Senior Legal Counsel

• Manage litigation and disputes on behalf of UQ being a part of a collaborative and hardworking team

• Located at the picturesque St Lucia Campus with public transport and parking readily available

• Join a university ranked in the Top 50 Globally and enjoy a high level of support as you work on a broad variety of interesting matters

• Closing date – Thursday 24 November 2022 11.00PM AEST (R-19295)

About This Opportunity

This position is located at our picturesque St Lucia campus , renowned as one of Australia’s most attractive university campuses, and located just 7km from Brisbane’s city centre. Bounded by the Brisbane River on three sides, and with outstanding public transport connections, our 114-hectare site provides a perfect work environment – you can enjoy the best of both worlds: a vibrant campus with the tradition of an established university.

The Senior Legal Counsel (Dispute Resolution) position is responsible for providing legal and strategic advice on disputes and contentious matters arising from the broad range of activities of UQ and managing the conduct of litigation on behalf of UQ. The position also provides legal advice on a wide range of other legal issues affecting UQ.

You will work with and under the direction of the Associate Director, Legal Services. You will also assist the General Counsel in managing the interests of UQ and be part of a busy, hardworking and collaborative legal team.

As a senior member of the Legal Services team, you will also supervise and manage the work of junior and mid – level lawyers and undertake business and strategic activities in support of the General Counsel – including in promoting and maintaining a high performing and collaborative team culture and actively contributing to continuous improvement programs and systems/ process improvements.

Working in an in-house environment, you will be flexible and available to work across all streams of legal work (depending on client demands, expertise and priorities as directed by the Associate Director and General Counsel). You will be also undertake a range of work, from the complex to the less complex.

The Senior Legal Counsel (Dispute Resolution) reports to the Associate Director, Legal Services and the General Counsel.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Delivery of Legal Services

• Provide timely, high-quality legal advice to the Vice-Chancellor, Chief Operating Officer, other executive management and key decision makers across UQ.

• Manage the conduct of complex and sensitive litigation on behalf of UQ.

• Provide legal and strategic advice on disputes and contentious matters relating to the activities of the University, with a focus on developing strategies to proactively diffuse disputed matters or seek early resolution.

• Draft correspondence to, and negotiate with, lawyers acting for parties engaged in disputes and contentious matters with UQ.

• Respond to subpoenas, court documents and requests from lawyers or insurers for records.

• Correspond with and proactively seek contribution from UQ’s insurer in relation to disputes being advised on or managed.

• Provide legal advice on a wide range of other legal issues affecting UQ, including in respect of commercial, contract, construction, property, wills and bequests and administrative law.

• Provide legal advice (including as to procedural fairness) on student misconduct and appeal issues, research misconduct and process issues and other regulatory and policy requirements.

• Provide legal advice in relation to the development and implementation of policies and procedures, and in relation to legislative programs, as required.

• Manage the provision of legal services outsourced to external legal providers (private law firms and counsel) to ensure value for money, quality and timeliness of work produced.

• Supervise the work of junior/ mid-level lawyers, as required.

• Other duties as required by the General Counsel.

Business and Strategic

• Assist to market Legal Services’ capabilities and services to internal clients.

• Contribute to strengthening the knowledge and capacity of managers and other UQ staff to work within the relevant legislative and regulatory framework.

• Actively contribute to and support the development and implementation of improved business efficiencies through continuous improvement, innovation and initiatives in delivery of the legal function.

• Assist with developing and maintaining legal resources and precedent material.

• Actively participate in fostering a positive team environment with a strong culture of customer service, professionalism and best practice.

• Contribute to proactively identifying and managing current and emerging legal issues, priorities and risks for UQ.

Key Stakeholder and Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong and effective working relationships with internal clients, team members and external stakeholders.

• Work collaboratively in a team environment and contribute toward team outcomes

This role is subject to the University’s Code of Conduct .  

About You

Mandatory requirement

• The successful applicant must be admitted as a Solicitor or Barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland, with demonstrated relevant expertise and experience (for example, a minimum of 7 years post admission experience is preferred).

Essential – Key Capabilities

• Extensive experience in commercial litigation and sound working knowledge of court processes in the Federal and Queensland courts.

• Experience in advising on strategy to resolve commercial and other disputes, including through the use of alternative dispute resolution methods as well as litigation.

• Demonstrated ability to draft a wide variety of legal documents and to handle and resolve complex legal issues.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively supervise junior and mid-level lawyers to:

• facilitate delivery of high quality, timely legal advice; and

• train and mentor those lawyers.

• Achieves results – solution focussed with sound judgement skills and business acumen.

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and efficiently in a results-driven environment with a high volume of business.

• Communicates with influence – communicates in a clear, concise and articulate manner; listens,    understands and adapts to audience and negotiates persuasively.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Demonstrated interpersonal and negotiation skills that enable you to effectively communicate and liaise with a diverse range of clients at all levels to provide a quality client service, and also with other stakeholders and third parties.

• Cultivates productive working relationships – demonstrated ability to build and sustain positive relationships with team members, internal clients and external stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and to contribute effectively in a team environment in order to provide quality client service.

• Demonstrated time management and organisational skills and a meticulous attention to detail, with a proven ability to prioritise tasks to meet competing deadlines with a high degree of accuracy in the context of minimal supervision.

• Strategic thinking – sees the big picture; considers the ramifications of a wide range of issues, anticipates priorities and develops long-term plans.

• Exemplifies personal drive and integrity – provides impartial and forthright advice. Remains positive and responds to pressure in a controlled manner. Maintains momentum and sustains effort despite criticism or setbacks.

Desirable

• Understanding of the legislative framework that applies to UQ or experience in acting for a statutory body or government entity.

What We Can Offer  

This is a full time 100% FTE Continuing position at HEW 9.  

This role offers a competitive base salary plus up to 17% superannuation. The total compensation may be negotiable subject to experience.

For further information about UQ’s benefits, please visit Why Work at UQ  and review The University of Queensland’s Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2018-2021 .  

 Questions?  

To discuss this role please contact Leanne Fox at [email protected] .

For application queries, please contact [email protected]  stating the job reference number in the subject line.  

 Want to Apply?  

All applicants must supply the following documents:  

• Cover letter

• Resume  

To satisfy pre-requisite questions and ensure your application can be considered in full, all candidates must apply via the UQ Careers portal by the job closing deadline or will not be accepted. 

Please note that you will be asked to add all documents into the one upload box labelled ‘resume’, which is step one of the application form.

Other Information  

Work Rights: You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment.   

Background Checks:  All final applicants for this position may be asked to consent to a criminal record check. Please note that people with criminal records are not automatically barred from applying for this position. Each application will be considered on its merits.   

We value diversity and inclusion, and actively encourage applications from those who bring diversity to the University. Our Diversity and Inclusion webpage  contains further information if you require additional support. Accessibility requirements and/or adjustments can be directed to [email protected]

If you are a current employee of the University, or hold an unpaid or affiliate appointment with the University, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.