Ethical Jobs Logo
  • Join us
  • Sign in
    • Ethical Jobs Logo
    Johnson Legal Pty Ltd's logo

    Special Counsel / Principal Lawyer

    Johnson Legal Pty Ltd
    • Status: Full-time
    • Hours per week: 40
    • Salary: Competitive salaries offered based on post admission experience

    Role Description

    We are looking for an accomplished senior lawyer with a strong interest in environmental and climate justice to join our team at Johnson Legal. The successful applicant will be an experienced and confident civil litigator, with the ability to run matters as the solicitor on record across multiple jurisdictions in a range of courts and tribunals.

    Reporting Lines

    The Special Counsel / Principal Lawyer reports to the Director.

    Key duties and accountabilities

    Leadership:

    • Lead a busy litigation practice, working closely with other JL team members, clients, counsel and experts
    • Develop and implement legal strategies to achieve client objectives and public interest outcomes
    • Contribute to the advancement of public interest environmental law across jurisdictions

    Casework:

    • Act as solicitor on record in civil proceedings across a range of Australian jurisdictions in courts and tribunals
    • Advise clients on environmental legal matters across a range of Australian jurisdictions and disciplines relevant to the work of JL

    Policy and law reform:

    • Advise clients on, and advocate for, the development of policy and law reform to achieve public interest outcomes

    Ethics:

    • Promote ethical conduct in the delivery of legal services

    People and culture:

    • Mentor and guide more junior members of the JL team
    • Promote a respectful and collaborative workplace
    • Model good practice in managing workload

    Accounting and finance:

    • Prepare accurate and reasonable costs estimates and time records for billable and non-billable work

    Selection Criteria

    Essential:

    1. Commitment to achieving a healthy environment and upholding the rights of people and nature
    2. Ability to manage complex litigation, acting for clients with limited resources
    3. Willingness to undertake all aspects of legal work, regardless of seniority
    4. Demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively within a small team
    5. A contemporary understanding of the development of climate and environmental law in Australia

    Desirable:

    1. Experience in the delivery of public interest legal services and/or legal services in connection with mining and infrastructure projects
    2. An understanding of environment and climate movements in Australia and internationally and/or landholder rights in connection with mining and infrastructure projects
    3. A contemporary understanding of the development of the science that underpins climate and environmental litigation

    Personal Attributes

    • Integrity. You exercise sound judgment to make ethical decisions in accordance with your legal professional obligations. 
    • Collaborative. Your instinct is to engage with other people in your work, share skills, time and ideas.
    • Emotional intelligence. You have strong communication skills and can work with people from diverse backgrounds.
    • Sound judgment. You are calm and exercise sound and decisive judgment. You seek support when needed but are confident to make calls yourself.
    • Critical thinking. You apply critical thinking in the design of legal strategies for clients and in pursuit of public interest outcomes.

    Commitment to safety

    • Commitment to working cooperatively and respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, and to being guided by their vision, experiences, perspectives, and expertise.
    • Commitment to ensuring that Aboriginal people feel welcome and culturally safe working in and with JL.
    • Commitment to increasing the diversity of JL at all levels.
    • Commitment to delivering a safe working environment for all staff which is attentive to the risks of burnout in litigation practice.

    How to apply

    Submit your CV and cover letter addressing the Selection Criteria via the "Apply Now" button no later than the closing date.

    We will assess applications on a rolling basis, as they are received.

    How to apply

    This job ad has now expired, and applications are no longer being accepted.
    Johnson Legal Pty Ltd's logo
    More from this Employer

    Email me more jobs like this.

    Daily
    Create a job alert