Senior Legal Adviser (General Counsel Advice)

The SRA is the independent regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. We regulate in the public interest to ensure solicitors and law firms adhere to high professional standards. We take action where standards fall short, helping to protect consumers and maintain trust in legal services.

The General Counsel Advice team provides legal advice across the organisation on governance, operational and strategic decision making.

The role

As a Senior Legal Adviser, you will provide high-quality, effective and timely legal advice on a wide range of regulatory, public law, governance and compliance matters.

You will advise on the legal obligations and regulatory powers available to the organisation, including the interpretation and application of legislation and the regulatory framework that underpins the SRA's work.

Working closely with colleagues across the organisation, you will support policy development, contribute to organisational decision-making and help deliver innovative solutions to complex legal and regulatory challenges.

You will also play an important role in mentoring and coaching colleagues, sharing expertise across the team and helping to ensure consistency and quality in the advice provided by the General Counsel function.

The successful candidate will be proactive, collaborative and highly analytical, with excellent judgement and a proven ability to operate effectively in a complex regulatory environment.

What's in it for me?

• Work at the forefront of legal services regulation and contribute directly to the SRA's strategic objectives.
• Advise on complex, high-profile legal, policy and governance issues.
• Gain exposure to a broad range of regulatory and public law matters across the organisation.
• Help shape policy development and organisational decision-making.
• Support and develop colleagues while contributing to a collaborative, high-performing legal team.

What we are looking for

Essential:

• Qualified Solicitor, Barrister, CILEX lawyer or equivalent qualified lawyer with a current practising certificate and experience providing high-quality regulatory and/or public law advice in a comparable environment.
• Demonstrable experience of working within, or advising clients on, applicable statutory frameworks, including statutory interpretation.
• Strong legal analysis and drafting skills gained in a contentious, regulatory or public law setting.
• Proven ability to lead on complex legal issues in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of delivering practical legal advice which adds value and achieves the objectives of the organisation with careful consideration of risks and challenges to implementation.
• Experience supporting, mentoring or coaching colleagues, with a commitment to sharing expertise and contributing to a high-performing team culture.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and influence legal and non-legal colleagues at all levels of the organisation.

Desirable:

• Legal knowledge in one or more of the following areas: contract, financial services regulation, and/or information law.

Useful and additional information

Please see the attached Role Profile for further information regarding the role and requirements.

This is a hybrid role based in Birmingham, Cardiff or London, with an expectation of attending the office one to two days per week. colleagues based outside Birmingham will be expected to travel regularly to Birmingham. The salary for this role is £65,699.31 for Cardiff and Birmingham. For eligible London-based employees, an additional 10% London weighting applies. This is a full-time role working 35 hours per week. We are supportive of helping you achieve a balance between your personal and professional life and are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements at interview. If you have any questions that aren't in this advert or on our website, please contact us via

To apply

Select the apply button at the bottom of the advert. You will need to upload a CV and provide evidence of your knowledge, skills and experience and how they specifically relate to key requirements of the role, in particular what we have highlighted under the 'What we are looking for' section. The responses you provide in the application form will be used to shortlist your application. Answers to each criterion must be no more than 300 words.

Kindly note that, in response to the first essential criterion, you should clearly state your qualifying professional body/ regulator and confirm whether you hold a valid practising certificate. To find out more about the recruitment and selection process and how to make the most of your application, please visit our jobs pages.