Litigation Support Officer

Please follow link through to advert. Role closes to apply 11:55 pm on Thursday 30th May 2024

About the Team

Large Business (LB) is responsible for around 2,000 of the largest businesses that pay a significant proportion of the total business taxes and duties that HMRC collects. The Litigation Team within LB is responsible for transitioning tax and duty investigations into litigation where disputes cannot be settled by agreement. Our work currently includes transfer pricing, diverted profits, and other international direct tax risks, but we are in the process of growing our scope to cover litigation of other taxes and duties.

The team is a mix of tax professionals and litigation support officers who are generally recent law graduates. We work closely with the investigation teams, technical/policy specialists and lawyers both within our Solicitors Office and Legal Services directorate and externally, to prepare cases for the First-tier Tribunal (Tax) and beyond.

About the Role

HMRC is offering an exciting opportunity to join the Litigation Team as a Litigation Support Officer based in either Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds or Manchester. Joining one of the largest Civil Service departments and work in a fast multifaceted environment where they will support HMRC’s tax professionals and lawyers in providing high quality services. The post offers excellent professional and personal development opportunities.

HMRC normally seeks to settle tax disputes by reaching agreement thought negotiation. However, where this is not possible resolution may be via litigation.

The LB Litigation Team becomes involved in a case as a decision is taken to litigate, and at this point, a sub team is formed which will include yourself and experienced tax professionals from the LB Litigation team who will direct and support your work.

Collaborating with the existing investigation team, head office policy/technical specialists and lawyers both within our Solicitors Office and Legal Services directorate and externally.

Using your legal and litigation experience to help the team prepare those cases for hearings before the First-tier Tribunal (Tax).

Crafting and preparing evidential material and to ensure that this is identified, organised and in a format suitable for submission to the Tribunal, sometimes at very short notice.

This is a challenging, but ultimately highly rewarding role, requiring you to:

• Work flexibly and as part of a team, working with and maintaining good relationships with colleagues and customers.
• Have determination to ensure the completion of tasks and take ownership for your own area of work.
• Have good interpersonal skills and dedication to ensuring deadlines are met.
• Developing on your good level of knowledge, skills and understanding and work as part of multidisciplinary teams formed from across HMRC.
• Both the LB Litigation Team, and the wider HMRC teams with which you will work, are geographically disperse. Most meetings are via online conferencing but there will be occasions when travel is required.

Person Specification

Specific duties vary but will include some of the following:

• Review and collate documentation acquired during investigations.
• Prepare fact papers, chronologies and assisting with the preparation of witness statements.
• Identify relevant documents and produce bundles for submission to the Tribunal, providing support with the drafting of statements of case and other key documents for submission to the Tribunal.
• Attend meetings with external legal advisors (Counsel) and prepare notes of discussions whilst engaging with external expert advisors/witnesses.
• Gaining quick understanding of our specialist processes that are key to the delivery of work in the area to which you are appointed.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrating qualifications to degree level in law or who have completed a Graduate Diploma in Law, have achieved CILEx level 6 or completed a pre-PEAT training contract OR recent and meaningful experience as a paralegal in a litigation environment.
• Flexibility while working, as part of a team whilst working with and maintaining good relationships with colleagues and customers.
• Using phenomenal communication and listening skills to meet deadlines and manage your own workload responsibly.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• You will be asked to give a presentation to demonstrate your ability to distinguish fact from assertion or speculation through reviewing a short written statement. Further details will be provided to you prior to the interview.