Assistant Principal Solicitor (Practice Lead) – Civil & Crime

• Permanent full time (35 hours per week)
• Bankstown (hybrid work available)
• Community Legal Centre incorporating domestic and family violence services
• Salary: SCHADS Level 8: $71.35-$74.16 per hour base super depending on experience)
• Minimum 5 years PAE (post-admission experience)
• Flexible work conditions salary packaging to increase take-home pay 5 weeks annual leave (pro rata) plus leave loading additional leave at Christmas.

Youre an experienced civil or crime lawyer who enjoys leading people setting strategic direction for a team and delivering strong outcomes for clients. You bring a trauma-informed approach to your legal work and a commitment to improving access to justice.

Lead a high-impact civil and traffic practice and help shape how justice is delivered to clients living in South West Sydney with a focus on targeting vulnerable and disadvantaged communities especially refugees and women at risk of domestic and family violence.

Justice Support Centre is seeking an Assistant Principal Solicitor (APS) to lead our Civil & Driving and Traffic practice and work alongishde the Principal Solicitor and Family Law APS to shape the overall direction and strategy of the legal practice. Youll lead the Civil and Driving & Traffic practice supervise and develop lawyers set practice standards and drive strategic service improvements while keeping your own active caseload.

About Justice Support Centre

Justice Support Centre is a Not-for-Profit organisation committed to providing timely effective and high-quality legal services to the community. We focus on delivering legal support through telephone advice face-to-face consultations legal representation community legal education and participation in law reform activities. We primarily assist clients who are financially-disadvantaged as well as victim-survivors of domestic violence & family violence in addition to other priority criteria.

About the role

Justice Support Centre (JSC) has two Assistant Principal Solicitors (APS) each leading a designated practice with overall responsibility for supervision performance and practice standards within their team. The Principal Solicitor and the two APSs operate as a collaborative management team working closely to align practice direction oversee operations lead people management and drive strategic projects across the practice.

The role also contributes to the strategic development of the Civil and Driving & Traffic Practice including strengthening a targeted domestic financial abuse advice and casework stream that is integrated with JSCs broader domestic and family violence response.

Nature and Scope of Position

Justice Support Centre is a generalist community legal centre providing legal advice casework and community education across civil and criminal law as well as family law and domestic violence legal support. JSC works closely with internal casework teams and external partners to deliver integrated and wrap-around responses for people experiencing disadvantage particularly women experiencing domestic and family violence.

The APS ensures that the Civil and Driving & Traffic practice operates consistently with JSCs commitment to trauma-informed client-centred and culturally safe legal practice and integrated service delivery and works in partnership with the Principal Solicitor and Family Law APS to ensure consistency of practice standards risk management and service delivery across all legal programs.

The APS Civil & Crime provides supervision leadership and oversight to lawyers within the Civil and Driving & Traffic team working in collaboration with Senior Civil and Crime Solicitors who may provide subject-matter expertise and mentoring support. The APS retains overall responsibility for civil/crime team performance professional development workload management project oversight and staff wellbeing.

In addition to their leadership responsibilities the APS maintains an active Civil/Criminal legal practice. The role includes contributing to JSCs telephone advice service managing casework delivering community legal education participating in law reform initiatives supervising pro bono lawyers and coordinating key stakeholder relationships and outreach activities.

FOCUS AREAS

This role primarily covers:

• Civil Law including Victim Services motor vehicle accident property damage social security and employment law
• Driving & Trafficmatters (including Local Court duty lawyer work).

