Assistant Director (Litigation)

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the Litigation Unit at the heart of the Competition and Markets Authority’s Legal Service.

With markets changing, this is an exciting time to join the team and make a real and positive impact on the UK economy and society.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. Our work is wide ranging, ambitious and often new and challenging.

Our Litigation team plays a central and increasingly important role in delivering successful outcomes across the CMA’s work – for example by defending our competition decisions on appeal, litigating to enforce consumer protection law, obtaining warrants to support our investigations and obtaining director disqualification orders.

The volume and profile of the litigation we undertake has increased substantially in recent years, and is expected to grow further in light of the expansion of our case work, following the UK’s exit from the EU and the addition of new CMA functions.

The role

As an Assistant Litigation Director, you will support the Litigation Directors in conducting all of the CMA’s civil litigation, with the main focus being on competition and consumer enforcement appeals, challenges to merger decisions, director disqualification proceedings and public law cases.

Engaging with external stakeholders and internal stakeholders throughout the CMA, you will help decision makers identify litigation risk in their investigations and decision making.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading the day-to-day conduct and management of CMA litigation casework and projects
• Advising project case-teams to ensure the strengths and weaknesses of a case are considered before litigation is commenced
• Providing advice on litigation risk to decision makers across the CMA and providing advice on litigation procedure
• Providing regular litigation updates to decision makers on each case
• Playing a constructive role in the development of the CMA’s Litigation Unit Monitoring and assimilating developments in relevant legislation and case law and litigation practice and assisting in the CMA’s legal knowledge management
• Contribute to the CMA’s external activities

About you

You will be a fully qualified lawyer entitled to practise in the UK (including Scotland or NI) or evidence of preparedness to sit and pass the SQE within three years of appointment (and to qualify in England and Wales if not already qualified).

Significant experience of litigating in the UK, or other common law jurisdictions, is essential, as is the ability to deal with complex and document heavy cases and take the lead in key workstreams such as disclosure exercises, litigation project planning and resource management.

Significant experience in managing, coaching and motivating staff, including managing performance and development is equally important.

Experience of competition/consumer law is desirable but not essential.

Please note we are also recruiting for Legal Advisers. If you would like to be considered for the roles of Assistant Legal Director and Legal Adviser, you will need to submit a separate application for each role. 

What we can offer you

The CMA is a hugely diverse, rewarding and stimulating place to work – an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself in doing so while also having considerable flexibility when it comes to how and when you work. We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%, at least 25 days leave (increasing to 30 over five years), and generous maternity/paternity leave provision. You can also take advantage of interest-free season ticket loans, a cycle to work scheme.

To find out more about this opportunity and about working for the CMA, please click on the APPLY button.

Please note that for exceptional international candidates, we may be able to sponsor your right to work in the UK, subject to your eligibility to work for the Civil Service. Sponsorship will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Closing date for applications: 11:55 pm on Monday 12th February 2024.

Like many other organisations, we operate a hybrid working model with a mix of office and home working. We believe this supports us to deliver our best work while allowing the flexibility to maintain balanced and healthy lives.

The CMA are an accredited Disability Confident Employer, and we are an equal opportunities employer, welcoming suitably qualified applicants from all backgrounds. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.