Job description for Expert Employment Lawyer/Writer – IDS Brief

IDS Brief is the information service in daily use by employment tribunals and all those concerned with employment law. It is part of Incomes Data Services, the leading employment research organisation recently purchased by the Sweet & Maxwell Group.

We are currently looking for a highly proficient employment lawyer with excellent writing skills to join the IDS Brief team at a senior level. The successful candidate will play a key role in the writing and editing of the well-respected journal, IDS Employment Law Brief, and IDS Employment Law Handbooks and Supplements. Responsibilities may also include editorial maintenance and development of our online services

The successful candidate will have expertise in UK employment law, likely to have been acquired in practice or equivalent. He or she will also need to be an experienced and highly proficient writer, preferably with some editorial skill, who can demonstrate an ability to digest complex legal issues and communicate them clearly to a wide-ranging audience, from the judiciary to HR managers. This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a demonstrable enthusiasm for and expertise in employment law to work at the cutting edge of the subject in a friendly working environment.

Key tasks

The primary tasks of the post are as follows:

• Researching, writing and editing case reports, feature articles, news reports and editorials for IDS Employment Law Brief and www.idsbrief.co.uk
• Researching, writing and editing IDS Employment Law Handbooks and Supplements
• Developing and maintaining a high level of employment law expertise
• Tracking the latest developments in employment law and identifying the issues meriting editorial comment
• Peer-reviewing the work of other writers on the team
• Developing and maintaining contacts with external bodies and individuals in order to gather information and build IDS’s reputation 

Other tasks may include:

• Preparing and delivering employment law presentations at IDS seminars and conferences
• Contributing to contract research
• Development and training of staff

Skills and experience

• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Excellent technical knowledge of UK employment law, together with an understanding of its practical implications
• Ability to undertake complex tasks with the minimum of direction or supervision
• Time management skills and the ability to work to deadlines
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Understanding of the information needs of employment law practitioners/HR professionals and the commercial opportunities for developing our services in respect of them

Pay and conditions

Salary will depend on skills and experience, but will be between £37,000 and £52,000pa. There is a generous package of employee benefits including pension, private medical and dental insurance, and membership of the all-employee bonus scheme. You will be entitled to five and a half weeks’ holiday (increasing with service), plus public holidays. Normal working hours are 35 per week.

Applications

Please e-mail a covering letter explaining how you meet our requirements together with your CV to Emelia Thorold at emelia.thorold@thomson.com by Tuesday 1 st April 2008. Please include an email address and telephone number(s) on your CV and let us know of any dates on which you will be unavailable for interview. Also please give an indication of your current salary and salary expectations.

Note that applicants will be required to complete a piece of written work in advance of any interview.