You may also contribute to other practice areas depending on community needs and Centre priorities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key responsibilities include:

• lead the Civil & Driving/Traffic practice: set direction priorities practice standards and support a collaborative and high-performing culture
• manage and develop people: supervise solicitors provide coaching and file review support wellbeing and contribute to recruitment and workforce planning
• maintain your own active civil/crime legal practice and deliver legal advice and targeted casework to clients
• supervision of civil & crime practice: oversee the quality consistency and timeliness of legal advice and casework across the civil & crime team
• complex litigation: identify and support opportunities for strategic or impact litigation aligned with organisational priorities
• pro bono management: manage supervise and support pro bono relationships and clinics in coordination
• oversee practice management and quality control strategies in collaboration with the Family Law APS ensuring adherence to legislative requirements the CLC Risk Management Guide and funding agreement obligations
• drive improvement and impact: lead strategic projects refine intake and practice systems (including Actionstep)
• build partnerships and projects: strengthen stakeholder relationships represent JSC at interagency and stakeholder meetings contribute to community legal education and legal communications and support law reform and advocacy initiatives.

Reporting

The Assistant Principal Solicitor Civil & Crime will report to the Principal the absence of the Principal Solicitor the Assistant Principal Solicitor Civil & Crime will report to the CEO.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS EXPERIENCE

Essential

• a current Law Society of NSW unrestricted Practising Certificate and is eligible and able to practice law in NSW as a principal of a legal practice
• substantial post-admission experience (minimum 4 years) including litigation and court advocacy in one or more of the Focus Areas
• demonstrated experience delivering high-quality trauma-informed legal advice
• substantial experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse clients and a commitment to culturally safe practice
• demonstrated capacity to work holistically with victim-survivors experiencing complex and intersecting needs
• demonstrated experience supervising solicitors and demonstrated capacity to lead a team including mentoring and supervising staff and maintaining oversight of workload wellbeing and professional development
• strong understanding of legal practice management regulatory compliance and risk management obligations
• strong written and verbal communication skills including drafting court documents and contributing to reports law reform submissions and funding applications
• demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective stakeholder relationships and represent an organisation in external forums
• demonstrated ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• demonstrated commitment to social justice
• demonstrated ability to work with clients from a diverse range of backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people people with a disability young people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• strong ICT and case management capability
• current drivers licence and access to an insured vehicle.

Desirable

• experience working in a community legal centre
• experience supervising pro bono clinics or volunteer lawyers
• experience in domestic financial abuse advice and casework
• strong understanding of domestic and family violence and trauma-informed practice
• experience contributing to law reform or sector advocacy initiatives
• experience using Actionstep or similar legal case management systems.
• familiarity with integrated or multidisciplinary service models.

Whats on offer

You will report to the Principal Solicitor and will lead a team of four lawyers plus pro bono lawyers and volunteers. Youll have autonomy to set day-to-day practice priorities with support from a collaborative leadership team.

Success in this role looks like: a well-supported team delivering consistently high-quality advice and casework; strong file and risk management; improved systems and service pathways; and measurable impact for clients and the community.

We are offering an attractive total remuneration package (see SCHADS Level 8 salary range above) depending on skills and experience.

In addition Justice Support Centre also offer excellentemployee benefits which include:

• a range of flexible work arrangements including hybrid WFH arrangements
• 9 weeks paid parental leave
• access to Long Service Leave after 5 years
• generous leave benefits (5 weeks annual leave 5 Gratis days at Christmas 17 days sick/personal leave per year)
• 35 hour working week which can be worked over 4 or 5 days within the working week
• learning and development opportunities.

How to apply for this position

• apply online with your cover letter detailing how your skills and experience meet the essential and prefered criteria along with your resume.
• please address the essential and prefered criteria in full. Applications that do not address the essential criteria will not be considered.

Closing Date:Friday 15 May 2026 5pm

Contact Person:Enquiries about the roles should be emailed to Liz Simpson Principal

If youre ready to step into a genuine practice leadership role with the opportunity to shape strategy support a dedicated team and deliver meaningful outcomes wed love to hear from you. Apply via the link above or email the Contact Person for a confidential conversation about the role and what success could look like for you at JSC.

The preferred applicants will be required to undergo a Working with Children Check and a National Police Records Check.