Legal Counsel

Role Responsibilities

Reporting to the Director of Legal Services, the Legal Counsel provides legal advice, strategic guidance, and operational support across the Police Review Commission. The role supports investigations, early resolution, adjudication, disciplinary hearings, policy development, and the Commission's broader operations.

As presenting officer on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, you will prepare and present evidence, examine witnesses, make legal submissions, and advocate for appropriate disciplinary outcomes under the Police Act. You will also provide legal opinions on individual files, assess the legal implications of investigative findings, and advise on procedural fairness, evidentiary sufficiency, jurisdiction, and legal risk.

You will manage legal disclosure across administrative, litigation, and public domains; support judicial reviews, appeals, subpoenas, drafting and compliance with court orders, and access to information matters; and coordinate with external counsel where specialized assistance is required. You will review disposition letters and official correspondence to support consistency with legislation, legal standards, and administrative fairness.

Because the Commission operates independently, you will exercise considerable judgment in managing day-to-day legal risk, disclosure, and compliance. You will also help develop policies, procedures, public-facing materials, training, and inter-agency protocols that embed legal requirements into Commission operations.

Role Responsibilities Contd.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Advice and Risk Management

• Advise Commission staff and senior leadership on the Police Act, administrative and public law, investigative procedure, procedural fairness, and statutory interpretation.
• Review active investigations and complex files for legal sufficiency, lawful evidence collection, potential criminal conduct, jurisdictional issues, and emerging legal or reputational risks.
• Provide legal guidance on disposition letters, closure memoranda, official correspondence, public reporting, and file closure recommendations.
• Advise on files referred to or received from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, including jurisdiction, evidentiary standards, complaint status, and cross-agency coordination.

Hearings and Litigation

• Act as presenting officer in disciplinary hearings by preparing evidence packages and legal submissions, examining witnesses, and presenting the Commission's case to the presiding officer.
• Represent or support the Commission in judicial reviews, statutory appeals, and other court or tribunal proceedings.
• Prepare records and court materials and respond to procedural, evidentiary, or jurisdictional challenges.
• Coordinate witness preparation and manage sensitive evidence and testimony in quasi-judicial settings.

Disclosure and Information Management

• Manage legal disclosure for disciplinary hearings, McNeil requests, access to information requests, civil litigation, and disclosure to subject officers or affected parties.
• Review records for privilege, privacy, procedural fairness, and compliance with applicable legislation and common law disclosure obligations.
• Develop protocols and documentation standards for disclosure review, approval, redaction, and secure evidence handling.
• Collaborate with administrative staff, ASIRT, and external counsel on complex disclosure matters and transferred or joint files.

Policy Legal Frameworks and Organizational Capacity

• Draft and review internal legal policies, procedural rules, regulatory proposals, operational frameworks, and inter-agency protocols.
• Provide legal input into adjudication processes, resolution models, communications, systemic investigations, and regulatory reform.
• Develop and deliver training on legislation, policy, disclosure, evidence standards, procedural fairness, and administrative decision-making.
• Mentor staff on legal reasoning and professional standards and maintain current knowledge of legislation, jurisprudence, and police oversight practices.
  
  

The Job Description is provided for Further details on this position. 

Qualifications

Education and Professional Membership:

• A Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (JD) is required. You must be an active member or must have immediate eligibility for full membership with the Law Society of Alberta.
• A minimum of 11 years of legal experience is required.

Experience and Knowledge

• Extensive experience in administrative and public law, including procedural fairness, statutory interpretation, and professional regulation.
• Experience acting as presenting officer or legal advocate in disciplinary hearings, public inquiries, administrative tribunals, or other quasi-judicial proceedings.
• Experience advising on complex legal risk, statutory compliance, and sensitive or high-profile matters.
• Comprehensive knowledge of disclosure obligations in administrative, civil, and criminal contexts, including McNeil disclosure, access to information, privacy, privilege, and litigation-related disclosure.
• Strong legal research, analysis, advocacy, and writing skills, including experience preparing legal opinions, submissions, hearing documents, policies, and clear public-facing correspondence.
• Experience interpreting legislation and developing or advising on policies, procedures, regulatory frameworks, or inter-agency protocols.
• Experience developing and delivering legal training or supporting organizational capacity in procedural fairness, administrative decision-making, disclosure, or statutory interpretation.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and provide timely legal advice in complex and high-pressure situations.

Expertise in the following area is required for this role:

• Strong working knowledge of the Police Act, Criminal Code, Access to Information Act, Protection of Privacy Act, and applicable administrative law principles.
• Proficiency with legal research tools, case law databases, e-discovery platforms, and secure document management systems.
• Ability to obtain and maintain security screening required to access sensitive and confidential police oversight information.

Following are the Assets for this role:

• Experience in police oversight, police discipline, civilian complaints, or another regulatory or accountability environment.
• Training or certification in administrative tribunal advocacy, legal writing, or adjudicative processes.
• Experience coordinating legal matters across agencies whose mandates intersect, including police services, investigative bodies, Crown counsel, or government ministries.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.

Notes

Please note there is one (1) Permanent, full-time, in-person position available.

Location: Edmonton or Calgary

Hours of work: 36.25 hours per week

• Please note a cover letter explaining how you meet the requirements and assets of the role is required.
• Final candidates will be required to undergo security screening.
• Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks, as noted or interview travel expenses will be the responsibility of the candidate