CROWN COUNSEL

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The International Trade (MIT) Legal Services Branch of the Civil Law Division, Ministry of the Attorney General has an immediate opening for a counsel in its Trade Law Practice Group.

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About the job

Duties will include:

• Providing legal advice, both written and oral, on issues and disputes arising under domestic and international trade agreements, such as the Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement (OQTCA), Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA), and World Trade Organization Agreements (WTO Agreements) and other trade negotiations
• Assisting in research, and training and education initiatives
• Review, negotiate and draft contracts, memoranda of understanding and similar documents
• Review and provide advice regarding draft legislation and regulations
• Assessing and advising on the legal implications of the Ministry's proposed measure, legislation or regulation, and statutory and operational decisions

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What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

• Membership in good standing in the Law Society of Upper Canada

Technical Legal Experience

• Demonstrated experience in providing written or oral legal advice and opinions on an urgent basis
• Demonstrated experience providing advice on the consistency of government measures, including legislation, programs, policies and practices, with obligations under domestic and international trade agreements such as OQTCA, CETA, AIT, NAFTA and WTO Agreements
• Demonstrated knowledge of the rules governing international trade and investment agreements, including dispute settlement
• Familiarity or experience with conducting or supporting international trade and investment litigation under trade agreements, and trade negotiations
• Familiarity with government decision-making processes, and government procurement
• Ability to recognize and assess legal implications in proposed and existing programs and initiatives and able to provide innovative, strategic and solutions-oriented legal advice to complex time-sensitive, high-profile issues that arise

Other Essential Skills

• Well-organized and excellent oral and written communication skills
• Proven negotiation and legal drafting skills
• Proven analytical and judgement skills
• Demonstrated interpersonal and client service skills
• Ability to handle a high-volume practice and advise on urgent matters with short turnaround times
• Ability to conduct legal research in complex areas of law
• Proven ability to work independently and as a team member in providing advice on the trade law implications of legislative, policy and program initiatives of all ministries Providing mentorship to junior counsel and articling students
• Proven ability to handle own files and lead multi-counsel files
• Proven ability to adapt to a changing work environment
• Ability to use computers and its related software

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Additional information:

Note:

• In accordance with the Ontario Public Service Employment Screening Checks Policy, the top candidate(s) may be required to undergo a security screening check. Please refer to the Additional Information / Address section above to determine the screening checks that are required for this position.
  
  You will be responsible for obtaining the criminal record check at your own expense and provide it, along with your written consent, to the Transition and Security Office (TSO), HR Service Delivery Division to evaluate the results. If applicable, the TSO, with your written consent, will request and obtain any additional screening checks as indicated in the Additional Information / Address section above that were not obtained directly by you. (Note: If a Vulnerable Sector Screening/Check is required, it must also be obtained in person at your local police service.)
  
  A record under the Criminal Code and/or other federal offence record(s) does not automatically mean you will be ineligible for the position. The screening check(s) will only be reviewed and evaluated by the TSO for the purpose of making a security clearance decision. The details of an individual's screening check(s) will be considered in specific relation to the duties and responsibilities of the position being filled. Screening check records will be maintained by the TSO and kept strictly confidential.
• Your application and cover letter must be sent as an attachment in either MS Word (.doc, .docx), PDF (.pdf), Rich Text (.rtf) or Plain Text (.txt) format, less than 2MB in size and must not be password protected

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Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

Information collection notice

We are collecting your personal information to assess how well you meet the qualifications for employment with the Ontario Public Service, and for related recruitment purposes. The collection of personal information is necessary to the proper administration of OPS Careers, which is an authorized common service in accordance with s. 6 of the Ministry of Government Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.25.

Please do not include any more personal information than is needed for your application (for example, do not include your photograph or social insurance number).

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