Courts Advisory Counsel

Role Responsibilities

The Court of King’s Bench is the Superior Trial Court for the Province, hearing trials in civil and criminal matters and appeals from decisions of the Court of   Justice.

The Alberta Court of Justice is a trial-level Court in Alberta, hearing trials in adult and youth criminal, civil, family, child protection, traffic, provincial offence, and bylaw matters.

The Court of Appeal of Alberta is the highest court in the province, hearing appeals in all areas of law from decisions of the Court of King’s Bench, the Alberta Court of Justice, and provincial administrative and regulatory bodies.

You will be responsible for providing legal advice to the judiciary, court lawyers and staff of the three Courts regarding the statute and common law affecting privacy and access to the Courts' records and judgments. You will also be responsible for developing legal information policies for all three Courts' judgments and records, particularly in the areas of privacy, access, and information security     law. You will also provide oversight into all activities relating to the implementation, maintenance and adherence of legal information policies by the judiciary, court lawyers, and court staff. Your position champions excellence in legal information policy and information governance on behalf of the Court of Justice, Court of King's Bench, and Court of Appeal through the delivery of shared services to improve the operational effectiveness of the justice system and public access to justice. These roles are particularly complex because of the interplay among evolving information technologies, law, policy, demands from the public for access to information, and the needs of each of the three Courts.

You will report to the Chief Justice of Alberta, the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench and the Chief Justice of the Court of Justice, which means you must have the ability to address the needs of three independent judicial bodies, which share some key resources but are unique and have differing priorities. The results created affect all Albertans as systems are changed to better serve their needs. You will have no direct reports and do not manage a budget. You will have the following key responsibilities:

1. Provide leadership and expert legal advice in the application and interpretation of legal matters as they relate to both privacy and access and other areas of information policy and law
2. Provide legal information policy development based on legal analysis and research relating to privacy, access, information security, and other aspects of information governance, including, but not limited to, the Courts' judgments and records
3. Train, guide or coaching court resources including judiciary, court lawyers, and judicial staff
4. Participate and advise the Courts in relevant internal and cross-ministry committees and special projects
   
   

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in-depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies:

Agility: Ability to anticipate, assess, and readily adapt to changing priorities, manage resilience in times of uncertainty and work effectively in a changing environment.

Develop Networks: Proactively building networks, connecting and building trust in relationships with different stakeholders.

Build Collaborative Environments: Leads and contributes to the conditions and environments that allow people to work collaboratively and productively to achieve outcomes.

Systems Thinking: The work done within the APS is part of a larger integrated and inter-related environment. It is important to know that work done in one part of the APS impacts a variety of other groups/projects inside and outside the APS. Systems Thinking allows us to keep broader impacts and connections in mind.

Creative Problem Solving: Ability to assess options and implications in new ways to achieve outcomes and solutions.

Drive for Results: You are able to determine what outcomes are important and maximize the use of resources to achieve results that are aligned with the goals of the organization, while maintaining accountability to each other and all stakeholders.

Develop self and others: You have a commitment to lifelong learning and the desire to invest in the development of the long-term capability of yourself and others.

Qualifications

A Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (JD) Degree supplemented with the following:

• Civil Crown Counsel 3 (CCC3) must have a minimum of eleven (11) years directly related post bar legal experience. 
• Membership in good standing with the Law Society of Alberta or eligibility for membership is required.

Assets include :

1.    Deep expertise in information law and governance; the go-to resource in this specialized area of law, with in-depth knowledge of:

• international, federal and provincial statute law and common law and policy relating to privacy and access to judicial information and court information and records
  
  
•  priorities, trends and key themes in the law of information security and privacy, including similar legislation and policy initiatives in other jurisdictions both nationally and internationally
   
• privacy legislation, policies and procedures as these enactments relate to the Courts, especially the Protection of Privacy Act, Access to Information Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada)
• court services and processes

2.    Seasoned understanding and interpretation of emerging and inter-related applications of privacy law

3.    Knowledge of:
  

• the functions and responsibilities of the Courts and provincial and federal statutes, regulations, and policies relating to privacy law, and the ability to apply them to the work of the Courts
   
• information technologies employed by the Courts now and in emerging areas and their relationship to legal information governance in the Courts
  
  

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 
Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Hours of Work:
7.25 hours / 36.25 hours a week.

Term of Employment:
This is a permanent fulltime position.

Location:
Edmonton  

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in. 

Final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening.

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages- working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
  Pension plans: 
• Management Employees Pension Plan (MEPP) – https://www.mepp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information –  https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Leadership and mentorship programs