Legal

“New legislation, newsworthy stories, being able to see your work make a difference”

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Legal services at the council

Thousands of staff, hundreds of thousands of residents. New legislation, newsworthy stories. Changing needs and unexpected events. Here in Legal Services, we operate within a complex, highly regulated and constantly moving environment. Which brings many challenges – not to mention its own personal and professional rewards.

As a talented, 39-strong team of solicitors and support staff, we provide first-class legal advice to all of the County Council’s departments, members and maintained schools. Now, ask any of our people why they work here and they’ll tell you about the incredible satisfaction that comes from working for the greater good. Being able to see your work make a difference. That, and the variety, the intellectual challenge, the quality of life, the fact that we don’t have to stress about billing hours…we’ve a lot going for us as a legal team here in Somerset.

Developing your career in law

When you join Legal Services, you’ll have the opportunity to build up specialist knowledge – by working within specialist teams. There’s no pigeonholing. It’s your career so you get to choose which direction you want to take it in.

Your continued professional development means everything to us. If you’re just starting out, we’ll support you to gain recognised legal qualifications. (In fact, the majority of our lawyers have qualified with us.) Whatever stage you’re at in your career, we want you to keep learning, keep growing.

And the greater good we’ve mentioned? Well, it starts with people like you. People who care. Who want to make lives better. That’s why we’ll do everything we can to help you work in the way that suits you and your commitments. Because helping brilliant people do brilliant things is what we’re all about.

Meet the team

Emma Harrison, Solicitor – Advocate

“The law in relation to deprivation of liberty has changed dramatically in recent years – and the issues have extended into Childcare law. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working within Adult Social care, creating and presenting talks to social workers and schools, and working with the Children with Disabilities Team to create a procedure to deal with these cases.

The council has really invested in me. When I started, I was a paralegal fresh out of my LPC course. From there, the council has supported me to qualify as a legal executive, solicitor and a solicitor-advocate. They also supported me when I was appointed as a National Lead for Adult Social Care in Lawyers for Local Government (LLG).

The council has been really supportive on my return from maternity leave. There are monthly meetings for people returning from maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave. I’ve found these extremely beneficial in getting back into the flow of work and being able to talk to like-minded people about maintaining a work/life balance.”

Get in touch

We're always pleased to hear from talented people. So if you've got any questions about the opportunities that we have available in Legal, or if there's anything else you'd like to know before you apply (or even during the application process), please get in touch with us.

Email the team

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"The council is full of supportive colleagues who encourage you to try your best. I really enjoyed building close working relationships with colleagues across the council. They’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and every colleague's skillset and background is valued."

"The council offer flexible working and really trust their colleagues to work from home. Management is supportive and avoids resorting to without micro-managing. There are opportunities to develop with managers keen to support your career progression."

"Supportive and inclusive employer. Working here is immensely rewarding, knowing you have helped so many people. The way SCC has dealt with the challenges presented by Covid, and the support it has given the community, makes me feel proud to be part of the organisation"

"Salaries aren't as high as private sector, but the great benefits package does make up for that. The council offer flexible working and lots of opportunity to build a long-term career in an ever changing government organisation. If you like the challenge of continuous change, this could be the place for you."

"If feel that my work for the council is hugely valuable. That I am supporting some incredibly important services. The organisation is forward-thinking in terms of ways of working, offering good technology and working-from-home benefits, all underpinned by an understanding management culture."

"The council is a good place to work if you want to work part time. You have access to ongoing learning. Management on the whole is good. Everyone works very hard, focused on doing something worthwhile and helping professionals, and keen to demonstrate that they are offering good value for money."

"Working for the council is challenging and stimulating. Social Care is difficult but rewarding when the quality of the service can be maintained. There is a genuine culture of reward for hard work. Social Care is a changing and evolving service, and the council has a dynamic reputation."

"Supportive work environment and colleagues. Over the last 12 years I have worked with a variety of brilliant teams, each time developing new skills and gaining experience. SCC has adapted well to remote working during the pandemic with staff wellbeing at the top of the agenda."

One Somerset