Environment Agency
Trainee Solicitor - 36351
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Job Description
Assist with the delivery of legal advice, litigation, and prosecution work within each training seat, ensuring work is completed accurately, professionally, and in a timely manner;
Manage a varied and challenging caseload appropriate to your level of experience, taking responsibility for progressing matters under supervision and seeking guidance where required;
Develop and apply your legal knowledge and professional judgement through practical experience, training, and continuous learning; and
Build and maintain effective working relationships with legal colleagues, internal clients, and external stakeholders, helping to identify issues, understand business needs, and provide responsive and effective legal support.
We are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
Role Overview
The Environment Agency operates at the place where environmental change has its greatest impact on people’s lives. We work closely with a wide range of partners to make sure there is enough water for people and wildlife, reduce the risk of flooding, protect and improve air, land, and water quality, and apply environmental standards within which industry can operate.
This is an exciting opportunity to fulfil your potential and develop the legal skills, knowledge, and professional experience required to qualify as a solicitor. As a Trainee Solicitor, you will work in a stimulating and rewarding environment, gaining experience across a range of legal disciplines while contributing to the Environment Agency's mission to protect and enhance the environment.
Working under the supervision of experienced lawyers, you will:
- Support the provision of high-quality, efficient, and practical legal services, contributing to the delivery of environmental outcomes and organizational objectives;
- Assist with the delivery of legal advice, litigation, and prosecution work within each training seat, ensuring work is completed accurately, professionally, and in a timely manner;
- Manage a varied and challenging caseload appropriate to your level of experience, taking responsibility for progressing matters under supervision and seeking guidance where required;
- Develop and apply your legal knowledge and professional judgement through practical experience, training, and continuous learning; and
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with legal colleagues, internal clients, and external stakeholders, helping to identify issues, understand business needs, and provide responsive and effective legal support.
The Team
Our lawyers work hybridly from one of seven legal hubs at Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Leeds, Peterborough, Reading, or Warrington. You will be based at your closest legal hub but will need to travel to other offices according to the location of each training contract seat, as part of gaining the best training and experience.
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You can expect to be working in the office (or on-site, in court, etc) two or three days per week.
Experience/Skills Required
This role is open to applicants who have passed both stages of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 1 and 2) or the Legal Practice Course (LPC), or who expect to pass their LPC or SQE 1 and 2 by November 2026.
No Previous Legal Employment Or Work Experience Is Required.
If your written application is successful, you will be invited to an in-person interview, which will comprise:
- Further questions focusing on the three Capabilities for this role;
- A short presentation, which you will have approximately a week to prepare, followed by questions on your presentation; and
- Questions on a legal scenario, which we will provide you shortly before the interview.
We encourage you to bring paper and a pen to the interview to make notes, if that would help structure your thoughts.
Interviews will be in-person, likely in our Birmingham office.
Contact and Additional Information
Interviews will likely be in early November.
When answering our application and in the interview:
- Use your experiences (legal and non-legal) to demonstrate how you meet the indicators for each capability. Read the capability dictionary to understand those indicators. Make notes to refer to during the interview.
- Generic, unevidenced answers will score poorly.
- Consider using the STAR model, focusing on 'Action' and 'Result' to help structure your answer.
AI may be used to inform your written answers, but not simply to generate all or part of an answer’s text. If we reasonably suspect text in your application has been wholly or partially generated by AI, your application will be rejected.
For further information, please contact Henry Sackville Hamilton (henry.sackvillehamilton@environment-agency.gov.uk)
Length of Contract
Up to 2 years
Competence 1: Achieves Results
Description
Tell us about a recent situation where the result you achieved, or the way you that you achieved the result, was better than on a previous occasion.
Competence 2: Focuses on Customers and Partners
Description
A customer wants to do something that you disagree with, but which isn’t illegal.
What experience do you have of a similar situation?
How would you respond, based on that experience?
Competence 3: Legislative Knowledge
Description
Tell us about a time when you had to follow a policy, procedure, or piece of legislation as part of your work, studies, or extracurricular activities.
How did you ensure that you understood what you needed to do to apply it correctly?
Role Specific License Requirements
This role is open to applicants who have passed both stages of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE 1 and 2) or the Legal Practice Course (LPC), or who expect to pass their LPC or SQE 1 and 2 by November 2026.
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If you are applying from the Civil Service please note that the Environment Agency is not a part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant in the event of being appointed. Therefore, you will not be eligible for continuous service. For applicants who currently work in local government or other bodies listed in the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc) (Modification) Order 1999, you may be eligible for continuous service for the purpose of calculating any future redundancy payment. If you are unsure of your status, then you should contact your own HR Team.
We are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share, so please include clearly any information regarding your preferred working arrangements on your application.
We also have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support those with a disability who are seeking employment. We have committed to guaranteeing an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
The Environment Agency, as a Non-Departmental Public Body, is committed to providing value for money and utilises Central Government frameworks and contracts for all external recruitment needs. For this reason, we are unable to engage with the market directly through post, email, or phone calls. Should you wish to become a support supplier on one of these frameworks or contracts, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/become-a-crown-commercial-service-supplier/becoming-a-supplier-through-the-crown-commercial-service-what-you-need-to-know for more information.
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate, and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn, and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Although the Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, we subscribe to and align with the candidate guidance on the use of artificial intelligence found on the Civil Service Careers website. Please review for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
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