Overview
Our Benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.
About the role
At West Northants Council, we are committed to protecting our communities and supporting fair, effective regulatory enforcement. As a Senior Litigation Lawyer (Criminal), you’ll play a key role in helping the Council uphold legal standards and fulfil its statutory responsibilities, providing expert legal advice and representation across a varied and interesting range of criminal and regulatory matters.
This is an exciting opportunity to join one of England’s newest and largest unitary councils and become a trusted legal adviser to Members, officers and services across the organisation. Working within our Law and Governance team, you’ll operate at a senior level, handling complex litigation matters while contributing to the continued development of a modern, ambitious and customer-focused legal service.
Whether you’re currently working in local government, a regulatory environment or private practice, this role offers the opportunity to undertake meaningful advocacy work, influence decision-making and make a tangible difference to the communities we serve.
What will you be doing?
You’ll take a leading role in delivering high-quality criminal and regulatory litigation for the Council, managing a varied caseload and acting as an in-house advocate before courts and tribunals. Your work will involve providing legal advice and representation across a broad range of litigation matters, preparing complex legal documentation, instructing Counsel where required and ensuring cases are progressed efficiently and effectively.
As a trusted adviser, you’ll provide clear and practical legal guidance to Members and senior officers, support Licensing Committees and other formal meetings, and help services navigate complex legal and procedural issues. You’ll also contribute to maintaining high standards of governance and decision-making across the organisation.
Alongside your casework, you’ll support the Principal Lawyer, contribute to the development of colleagues through training and knowledge sharing, and play an active role in shaping a flexible, forward-thinking legal service. This is a role that offers both professional challenge and long-term career development within a supportive team environment.
It’s an exciting time to join our legal team as we continue to develop and strengthen our services. To find out more about working in our Legal teams, please visit:
About you
You’re a qualified Solicitor or Barrister with strong litigation experience and proven advocacy skills. You’re confident managing complex cases, representing clients in court and providing pragmatic legal advice in a fast-paced and politically sensitive environment. Experience in criminal, regulatory or local authority litigation would be particularly valuable.
You’re an excellent communicator who can build strong relationships, influence stakeholders and explain complex legal issues in a clear and accessible way. You combine sound legal judgement with a practical approach to problem-solving and are comfortable balancing competing priorities while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
West Northants is a great place to build your legal career. With a strong focus on wellbeing, flexibility, mentoring, coaching and professional development, we are committed to helping our people thrive. Above all, you’ll share our THRIVE values and our ambition to deliver outstanding legal services that support the Council, its services and the communities we serve.
About us
We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government
reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey
to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and
communities.
Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great
place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to
make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance,
Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver
services.
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with
ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail,
and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A
place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-
minded people.
When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.
Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and
challenges you in a positive way, every day.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
