Senior Public Defender

at  Victoria Legal Aid

• Full time ongoing position (part time considered)
• Salary range: $157,341 - $180,991 (pro rata) plus super plus salary packaging
• Up to $15,900 in salary packaging and hybrid WFH & office model

ABOUT YOU

As our ideal candidate, you will:

• be an experienced advocate with substantial knowledge and experience in the practice of criminal law.
• consistently produce high quality oral and written advocacy, appear in complex litigation, and provide high level advice on legal and policy issues.
• demonstrate a commitment to working collaboratively with others and foster a supportive learning environment in your mentoring and training of criminal lawyers.
• be passionate for advocating 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 THE ROLE

In this role, you will deliver high quality advocacy for legally aided clients in complex criminal matters in all jurisdictions across Victoria including but not limited to trials, pleas, bail applications, appeals and reviews in the County and Supreme Courts, the Court of Appeal and occasionally the High Court.
You will provide expert and high-level legal advice in a range of criminal matters and law reform issues. You will also assist in developing the advocacy expertise of our criminal lawyers through mentoring and contributing to our advocacy training programs.
You will have the opportunity to work within a dedicated and highly skilled team, and to use your advocacy expertise to contribute to quality legal practice in both Melbourne and regional areas.
Please note, we are also recruiting for a Senior Public Defender (Criminal Law Judicial Review and Strategic Litigation). Applications for that separate role close on 27 January 2025.
While there are some similarities between the two roles, the Senior Public Defender (Criminal Law Judicial Review and Strategic Litigation) will focus on areas of judicial review, administrative law and strategic litigation. This Senior Public Defender role will focus more broadly on complex criminal law work including trials, contested matters, appeals and applications.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BOTH ROLES, PLEASE INDICATE THIS IN YOUR APPLICATION OR CONTACT THE HIRING MANAGER TO DISCUSS.

This role is based at our Melbourne CBD office on Wurundjeri Country.