Senior Solicitor LOGV & Principal Solicitor VI - Property & Native Title (litigation)

Temporary role up to 12 months (possibility of conversion to ongoing) based in the Sydney CBD*

Flexible working + annual leave 20 days + additional flex leave (up to 18 days per year)

An exciting opportunity to collaborate with a team of dedicated legal professionals. Benefit from mentorship, guidance, and opportunities that will help you grow and diversify your professional skills while acting for NSW Government clients.

Salary Classification/Grade: Senior Solicitor (Legal Officer Grade V) & Principal Solicitor (Legal Officer Grade VI)
Salary Range: Senior Solicitor: $149,906 - $152,845 p.a. (excluding employer’s contribution to superannuation and annualised leave loading.)
Principal Solicitor: $161,034 - $164,426 p.a. base salary (employer’s contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading is paid in addition to the base salary)

Employment Status: Full time (35 hours per week) temporary (up to 12 months, with the possibility of conversion to ongoing)

*Location: Our primary place of work is the CSO Office located at 60-70 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Please note we will be relocating to a new premises located at Parkline Place, 252 Pitt Street, Sydney in July 2026.

About the role

Are you an experienced legal professional prepared to assume a senior litigation position? We are currently seeking an outstanding Senior Solicitor (Legal Officer Grade V) and Principal Solicitor (Legal Officer Grade VI) to join the Property and Native Title Practice Group at the Crown Solicitor's Office (CSO). Additionally, if you possess extensive legal experience and are ready to undertake a leadership role in litigation, we invite you to apply for the position of Principal Solicitor (Legal Officer Grade VI) within the same Practice Group at the Crown Solicitor's Office (CSO).

As a Senior Solicitor (LOGV) at the CSO, you will be delivering high-quality legal services to the NSW Government and its agencies. This role involves managing your own complex legal matters and supervision of early-career and junior practitioners to ensure that the legal services provided are cost-effective and client-focused.

As a Principal Solicitor at the CSO, you will be instrumental in delivering high-quality legal services to the NSW Government and its agencies. This role involves managing and supervising the work of a group of solicitors at various grades/levels of experience in the conduct of litigation, to ensure that the legal services provided are cost-effective and client-focused; while personally providing high level strategic legal advice to government.

The Property and Native Title Practice Group provides specialist advice and representation in:

Property litigation, including Land and Environment Court compulsory acquisition and land valuation appeal matters.

Aboriginal land rights matters including Land and Environment representation in relation to land claim appeals, and advice about Aboriginal land agreements.

Native title law and Federal Court representation in relation to claims, and advice about Indigenous land use agreements.

Statutory interpretation in the context of property law, native title and Aboriginal land rights.

Complex property law transactions which includes facilitating acquisitions, purchases and sales of land and undertaking Land Registry Services/PEXA settlements and lodgements

You will need to demonstrate resilience and effective decision-making while managing your own complex legal matters and stepping into more senior responsibilities when required. Building strong relationships with internal teams and external clients will be crucial for success in this role.

Property & Native Title

To learn more about the role, please review the role description

Principal Solicitor VI

Senior Solicitor V

Essential requirements:

Completion of a law degree from an accredited law school or completion of the Legal Practitioners Admission Board’s Diploma in Law Course.

Admission or eligibility for admission as a legal practitioner in NSW.

Highly developed legal skills and extensive experience which enable provision of advice and representation in highly complex legal matters in areas of law in which the Practice Group specialises.

Undertake Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check.

How to apply:

For your application to be considered, you must submit your application online and include:

A current resume.

A cover letter (limited to 2 pages) outlining your interest and suitability for the role,

Response to pre-screening questions when prompted in the application portal.

The selection process may include a range of assessment techniques to assist hiring managers in determining your suitability for the role.

You can request adjustments throughout each step of the recruitment process. If you require any adjustments or alternative formats to participate in the process, please contact Margaret Ters, Talent Acquisition Partner on 0427 413 924 or email [email protected] to further discuss.

A recruitment pool may be created from this recruitment action for ongoing and temporary roles for this role or similar roles that may become available over the next 18 months.

Closing date: Sunday, 11 May 2025 (AEST 7:59PM)

Recruitment enquiries: Margaret Ters, Talent Acquisition Partner, [email protected], 0427 413 924

Why work for CSO?

The CSO provides high-quality and cost-effective legal services to the NSW Government and its agencies. As a trusted legal advisor to the NSW Government, our principal role is to advise and represent agencies so that they can deliver policies, programs and projects in a lawful, effective and efficient manner.

We act with integrity and professional independence, guided by the government sector's core values. We are focussed on providing excellent client service and promoting a culture of continuous improvement. We also provide our people with opportunities to learn, develop and adapt within an inclusive and supportive environment.

For more information about the CSO, click here.

Our commitment to flexible working

The CSO has adopted a teams-based approach to flexible working. We recognise that everyone has different needs and preferences, and our flexible work culture allows you to adapt your work routine to suit you. We’re all about flexibility, productivity and driving good client outcomes.

We have generous leave provisions available for our employees that acknowledge individual preferences and responsibilities including:

Up to 20 days recreation leave and up to 18 days flex leave per annum

20 days purchased leave annually

Inclusive paid parental leave provisions of up to 16 weeks (14 weeks + 2 bonus weeks) which can be taken flexibly within the first 24 months to support the birth, adoption, altruistic surrogacy or permanent out-of-home care placement of a child

Study time up to 4 hours per week

Extended Leave of up to 44 days after 10 years or up to 30.8 days after 7 years of service.

How we support health & wellbeing:

We offer an employee assistance program to support the wellbeing of employees in the workplace and in their personal lives, which also extends to family members

Coaching services are available for people leaders and executives to learn and implement best practices to manage their team’s wellbeing

We offer an annual Flu Vaccination program

We provide access to the Fitness Passport program – a discounted workplace health and fitness program available to staff and their families

CSO's commitment to diversity

At CSO, we believe a diverse and inclusive workforce contributes to the success of our organisation and we are committed to ensuring that our workforce reflects our diverse community.

We welcome and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, including people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the LGBTQIA+ community, culturally and linguistically diverse people, veterans and other diverse communities.