Director of Legal Practice

The Organisation

South East Monash Legal Service (SMLS) has been operating since 1973, when a group of Monash law students and academics opened a clinic to help people gain access to legal assistance and advice. 50 years on, SMLS operates across the south east of Melbourne, with offices in Springvale and Narre Warren, and several outreach locations.

SMLS provides free legal information, advice, and case work on a range of legal matters, including representation for people experiencing disadvantage. With a commitment to advocacy and social change, SMLS is a leader in the provision of community legal education, policy, law reform and lobbying, outreach services and referral programs.

Culture & Benefits

• Established service with long-term funding
• An organisation of choice with a strong culture of mentorship, collaboration and innovation
• Flexible working, not for profit salary benefits, additional gifted leave

The Role
  
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Legal Practice (DLP) acts as a delegate of the Principal Lawyer and oversees the centre’s civil practices area (predominantly employment law related), policy agenda and key stakeholder relationships within the legal sector.

You will lead a dedicated team to deliver legal services of excellence, highly skilled program planning and learning objectives for junior staff. Additionally you’ll work in close collaboration with the other members of the leadership team to deliver on strategy and ensure efficiency, high quality service delivery, future growth and organisational sustainability.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing a team of lawyers and program managers
• Supervising, coaching and mentoring your team to provide expert legal advice
• Developing partnerships and managing pro bono and program stakeholder relationships
• Maintaining an active practice interest and taking the lead on some litigation matters

Skills Required

You’re a strategic thinker who brings a blend of team management and mentorship experience, together with strong legal practice knowledge and technical skills relevant to employment law and civil litigation.
  
Your background may be community legal, private practice, union or commercial as an employment lawyer or industrial officer. You’re passionate about social justice issues and you have experience supporting the effective management of legal practice, continuous improvement, and risk management processes. You also have:

• Experience supervising legal practitioners and coaching and developing team members
• Complex case management experience in civil practice and litigation
• Experience in law reform monitoring and policy development
• Well-developed stakeholder, community relations and partnership development skills
• Eligibility to hold or obtain a Principal Practicing Certificate in Victoria

If you want to use your legal skills to support vulnerable people in Victoria please submit your resume together with a cover letter responding to the skills required section above quoting reference 1128546. Alternatively, please call Hayley Martin on 03 8080 8978 for a confidential discussion.

Please note there is no formal closing date for this role, if you are interested, we would encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

NGO Recruitment values equitable recruitment practices and is committed to representing candidates reflective of the diverse organisations and communities we work with. We welcome and encourage applications from all backgrounds, ages, and identities, and are happy to adjust our recruitment process to support accessibility needs. If you are interested in this position and have most of the skills or experience we are looking for, please go ahead and apply.