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About the Role
We are seeking a skilled and motivated Junior Legal Counsel to join our in-house Legal Services team. This is a dynamic role at the heart of the University’s operations, providing essential legal support in managing a broad range of litigation matters including contractual disputes, student-related claims, and regulatory compliance.
Working closely with the University’s Legal Services team, external counsel, and internal stakeholders, you will play a vital role in ensuring the University’s legal interests are protected. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced paralegal or junior Solicitor looking to develop their career within a complex and intellectually rewarding environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Litigation Support: Assist in the preparation and management of litigation and dispute resolution cases, including drafting correspondence, reviewing documents, and liaising with legal representatives.
- Document Drafting: Draft legal documents, including statements of case and defences, witness statements, instructions to counsel, and court forms under supervision.
- Case Management: Maintain and update case files, track key deadlines, and ensure proper document control and storage for all ongoing and potential claims.
- Legal Research: Conduct legal research and provide concise summaries to support ongoing litigation, ensuring relevance to the higher education and regulatory landscape.
- Regulatory Support: Support the Legal Services team on matters involving regulatory bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Office for Students (OfS).
- Client Liaison: Act as a point of contact for internal clients and external solicitors, maintaining clear and professional communication.
- Risk & Compliance: Assist in identifying legal risks in contentious matters and provide administrative support to ensure compliance with data protection, Freedom of Infomation (FOI) requests, and relevant legal protocols.
- Training & Development: Contribute to the development of training materials and guidance documents for staff on litigation related matters.
About You
Essential:
- Proven experience in a litigation or disputes environment (in-house or private practice).
- Sound understanding of the civil litigation process in England and Wales, including pre-action protocols and court procedures.
- Strong legal research and analytical skills, with the ability to summarise complex information clearly and accurately
- A strong commitment to excellence in working with a diverse student population.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft legal documentation to a high standard.
- Strong organisational and time management skills with a proactive and detail-oriented approach.
- Competency with legal case management systems and Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.).
Desirable:
- Experience working within the higher education or public sector.
- Familiarity with judicial review or administrative law processes.
- Knowledge of student complaints procedures or regulatory frameworks applicable to universities (e.g. OIA, OfS).
- Legal qualification such as a Law Degree, LPC, NALP, CILEX, or equivalent.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.
What's in it for you?
At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).
Flexible working
We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.
It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d anticipate this to be on average twice per week.
Next steps in the Recruitment process
We anticipate that we will be conducting interviews for this role during the week commencing 27 April 2026.
Early closing date notification
While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications has been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented. If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.
How to apply
To apply for this role please submit the following documents:
- CV
- A personal statement of up to 1000 words. You should set out in your statement why you are interested in the role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the criteria for this role as detailed above within the job description.
You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.
