibility for ensuring these cases are run in line with SRA requirements, escalating any issues to the Director of Legal Services
Assist the Director of Legal Services to regularly review the workload/capacity in the department, where volume of work is unpredictable and externally driven, making judgements about how the work will be best managed.
Please refer to detailed job description for further information
Please refer to detailed job description attached.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To represent the Trust at court and Coroners Inquests, providing guidance to Trust staff that may be called to give evidence and analysing/interpreting evidence in order to make decisions on the management of the inquest to best represent the Trust and help minimise the risk of reputational damage. To conduct the oral advocacy throughout the hearing and question and examine witnesses
To work with the Patient Safety team to identify any key deficiencies in care and trends through the analysis and interpretation of the complex data contained within the legal portfolio and to contribute to the identification of learnings so that these can be effectively disseminated throughout the Trust to improve patient safety
To manage a mixed caseload of legal matters including but not limited to complex Inquests, high value clinical negligence claims, Court of Protection and mental health related matters. This includes responsibility for ensuring these cases are run in line with SRA requirements, escalating any issues to the Director of Legal Services
Assist the Director of Legal Services to regularly review the workload/capacity in the department, where volume of work is unpredictable and externally driven, making judgements about how the work will be best managed.
Please refer to detailed job description for further information
Please refer to detailed job description attached.
Person Specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential
- A degree, post graduate diploma in legal practice (or equivalent), 2 years post graduating training contract
- Qualified and practising solicitor, with several years successfully managing substantial caseload of high value legal claims and complex inquest matters, inc undertaking expert and specialist inquest and advocacy
- Extensive experience advising at a senior level on a full range of health law issues which arise at a busy acute Trust
Experience
Essential
- Specialist knowledge across a wide range of legal disciplines to include clinical negligence, Coroner's inquests, EL/PL, statutory and regulatory law and general healthcare advisory
- Evidence of successfully managing a team
- Experience of undertaking advocacy in court and/or inquests. The postholder must have rights of audience to allow them to appear before the Coroner
Communication
Essential
- Excellent and highly effective communication and interpersonal skills.
- experience of building relationship with a wide range of stakeholders
- Extensive experience of conducting difficult meetings and delivering presentations to large groups of people, including stakeholders, clinicians and professional staff on legal issues affecting them
Personal attributes
Essential
- Organised and efficient
- Attention to detail and ability to give constructive feedback to others
- Ability to manage conflict in order to bring about positive outcomes
Person Specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential
- A degree, post graduate diploma in legal practice (or equivalent), 2 years post graduating training contract
- Qualified and practising solicitor, with several years successfully managing substantial caseload of high value legal claims and complex inquest matters, inc undertaking expert and specialist inquest and advocacy
- Extensive experience advising at a senior level on a full range of health law issues which arise at a busy acute Trust
Experience
Essential
- Specialist knowledge across a wide range of legal disciplines to include clinical negligence, Coroner's inquests, EL/PL, statutory and regulatory law and general healthcare advisory
- Evidence of successfully managing a team
- Experience of undertaking advocacy in court and/or inquests. The postholder must have rights of audience to allow them to appear before the Coroner
Communication
Essential
- Excellent and highly effective communication and interpersonal skills.
- experience of building relationship with a wide range of stakeholders
- Extensive experience of conducting difficult meetings and delivering presentations to large groups of people, including stakeholders, clinicians and professional staff on legal issues affecting them
Personal attributes
Essential
- Organised and efficient
- Attention to detail and ability to give constructive feedback to others
- Ability to manage conflict in order to bring about positive outcomes
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).