Law Practitioner Job Evaluation Standard

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Canadian Human Rights Commission protects the core principle of equal opportunity and promotes a vision of an inclusive society, free from discrimination; promotes human rights through research and policy development; protects human rights through a fair and effective complaints process; represents the public interest to advance human rights for all Canadians; and audits employers under federal jurisdiction for compliance with employment equity.

Reporting to the Director and Senior Counsel, and under the guidance of senior legal advisors, the Legal Advisor is 1 of 2 Legal Advisors (LP-01) responsible for providing legal advisory services and litigation support to the Commission on legal issues as to its responsibilities under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Legal Advisory Services Division is part of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Division is comprised of 7 lawyers.

Duties

Under the guidance of a more senior legal advisor:

1. provides legal advisory services either alone on issues of limited risk and impact or on more complex issues with the support and guidance of more senior legal advisors, including assessing legal and other risks and providing advice on mitigation and risk management strategies; conducts legal research, including case law, previous opinions and precedents to identify trends and ensure consistency of advice; and provides legal advice on the development, interpretation and application of proposed and actual legal texts, policies, and practices;
2. provides litigation support services, either alone on issues of limited risk and impact or, in more complex matters, with the support of more experienced counsel, including liaising with the instructing counsel and litigation counsel; assisting in related litigation processes such as drafting or reviewing pleadings; and conducting related litigation as assigned under supervision;
3. contributes to legal education activities and other training for the client on topics related to human rights law, administrative law, Aboriginal law and other areas of the law, as needed; and
4. contributes to the effective operation of the Legal Advisory Services Division through providing feedback on its service needs and corporate matters; and complies with applicable operational and management processes.

Under the guidance of a more senior legal advisor:

• consults with the client, legal colleagues and others to understand the context and implications underlying requests for legal advice in order to determine the types and nature of research to be conducted;
• researches, analyzes and synthesizes legal and policy information to provide legal advice and services on matters (e.g., determination of jurisdictions, clarification of specific rights of complainants, and court decisions such as alcohol testing in the workplace and definition of an employment relationship) and provides advice and arguments to present facts, findings and opinions to senior legal advisors and clients; and
• identifies and prepares information/documentation relevant to issues being addressed (e.g., whether a complaint is beyond the Commission's jurisdiction) to develop options, advice and arguments to the client.

Knowledge of the Canadian Human Rights Act and other relevant legislation such as the Public Service Labour Relations Act the Employment Equity Act, and the Indian Act to provide advice on human rights matters and issues.

Knowledge of theories, principles and practices of human rights law, administrative law, Aboriginal law and other areas of the law as necessary, with particular emphasis on identifying the legal issues relevant to assigned matters, framing and conducting legal research and writing legal opinions and documents.

Knowledge of principles and practices of legal advisory, legislative and policy development services to provide legal advice.

Knowledge of legal research systems in order to search databases and contribute to the updating and management of the Human Rights Commission system.

Knowledge of the mandate, roles and responsibilities of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the legal, policy, program, and operational contexts of the branches of the Commission, other parties and government as a whole to identify legal issues relevant to assigned matters and provide advice on risk mitigation and risk management strategies.

Consults with the client, legal colleagues and others to understand the context and implications underlying requests for legal advice in order to determine the types and nature of research to be conducted.

Provides written and oral legal advice to the client and occasionally provides legal information to external stakeholders on various legal matters in a clear and concise manner, (e.g., the Commission's roles, responsibilities and jurisdiction with regard to discrimination complaints against the federal government, First Nations governments, and private companies that are regulated by the federal government, Aboriginal rights and responsibilities, transportation issues and people with disabilities).

Represents the views of the Legal Advisory Services Division in discussions with client representatives to formulate and provide consistent legal advice.

Drafts summaries of case, opinions, briefing notes and reports to present facts and findings in a clear and concise manner to senior legal advisors and clients, and to senior management with guidance of more senior legal counsel.

Manages relationships with client representatives and legal colleagues; plans own workload and works in a team environment to resolve legal issues on assigned files.

Participates in a variety of working groups and project teams to advance research and share knowledge on specific projects.

Prepares training documents and materials (e.g., summaries of recent decisions and/or new developments) for the use of senior legal advisors in the delivery of training sessions, or, on occasion, to deliver training to internal client groups.

May work with the administrative assistant, and paralegal and articling students to ensure completion of assigned tasks in a timely manner.

Regularly remains seated for prolonged periods while using a computer, reading or proofreading data or documents.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work, including legal briefcases, boxes of files or legal texts.

Regularly reviews large volumes of materials and documents.

Lack of control over agenda due to conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

Work is regularly performed in a typical office environment.

There is a requirement for travel on rare occasions.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Department of Justice has established dedicated departmental legal services units (DLSUs) for most government departments and agencies. These units provide client organizations with legal advice, opinions, risk analysis and litigation support and assistance. Each Legal Services Unit reports to the Department of Justice on an organizational, functional and professional basis, although they are typically physically located within a client organization.

This is a Department of Justice position located in a Departmental Legal Services Unit (DLSU) within Transport Canada. The DLSU is comprised of 32 lawyers. The DSLU located within Transport Canada provides legal services to both Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada.

