Counter Fraud Barrister

GOVERNMENT LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Fraud Lawyer, DWP Legal Advisers

Location: London, Bristol, Leeds or Manchester

Salary: £58,000 (London) £56,500 (National)

Full-time, part-time and job share available

Tackle important challenges in one of our dynamic legal teams

Who we are

The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working with all the main Whitehall departments. From roads to rivers, and from health to human rights, our work touches on most aspects of public life. Our vision is to be trusted by government to provide excellent services, to be known throughout the legal profession for the quality of our work, and to be the best employer for our people. We’re currently looking for two Fraud Lawyers to join our Data, Inquiries, Fraud and Maternity team.

The role

The Data, Inquiries, Fraud and Maternity Team is one of five legal teams making up DWP Legal Advisers, and offers legal support to Ministers and officials in the Department for Work and Pensions. We provide advice on policy development, new primary legislation, the drafting of statutory instruments and support our litigation colleagues in relation to significant claims. Our work frequently engages with issues related to public law equalities and discrimination, data protection and freedom of information, human rights and the UK’s international obligations.

Join us in this role and you’ll use your experience of working in fraud or a wider criminal law practice, and employ all your expertise as part of a team of lawyers advising on policy and operational aspects of counter-fraud work. In addition to working independently and engaging directly with senior policy, operational colleagues, investigators, and if required, Ministers, you’ll also work alongside the Crown Prosecution Service and the Procurator Fiscal as well as the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office and Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate.

Your tasks will be wide ranging and include advising on the formation of counter-fraud policy and operations design, and on counter-fraud measures including digital design, cyber-crime and the identification of threats and trends. You’ll also focus on investigatory measures, including covert surveillance and IPA activities.

The nature of fraud against the taxpayer is changing, and is increasingly cyber-focused and organised. With this in mind, you should be willing to develop further specialisms, not just in fraud but in cyber-crime, resilience measures and areas such as data law and public and administrative law.

About you

To be successful in this role you’ll have at least three years’ PQE with some experience of working in criminal law. It’s important that you have strongclient care and communication skills, and the ability to manage your own practice and handle urgent matters and emergencies to hard deadlines in a fluid and fast-paced working environment.

You should have a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree in your first degree (or its overseas equivalent) or evidence of high level academic and/or professional achievement, for example through experience and results achieved for the Graduate Diploma in Law, Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course. You must be qualified to practice as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, and you’ll have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx.

Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where a qualifying law degree is held or the Graduate Diploma in Law has been completed, or where CILEx Level 6 exams have been passed at 50% or above in Contract Law, Criminal Law, Equity and Trusts Law, European Union Law, Land Law, Public Law and the Law of Tort.

You’ll enjoy a wide range of benefits including superb training and development opportunities, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, and family friendly work policies. We’re committed to ensuring that all our people enjoy a healthy work/life balance, and with this in mind we offer flexible working arrangements, generous paid maternity and paternity leave, and season ticket and bicycle loans. And in addition to 8 public holidays, you’ll receive 25 days annual leave rising to 30 after 5 years’ service.

For more information

Should you wish to discuss this role in more detail please contact

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