The Courts Service is seeking suitably qualified and committed individuals to take up full-time fixed-term roles as Research Support Associates (RSA) in the Research Support Office (RSO). These individuals will provide high quality legal research services to support members of the Irish Judiciary as well as being involved in initiatives to develop legal research and support services for the judiciary.
Research Support Associates will engage directly with members of the Irish Judiciary. They will not be assigned directly to an individual judge but will undertake research projects and support information dissemination across the judiciary via newsletters and updates on case law for example.
The Research Support Office (RSO) consists of Research Support Associates to provide legal research and support services to Judges of all jurisdictions.
The RSO is managed by a Legal Research Executive who reports to a Legal Research Manager. The Legal Research and Library Services Committee guides the work of the RSO in terms of judicial requirements.
The RSO provides the following services:
- The compiling and updating of bench books on various court lists and areas of law (civil and criminal) for use by members of the Judiciary;
- The provision of written memoranda in response to research requests made by individual Judges in the Appellate, High, Circuit and District Courts;
- The circulation of legal updates to all members of the Judiciary;
- Briefings to members of the Judiciary and colleagues on legal research conducted by the office on various areas of law;
- The provision of information sessions to visiting delegations of international dignitaries on the Irish legal system;
- Attendance and the provision of research assistance at judicial conferences.
Qualifications, skills and experience
Candidates must, on or before the 1 June 2022, be in possession of the following:
- An honours law degree at 2.1 (LLB or BCL) at a minimum of level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications or a recognised professional legal qualification or the Diploma in Law from The Honorable Society of King’s Inns;
- Relevant experience conducting legal research (including academic research or research in the course of court-case preparation);
- Knowledge of Irish law and the Irish legal system, including contemporary statute and case law;
- Knowledge of EU law;
- Excellent legal research and information technology skills and knowledge of commercial and open-access online legal research methods, materials and databases;
- Strong editorial skills and the ability to write and present research in a concise, accessible and plain English style;
- Experience of prioritising and managing assigned tasks in a busy work environment and working within deadlines;
- The ability to apply legal research to practical scenarios;
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; and
- The ability to work both independently and in a team environment.
The following are desirable:
- a recognised professional legal qualification;
- a post-graduate qualification;
- an aptitude for research;
- knowledge of international law;
- experience in professional legal research; and
- experience in knowledge-management systems.
Further information is available in the competition information booklet.
Closing date for applications is 12 Noon on Wednesday 1 June 2022.