The Legal Counsel is responsible for providing legal advice and services to clients at Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada on corporate and commercial law issues.

Duties

Under the guidance of a Team Leader:

1. researches, analyzes, and provides advice to the client on a variety of corporate and commercial law issues, including issues related to agreements (e.g., drafting template agreements; drafting text for contracts, commenting on proposed contract amendments and termination of agreements, interpretation of clauses, and advising on related litigation) and related areas of crown law (e.g., administrative law, access and privacy law issues, official languages) affecting the execution of these agreements;
2. researches, analyzes and provides legal advice to the clients on other areas of commercial law, such as procurement law;
3. as required, consults with colleagues and seeks advice and guidance from the Team Leader on legal issues, policies and practices related to assigned files;
4. as a team member, contributes to discussions, analyses and provision of advice on clients' broader commercial law issues; and
5. establishes networks of peers and participates in learning and developmental activities to enhance knowledge of corporate and commercial law.

Under the guidance of a Team Leader:

• identifies, researches and analyzes legal issues in contracts and agreements as assigned; identifies legal risks; discusses issues with colleagues and Team Leader as appropriate; drafts legal opinions and provides oral and written advice to the client;
• provides advice in other areas of commercial law, such as procurement law and may act in an advisory role to the client with respect to any litigation; and
• participates in team discussions on legal issues related to specific files or broader commercial law issues, and contributes to strategies and opinions.

Knowledge of corporate and commercial law to: identify legal issues relevant to contracts and various types of agreements; identify legal risks for, and propose risk mitigation options to the client; and draft opinions for the client.

Knowledge of Crown law and administrative law to: identify legal issues relevant to contracts and agreements (e.g., Official Languages Act and Financial Administration Act requirements relating to the execution of agreements); identify legal risks and risk mitigation options; and draft opinions and advice for the client.

Knowledge of the mandates, objectives and programs of Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada in order to understand and consider the context in which each client operates when analyzing legal issues, identifying risks and providing legal advice.

Knowledge of the structure, mandate, policies and practices, expertise and legal resources within the Transport Canada Legal Services Unit and the Department of Justice, which enables the incumbent to consult with colleagues, access specialized legal knowledge and information relevant to files, and access knowledge and training relevant to personal and professional development.

Drafts clear and concise legal opinions and advice to clients regarding commercial law, crown law, and administrative law issues arising in contracts and agreements as well as other commercial law issues, such as procurement law, in a manner that clearly articulates concepts, concerns, and questions and defends approaches and solutions.

Discusses with the client their requests for legal opinions to gather additional relevant facts, determine the legal issues and agreed-upon deadlines.

Participates in and contributes to team discussions related to broader legal issues within commercial law and articulates and defends opinions.

Manages relationships with client representatives and legal colleagues to provide timely advice to clients; plans own workload and works in a team environment to resolve legal issues on assigned matters.

Participates in and contributes to Team discussions of client legal issues and regarding broader legal issues within commercial law.

Assigns work to one legal assistant (shared resource).

Regularly sits for prolonged periods of time during meetings, consultations and daily work.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work, including, but not limited to, legal briefcases, boxes of files, or legal texts.

Regularly views computer screens for prolonged periods and regularly reads, for prolonged periods, numerous documents.

The work involves dealing with conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines which may lead to a lack of control over one's agenda.

Work is regularly performed in a typical office environment.

There is no requirement to travel.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) operates independently from government and reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate. The Commissioner's powers include: investigating privacy complaints, conducting audits and pursuing court action under the Privacy Act (PA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for the enforcement of relevant provisions of Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL); publicly reporting on the personal information-handling practices of public and private sector organizations; supporting, undertaking and publishing research into privacy issues; and promoting public awareness and understanding of privacy issues.

The OPC relies on its own legal counsel that are independent of the Department of Justice, to provide legal advice, guidance, policy and risk assessment on mandated privacy issues as well as legal issues related to OPC management and operations (e.g., contract law, employment law).

Reporting to the Director, Legal Services and Senior Counsel (LC-01), and under the guidance of senior legal advisors, the subject position (SP) is 1 of 2 Legal Advisors (LP-01) responsible for providing legal advisory services and litigation support to the OPC. The Division is comprised of 7 legal advisors.

Duties

Under the guidance of senior legal advisors:

1. produces legal opinions, risk assessments and options regarding the administration and application of the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada's Anti-Spam Law and related regulations; provides research and advice on the interpretation and application of related federal and provincial legislation and regulations;
2. conducts legal research regarding case law, previous opinions and precedents to identify trends and to ensure consistency of advice; provides legal advice on the development, interpretation and application of proposed and actual legislation, policies and, practices; and produces reports, briefings and legal opinions;
3. provides support to more senior counsel in hearings and other proceedings before the courts (e.g., Federal Court, Trial and Appeal Divisions and the Supreme Court of Canada) and may appear as OPC counsel on matters before any prothonotary or judge of the Trial Division of the Federal Court;
4. contributes to legal education activities and other client training on topics related to privacy law, administrative law and other areas of the law; may be required to make presentations, as needed, before OPC staff or externally; and
5. contributes to the effective operation of the Legal Services Division by providing feedback on its service needs and corporate matters.

