ABOUT YOU

You will have significant and substantial experience, skills and ability as a criminal law barrister or advocate. You will also have extensive and thorough knowledge, understanding and experience in the practice of State and Federal indictable criminal law and the laws of evidence and criminal procedure.

As our ideal candidate, you will:

• be an experienced and effective trial and/or appellate advocate with substantial knowledge and experience in the practice of complex criminal law, particularly in indictable matters across both state and federal jurisdictions
• consistently produce high quality oral and written advocacy and provide high level advice on legal and policy issues
• demonstrate a commitment to working collaboratively with others. You will foster a supportive learning environment in your mentoring and training of criminal advocates and lawyers, as you help develop their advocacy skills
• be a passionate advocate for clients and have the ability to develop strong relationships and communicate effectively with clients and stakeholders at all levels

Don’t meet every requirement? At VLA, we understand that your work and life experiences can be just as valuable. If you’re excited about this role but your CV doesn’t align perfectly with our job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or one of our many other opportunities.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

• Full time ongoing position (part time applications considered)
• Salary range: $170,181 - $186,421 (pro rata) plus super plus salary packaging
• Up to $15,900 in salary packaging and hybrid WFH & office model

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a key senior advocate role in Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) Chambers. Our Senior Public Defenders provide high quality advocacy to legally aided clients in all criminal law jurisdictions across Victoria and provide high quality training, mentoring and advice services to lawyers.
Reporting to VLA Chambers Chief Counsel, you will appear as counsel in complex criminal and quasi-criminal law matters (and some civil and human rights litigation) in various courts and tribunals across Victoria including the County and Supreme Courts, the Court of Appeal and occasionally the High Court.
You will also provide expert and high-level legal advice in a range of criminal matters and law reform issues. You will assist in the training and mentoring of criminal advocates and lawyers to develop their advocacy skills and knowledge of criminal law.
VLA Chambers is a team of about 40. In this role you will have the opportunity to work with a dedicated and highly skilled team of advocates, and to use your advocacy expertise to contribute to quality legal service delivery in Melbourne and regional areas.
This role is based at our Melbourne CBD office on Wurundjeri Country.