Senior Lawyer (Litigation and Advisory)

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing team of expert and well-respected lawyers providing a range of in-house legal services to the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA).

We are a growing organisation of over 150 people, with our headquarters in central Reading. The TRA carries out investigations into unfair trading practices and recommends measures to the Secretary of State. This work is novel within the UK, and the Legal team at the TRA is at the forefront in developing this new field of law based on complex legislation and the underpinning World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

This Senior Lawyer position is a hybrid role, covering both litigation and advisory work, with a focus on litigation (depending on business needs).

Litigation: you will be responsible for leading the TRA’s defence of any appeals brought in the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) and any judicial review proceedings.

Advisory: you will also be responsible for providing legal advice and support to case teams carrying out trade remedies investigations and reviews, to help ensure that our decisions and processes are legally robust.

Job description

Key Accountabilities

Litigation:

• Lead and manage trade remedies litigation efficiently and effectively, drafting instructions to counsel and providing advice and support to TRA colleagues and counsel;
• Coordinate the TRA’s response to litigation across all court levels, from the Upper Tribunal to the Supreme Court;
• Manage junior lawyers and staff working on litigation;
• Work closely and collaboratively with finance team to manage litigation costs and budgets;
• Set up and manage processes and systems to support litigation delivery;
• Provide guidance and training to legal and non-legal colleagues to strengthen readiness for litigation; and
• Build and develop relationships with external stakeholders, including counsel and the tribunal and court systems

Advisory:

• Advise on trade remedies investigations, providing high-quality, solutions-focussed and risk-based advice to help inform decision making, covering domestic trade remedies law, WTO law and public law;
• Make interpretive decisions, which create precedent and provide authoritative specialist advice to senior decision makers; and
• Proactively develop your legal skills and expertise in domestic trade remedies and WTO law.

General:

As a senior leader in the TRA, contribute to the wider leadership of the TRA and be involved in projects and initiatives beyond your immediate business role, which help to support the TRA’s values of Dynamism, Expertise, Integrity and Openness, and deliver the TRA’s strategic goals and business plan priorities.

Person specification

Personal Attributes & Skills

• You will have experience in leading and managing litigation, including public law litigation, efficiently and effectively.
• You will have excellent judgement and strong analytical skills with the ability to conduct high-quality legal research and produce robust legal analysis and advice.
• You will be proficient in interpreting and applying statute, case law and public law, and demonstrate a sound awareness of legal risk in your decision making.
• You take a solutions-focussed approach to legal problem solving, considering broader contextual and policy factors to inform your advice.

Essential Experience:

Litigation: Experience leading and managing litigation, including public law litigation, efficiently and effectively, including:

• developing the strategy for responding to a legal challenge and coordinating the response across internal and external stakeholders (including counsel);
• preparing submissions and meeting tribunal or court deadlines;
• managing disclosure of documents and compiling and filing statements of case, witness statements and bundles; and
• conducting correspondence with parties to litigation, including applicants/claimants, and tribunals or courts.

Legal advice: Demonstrable expertise in statutory interpretation and the ability to provide accurate, high-quality, timely and solutions-focussed legal advice. Consistently and proactively identifying key legal issues and can explain legal options clearly.

Legal judgment and risk: Experience in identifying legal risks, providing clear assessments of those risks and exercising sound legal judgment, taking into account policy and operational contexts.

Preferred Experience:

• Knowledge and experience of domestic trade remedies law; and
• Knowledge and experience of applying public law considerations to decision making.

Qualifications

Fully qualified solicitor/barrister entitled to practice in England and Wales (evidence of entitlement to practice must be provided in the application).
Degree-level educated (2:1 or above) or provide evidence of an equivalent high-level academic or professional achievement

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Written Legal Assessment
• Oral Presentation (including time for questions)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,822, Trade Remedies Authority contributes £20,227 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Please refer to the candidate pack attached for further information.

Useful Information for Existing Civil Servants:

Existing Civil Servants should note that working for the TRA, you will be employed as a public servant. This means:

This vacancy is for a position in the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). TRA employees are not Civil Servants. Individuals applying for this role from the Civil Service are advised to review terms prior to accepting the offer. Key terms are outlined in the benefits section of this advert (these are not exhaustive). Individuals can also discuss with hiring managers and the TRA People Team on resourcing.enquiries@traderemedies.gov.uk.

Your continuity of service for employment protection will start on the day you join us. We are not an employer of the Crown and therefore cannot recognise previous employment with the Civil Service for the purpose of qualifying for Employment Rights. An employee must have 2 years’ length of service with TRA before Employment Rights are recognised.

If you are a member of the Civil Service Pension scheme, your membership and reckonable service will continue with us, providing there is no break between your Civil Service employment and your employment as a public servant with TRA.

We will recognise the annual leave you have built up, up to a maximum of 30 days, and the sick pay entitlement taking account of your length of service in the Civil Service.

If you choose to re-join the Civil Service at any point in the future, this will be according to the policies of the department you are joining following your resignation from TRA. You may also wish to be aware that under Exception 5 of the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, the re-employment of a former Civil Servant is possible within a maximum of five years of leaving the Civil Service, subject to qualifying criteria being met and depending on the policies of the department you are joining.

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.

To Apply:

You will need to complete a CV and a personal statement (maximum 750 words).

If more than 20 applications are received, an initial sift will be carried out on the basis of CVs. The lead sift criteria will be litigation experience.

Your CV should set out your education, professional qualifications and employment history to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role.

Your personal statement (maximum 750 words) should provide evidence to demonstrate how your experience, skills and attributes meet the criteria for the role.

Interview:

The interview will consist of a written assessment to be completed on the assessment day under timed conditions, an oral presentation with time for questions and a 45-minute behaviour-based interview.

The behaviours to be assessed are managing a quality service, leadership, making effective decisions and communicating and influencing.

A note of any legislation relevant to the written assessment will be sent to candidates selected for interview in advance of the interview.

Timeline:

Advert closes: 1st March 2026

Shortlist: W/C 2nd March 2026

Interviews: W/C 18th March 2026

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

The interview will be online via Microsoft Teams. You will be provided with further details if you are selected for interview.

Faraz Shibli (Senior lawyer) is offering the opportunity for drop-in sessions. Please email faraz.shibli@traderemedies.gov.uk for more information.

Further Information

We are Inclusive

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request adjustments.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to TRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via TRArecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

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

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 : Faraz Shibli
• Email : faraz.shibli@traderemedies.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : TRArecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment is on merit based on fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, which can be found at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/20…. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, please contact: resourcing.enquiries@traderemedies.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission (at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/civilserv…).

Attachments

Candidate Pack - Interim (6) (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 368kB)