As a publicly funded, non-profit organization, Legal Aid Alberta provides affordable legal services in family law, domestic violence, child welfare, immigration, and youth and adult criminal defense. We are Alberta-wide, with 300 staff and 1,200 private practice lawyers helping people overcome their legal challenges in more than 75 communities across the province.
Who You Are
Working at Legal Aid Alberta means you care about people and empathize with their situation. You have excellent communication skills especially in tough situations. You’re computer-savvy and more organized than anyone you know. Fast-paced work environments give you a rush and you’re always up for a challenge. You love learning new things, solving problems, and can adapt to change quickly. You care deeply about the success of our team and our organization.
Job Description
Reporting jointly to the Executive Director, People, Culture & Communications and General Counsel some of the key responsibilities include:
As in-house counsel, provide strategic advice and guidance to ensure LAA’s compliance with applicable regulatory law, pertaining to but not limited to labour/employment relations, occupational health and safety, privacy, contracts and the like.
Represent interests of Legal Aid Alberta in bargaining, labour arbitration hearings and other administrative tribunals.
Provide strategic advice and guidance to Human Resources and Management on employment issues.
Assume the duties of Privacy Officer for LAA including day-to-day management of organizational privacy issues as they arise.
Provide legal opinions and memoranda in an independent manner as required.
Keep LAA Management and relevant teams abreast on any updates to legislation and its impact on workforce and organization.
Provide compliance and ethics guidance and oversight.
Review existing LAA policies to ensure consistency and appropriateness.
Review new policies drafted by policy advisor.
Review and draft agreements, contracts and other legal documents to protect and ensure the organization’s full legal rights.
Occasional travel may be required.
Qualifications
Education and Experience:
Law degree from a recognized University
Membership in good standing with the Law Society of Alberta entitled to practice in Alberta
Minimum of 5+ years of legal experience, including direct experience with labour and employment law
Knowledge and Skills:
Excellent working knowledge of applicable legislation including the Alberta Labour Relations Code, Employment Standards Code, and Alberta Human Rights Act
Knowledge of regulatory and privacy law, policy drafting
Computer literacy, particularly with regards to MS Office (especially Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CRM)
Knowledge of conflict management and ADR techniques
Knowledge of public legal information or adult education tools and techniques
Have the technical skills to provide competent legal services including the ability to investigate facts, identify issues, ascertain organizational objectives, and consider possible solutions and advising LAA on the appropriate course of action
Application of appropriate skills including legal research, writing and drafting, legal analysis, application of the law to the relevant facts, negotiation, advocacy, problem-solving, and conflict resolution
Excellent organizational and time management skills
Ability to use web-based legal research tools and other web-based resources
Well-organized and able to deal with conflicting immediate priorities
Able to work closely with lawyers and non-lawyers in a high stress environment
Maturity, tact and good judgment
Client focused orientation and commitment to providing quality services
Able to promote a calm, controlled working environment
Excellent interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to express ideas, recommendations and advice clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, in a manner appropriate to the audience
Appreciation for the provision of legal services to low-income persons and for improving access to justice.
What We Offer
Perks of working with us
Competitive wage
RRSP employer contribution
Health & dental benefits
Health & wellness accounts
Paid holidays
Weekends off
Work from home opportunities
How To Apply
If you got excited at the prospect of being a part of our team when you reviewed this posting and you meet the minimum qualifications, please select ‘Apply Now’ to create your candidate profile. This competition will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Requirements
Successful candidate will be required to provide an acceptable criminal record check.
