Newly Qualified / Junior Inquest Lawyer

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Job summary

Legal & Risk Services is a division of the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership which provides a comprehensive legal advisory service to the NHS.

Our Core Values, which are important in how we work with our clients and how we support our colleagues, are:o Listening and Learningo Working togethero Taking responsibilityo Innovating

We have an exciting opportunity for a junior lawyer to join our Inquest Team. We advise and represent the whole of the NHS in Wales.

The types of cases we typically advise on include:o Mental Health relatedo Prison deathso Fallso Sepsiso Maternal and neonatal deathso Drug/alcohol relatedo Peri or post surgical deaths.The Team are experts in their field who are regularly instructed in novel and high profile cases. We work closely with our clients’ clinical and patient safety teams.

The work of Legal & Risk has been recognised in the awards we have won. We aim to push boundaries and continue to develop ways to support the important work of the NHS.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for reviewing medical records/reports, drafting correspondence to obtain evidence and assisting in the preparation of client advice, witness statements, court bundles, and instructions to counsel.We are committed to the development and well-being of our staff. You will have the support of a Team Manager and a number of other senior lawyers.

The ideal candidate for this position must have good communication skills, a confident approach to work and can demonstrate our core values. There will be a need for empathy and sensitivity due to the very personal nature of the cases we deal with.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Knowledge

Essential

  • Law Degree & Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (or equivalent)
  • Qualified with litigation and advocacy rights. o Qualified solicitor admitted to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales o CILEx Litigator and Advocate (Civil). Qualified barrister admitted to the bar in England and Wales

Desirable

  • Professional Skills Course or equivalent
  • Academic modules in Medical Law ( Mental Capacity and Mental Health)

Experience

Essential

  • Experience gained through training within the relevant field

Desirable

  • Experience of the relevant field/fields of Law i.e. clinical negligence/personal injury and Inquests
  • Advocacy in Coroner’s Court
  • Experience of making presentations to non-legal staff

Aptitude and Abilities

Essential

  • IT Skills/Computer literate to include the ability to learn new technologies and IT introduced
  • Ability to communicate in all formats in plain English
  • Ability to negotiate in often difficult or emotional circumstances
  • Conscientious, confident, flexible and professional approach to work
  • Ability to prioritise and organise own work
  • Ability to recognise own capabilities
  • Evidence of excellent client care skills.

Desirable

  • Welsh Language Skills are desirable levels 1 to 5 in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing in Welsh.

Other

Essential

  • Demonstrate how your personal qualities match against our NWSSP core values: Listening and learning o Working together o Taking responsibility o Innovating
  • Willing to undertake further professional development.
  • Able to travel to undertake the duties of the post at various locations

Desirable

  • Deliver excellent customer service to our internal and external customers, helping us to maintain the customer service excellence standard.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 16 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.