Senior Lawyer

**Senior Criminal Defence Lawyer PAL 3 or 4**
**Christchurch**

**Te whiwhinga mahi/The Opportunity**

The Public Defence Service (PDS) is looking for an experienced lawyer with a speciality in criminal advocacy to join our team in our Christchurch office.

You will have a caseload of varied criminal work - including high profile and challenging cases, High Court and Court of Appeal appearances. You will also be involved in training, mentoring, and supervising junior PDS lawyers. Our work comes to us via Legal Aid, and we make sure that you are supported by an experience administrative team - meaning you can focus on doing what you do best.

**He pūkenga tou/Skills and Experience**

To qualify you must be passionate about criminal justice issues and:

- have a PAL 3 or 4 approval level and be qualified to practice law in New Zealand
- have proven credibility with judges, peers and others in the legal community
- be comfortable to be part of a team who support and rely on one-another
- enjoy sharing legal expertise, exchanging ideas and brainstorming
- have empathy and the ability to relate to a wide range of people
- This is a challenging but truly satisfying job, and our lawyers love what they do.

**Ko wai mātou/Who we are**

At Te Tāhū o te Ture - the Ministry of Justice, we're committed to working together for a fair and safe Aotearoa.

The PDS is part of the Ministry of Justice and the wider justice sector. The Ministry provides centralised business services, infrastructure, and support to the work of the PDS.

The Public Defence Service (PDS) provides high quality legal advice and representation in a full range of criminal cases. Aimed at helping people access justice, the PDS promotes the values of respect, integrity, service and the delivery of excellent service to its clients.

**Joining Te Tāhū o te Ture means you will become part of an organisation that welcomes and supports people of all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, disabilities, and religions.**

**He aha ngā painga o tēnei mahi mōu/Why you will enjoy working here**

There is so much more support and collegiality than anywhere else I have worked. You have so many experts around you to bounce ideas off. (Edith)

We will provide you with:

- Access to a well-designed and embedded national training programme
- Professional development and opportunities to attend conferences
- A professional supervision programme
- Flexible working options
- A laptop and mobile phone

**Utu ā-tau/Salary**

The appointing salary for this role will be between $110,147 and $143,839 based on skills and experience.

**Tono mai/How to Apply