Junior Legal Counsel

  Req ID: 180285
Company: Nova Scotia Health
Location: Central Zone, Halifax Regional Municipality
Department: General Counsel Legal Services Labour
Type of Employment: Permanent   Hourly FT (100%FTE) x 1position(s)
Status: Management/Non Union P osition
Posting Closing Date: 24-May-24

Nova Scotia Health is the largest provider of health services in Nova Scotia, with some specialized services also offered to clients throughout Atlantic Canada. We’re on a mission to achieve excellence in health, healing and learning through working together, which is reflected in the hospitals, health centres and community-based programs we operate across the province. Our passionate team of professionals provides a variety of high-quality inpatient and outpatient services including academic, tertiary, and quaternary care, as well as continuing care, primary health care, public health, and mental health and addictions. Join a diverse team of innovators, collaborators and creative thinkers today.

Nova Scotia Health employs professionals in all corners of our beautiful province. We believe there's a place here for everyone to call home, from vibrant cities with exuberant nightlife to quaint towns with picturesque trails. The work-life balance that comes with an Nova Scotia Health role means you'll have the time to explore, discover, and participate in that coveted Atlantic lifestyle. Visit us today and check out to see why more people from across the globe are moving here.

About the Opportunity

Reporting directly to the Managing Lawyer for Labour Relations, acts as a corporate resource to NSHA and IWK as an integral member of the Labour Relations team. 
Working closely with senior leaders within each client’s organization, the Labour Lawyer learns the strategic direction, values and operational needs of each organization (NSHA and IWK) and provides sound legal advice, advocacy, representation, education and targeted capacity development in the areas of labour law within a context of supporting the client’s strategic objectives and understanding and working within broader health and public sector parameters.

The Labour Lawyer provides collective agreement interpretation, legal advice and strategic direction; analyses and provides advice on complex, sensitive and multidimensional problems, both independently and as a part of the labour law team. The Labour Lawyer provides advice on and assessment of, and acts as counsel in presenting grievances at labour arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. The labour lawyer’s role includes significant and far-reaching operational impacts both positive and negative for the operations of the organizations through advice, representation and/or bargaining. These impacts have effects across the health sector and include financial (i.e. impact on the financial position of the organizations), relational (i.e. impact on relationships between employees, unions and management staff), political (i.e. impacting relationships between unions, government and politicians), and public relations(i.e. impacting how the media and public view the employer and/o government). Impact of advice and results of actions can be deeply personal catastrophic to a single employee (for example termination) or could positively or negatively impact thousands of employees (pay, benefits, policy or operational matters).

The Labour Lawyer provides legal representation for NSHA and IWK to external parties, including courts and tribunals.

About You

We would love to hear from you if you have the following:

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB/JD); 
• Practicing member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society or eligible to become a practicing member
• Minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience in labour law; particular consideration given to candidates with labour law experience and/or general litigation; commercial arbitration experience.
• Experience in health care sector and risk management desirable.
• Extensive knowledge of current labour law, including legislation, regulations, case law, trends, and procedures. Ability to stay informed and up to date on changes in the labour field.
• Ability to conduct proactive intensive research to stay current of relevant legal areas impacting unionized and non-union employees. 
• Ability to analysis related to specific questions, issues, grievances, projects and collective bargaining proposals, including leading preparation of Employer’s proposals and responding to Union’s proposals.
• Exceptional understanding and experience working within unionized environments (including learning styles and behaviours of different unions and different union representatives as it relates to representation of specific clients).
• Creative and complex problem solving
• Application of personal professional judgement
• The ability to contextualize and practically articulate complex legal analysis in a manner that is understandable, practical and useful to applicable clients (based on client’s complexity, knowledge base, interests, communication styles).
• Strong advocacy skills
• Ability to layer, integrate and/or resolve complex and conflicting objectives across an employer, across multi-employers, with government, with union(s).
• Effective interpersonal communication skills, both oral and written. 
• Demonstrated ability to respond to client needs for quality legal services, to anticipate problems
and to work effectively with clients toward resolutions.
• Effective in demanding circumstances, ability to offer creative and innovative solutions to complex challenges, and adapt and thrive in a continuously changing and demanding environment.
• Ability to collaborate, as well as work independently, balancing competing priorities.
• Experience advising health authorities, government departments or agencies would be considered an asset in this role, as would practice experience in one or more of the following areas:

• administrative law
• contracts law
• employment law
• corporate and governance
• privacy law

Please ensure your resume is up to date and includes all relevant education, experience, training, and certifications.

Hours

• Permanent, full-time position, 75 hrs bi-weekly

Compensation and Incentives

$45.45 - $56.81 Hourly

Successful candidates may be eligible for our benefits package which includes health, dental, travel, long-term disability, and life insurance coverage as well as a defined benefit pension plan.

Once You've Applied

Thank you for your interest in this position. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.  Nova Scotia Health is committed to being a workforce that is free of discrimination, values diversity and is representative, at all job levels, of the people we serve. We encourage all qualified applicants who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotian, Persons of Colour, Foreign Nationals/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply and self-identify. Follow Us!