Litigation Lawyer

Job summary

We are recruiting experienced lawyers to join our Financial Disruptions and Litigation Team. However, there is a possibility that you may be moved to a different litigation team in the future if the business need changes.

Asset Denial and Financial Disruptions

You will work collaboratively with our investigative teams and specialist counsel to investigate and recover criminal property, including cash, listed assets (such as gold, jewellery and works of art) and real estate through civil litigation (including in the High Court) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Virtual Open Evening Event

To find out more about the role and the application process we will be holding a virtual opening evening via MS Teams on Monday 23rd February 2026 at 1800-1900 hours.

This event is by invitation only.

To register, please click on the following link

G2 Litigation Lawyer Virtual Event

You will be asked for your name and email address.

Registration will close on Monday23rd February at 1000 hours.

You will not be able to register after this date and time.

Job description

In providing legal advice and assistance, our team contributes to the setting of investigative strategy and, in advance of the substantive legal proceedings, you will be responsible for making a wide range of applications under Part 5 and 8 of POCA 2002 including search and seizure warrants, disclosure orders, unexplained wealth orders and property freezing orders. Our cases are amongst the most complex and high-profile and the novel issues raised have recently been litigated right up to the Supreme Court. You will also have opportunities to build relationships with internal and external partners including our internal press office, senior officers within the Agency, the National Economic Crime Centre and our partners agencies (such as the CPS and the SFO) in order to shape strategy and help drive the future direction of the NCA in this growing area of work.

Duties and Responsibilities

Collaborative Working

Work in collaboration with investigative teams and/or specialist counsel through effective communication styles in a timely manner. By sharing knowledge, expertise and experience to meet shared objectives.

Remain up to date with legal changes

Continuously keeping up to date with case law, legislation and regulations that impacts the NCA.

Provide Legal Advice

Providing accurate, relevant legal advice on a variety of topics.

Caseload Management

Taking responsibility of a caseload from initial contact to completion through time and priority management.

Legal Risk Management

Proactively identify legal risks by assessing the potential impact and advising on how to mitigate to ensure legal compliance.

Person specification

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Time Management

The ability to effectively manage time and workload, identifying risks and competing tasks prioritising accordingly whilst ensuring tasks are completed to agreed standards and timelines.

Resilient

The ability to adapt and recover from setbacks and adversity by maintaining a positive mindset, displaying mental toughness, and possessing a strong sense of perseverance.

Innovative

Ability to question existing ways of working and championing continuous improvement by seeking solutions outside those that are readily available.

Reliable legal judgement and an appreciation of legal risk

Ability to make risk-based decisions by using legal knowledge and judgement to ensure legal risks are identified, mitigated and communicated.

Making Effective Decisions

The ability to make effective decisions in a fast paced, operational environment and manage complex cases with minimal supervision. Through processing the information clearly, evaluates evidence and options to quickly reach a decision.

Creative and Strategic Thinking

The ability to think creatively and strategically and see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.

Team Work

The ability to work as part of a team on cases with for example, Counsel, paralegals and operational colleagues.

Working on complex cases with multiple stakeholders

Post qualification experience of working on complex cases with multiple stakeholders.

Experience of the following area of law

Complex civil litigation strategy and tactics.

Qualifications

To apply for this role you must be either
(a) Solicitor or Barrister qualified to practice in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, with significant relevant experience; or (b) Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, with significant relevant experience.
Upon appointment, Barristers and Solicitors qualified in Northern Ireland will be registered by the NCA with their respective professional bodies in England & Wales, to enable them to practice in both jurisdictions.

You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx. Professional entry criteria for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e. Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) / Common Professional Examination (CPE) has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in law:

1. Criminal Law
2. Equity and Trusts
3. Law of the European Union
4. Obligations 1 (Contract)
5. Obligations 2 (Tort)
6. Property / Land Law
7. Public Law (Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights Law)

Additionally, Chartered Legal Executives may need a Practice Rights Certificate depending on the role.

Solicitors should also include their roll number.

Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A sound understanding of complex civil litigation (lead criteria)
• The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.
• The ability to make effective decisions under pressure in a fast-paced operational environment within minimal supervision.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £67,609, National Crime Agency contributes £19,586 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.

If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).

Other benefits include:

• Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
• Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
• Learning and Development opportunities
• Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
• Housing schemes - Key Worker status
• Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway , Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
• Staff support groups/networks
• Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)

Further information is available on the NCA Website.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Your application will be assessed against the following:

Experience - This will be assessed:

CV

Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.

Details of what is expected within you CV are as follows: Please ensure that each entry of your career history has a few sentences outlining a description and the key elements of the role.

Statement of Suitability

Please provide a 750 word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria below:

Relevant litigation law experience and evidence of the technical criteria for this role as follows:

- A sound understanding of complex civil litigation.
- The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.
- The ability to make effective decisions under pressure in a fast-paced operational environment within minimal supervision.

A panel will assess how well your application demonstrates the requirements outlined above.

Longlist

In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.

- A sound understanding of complex civil litigation. .

Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.

You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.

We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.

Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.

For guidance on the application process, visit:
NCA Applying and Onboarding

Assessment 1

The format of this assessment will be a Role Play Exercise and Interview which will be tested on via the details listed below.

Candidates who pass the sift process will be invited to the interview process. This will consist of a role play exercise and interview questions. The role play exercise will assess the following:

Communicating and Influencing

The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.

An hour before your interview you will be sent a scenario and relevant extracts of the law. You will review this and prepare your verbal response. You will then join the interview panel and give your advice where follow-up questions may be asked (15 minutes).

This will be followed by the interview questions.

Success Profiles at Assessment

Behaviours

• Communicating and Influencing

• Making Effective Decisions

• Leadership

• Working Together

Technical

• A sound understanding of complex civil litigation.

• The ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly.

• The ability to make effective decisions under pressure in a fast-paced operational environment within minimal supervision.

Assessment Outcome

Outcomes will be communicated via the NCA recruitment portal.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.

In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:

1. Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
2. If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
3. If still tied, application sift scores will be used

Feedback is provided only to those who attend an assessment.

You will be subject to vetting and pre-employment checks before appointment.

Once the vacancy closes, the advert will no longer be accessible. Please save a copy for your records.

We encourage all candidates to visit the NCA Careers Page for more information.

Full advert details for this vacancy can found on the advert on the NCA Recruitment Portal. Please follow the link to apply at advertisers' site.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : The Recruitment Team
• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
• Telephone : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk

Further information

If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: Central.Recruitment@nca.gov.uk (quoting the vacancy reference).
If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.