Under the guidance of senior legal advisors:

• consults with the client, legal colleagues and investigators to understand the context and implications underlying requests for legal advice and to determine the types and nature of research to be conducted;
• researches, analyzes and synthesizes legal and policy information to provide legal advice and services on various matters (e.g., determination of jurisdiction, clarification of specific rights, decisions with regard to sharing personal information with institutions);
• develops and presents options, advice and arguments to clients;
• identifies and prepares information/documentation relevant to issues being addressed (e.g., relevance of complaints filed beyond the OPC's jurisdiction);
• researches legal issues to develop options, advice and persuasive arguments to clients; and
• analyzes case facts, court processes and evidentiary rules to prepare a variety of court documents including affidavits, memoranda, and other documents.

Knowledge of legal theories and principles, jurisprudence and doctrine relating to privacy, the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada's Anti-Spam Law and related regulations in order to provide legal research and review services, legal advice, legal risk assessments and options to assist with litigation and to develop training on legal issues.

Knowledge of the Canadian parliamentary and judicial systems in order to give advice and provide litigation services respecting the OPC mandate as an Officer of Parliament.

Knowledge of areas of law having an impact upon privacy in Canada and upon the operation of the OPC as an Officer of Parliament, such as constitutional law, administrative law, contract law and labour law and privacy legislation in other Canadian and international jurisdictions as required, to provide legal opinions and comparative analyses.

Knowledge of legal research systems in order to search databases and contribute to the updating and management of the OPC system.

Knowledge of the mandate, roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the legal, policy, program, and operational contexts of the branches of OPC, other parties and government as a whole to identify legal issues relevant to assigned matters and provide advice on risk mitigation and risk management strategies.

Consults with the client, legal colleagues and investigators to understand the context and implications underlying requests for legal advice in order to determine the types and nature of research to be conducted.

Provides written legal advice as well as oral explanations to colleagues, investigators and occasionally to the public and provides information/explanations on various legal matters in a clear and concise manner (e.g., OPC roles and responsibilities including its jurisdiction with regard to privacy related complaints against the federal government).

Represents the views of the Legal Advisory Services Division in discussions with client representatives to formulate and provide legal advice.

Drafts summaries of cases that are already subject to precedents, correspondence and reports and presents facts and findings in a clear and concise manner to senior legal advisors and clients.

Manages relationships with client representatives and legal colleagues; plans own workload and works in a team environment to resolve legal issues on assigned matters.

Participates in a variety of working groups and project teams to advance research and share knowledge on specific projects.

Prepares training documents (e.g., summaries of recent decisions, new interpretations) to deliver or to assist senior legal advisors in the delivery of training sessions.

May oversee the work of legal assistants, paralegal staff and students to ensure completion of assigned tasks in a timely manner.

Regularly remains seated for prolonged periods while using a computer, reading or proofreading data or documents.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work, including legal briefcases, boxes or files, or legal texts.

Regularly reviews large volumes of material and documents.

Lack of control over agenda due to conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

Work is regularly performed in a closed office environment.

There is a requirement for travel on rare occasions.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) operates independently from government and reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate. The Commissioner's powers include: investigating privacy complaints, conducting audits and pursuing court action under the Privacy Act (PA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for the enforcement of relevant provisions of Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL); publicly reporting on the personal information-handling practices of public and private sector organizations; supporting, undertaking and publishing research into privacy issues; and promoting public awareness and understanding of privacy issues.

The OPC relies on its own legal counsel that are independent of the Department of Justice, to provide legal advice, guidance, policy and risk assessment on mandated privacy issues as well as legal issues related to OPC management and operations (e.g., contract law, employment law).

Reporting to the Director, Legal Services and Senior Counsel (LC-01), the Legal Advisor is 1 of 5 Legal Counsels (LP-02) responsible for providing a full range of legal advisory services and litigation support to the OPC.

Duties

1. Produces legal opinions, legal risk assessments and options on the administration and application of the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada's Anti-Spam Law and related regulations; provides research and advice on the interpretation and application of federal and provincial privacy legislation and regulations; determines legal trends at the federal, provincial and international levels and the implications for federal privacy issues, and produces related briefings and legal opinions.
2. Provides advice and opinions regarding other areas of law related to OPC operations and mandate, including but not limited to, contract law, labour law, and constitutional law.
3. Conducts legal research, regarding case law, previous opinions and precedents to identify trends and to ensure consistency of advice; provides legal advice on the development, interpretation and application of proposed and actual legislation, policies and practices; and produces reports, briefings and legal opinions; provides legal support and guidance to the OPC in preparation for Parliamentary appearances and submissions to Parliament on privacy matters.
4. Leads or participates in the preparation of litigation through the conduct of legal research, drafting of advice, opinions, memoranda, affidavits, motions and other related material in accordance with applicable Court Rules; may appear as counsel in hearings or other proceedings before the courts (e.g., Federal Court, Trial and Appeal Divisions) and may participate, as required, as a member of litigation teams led by more senior counsel on matters before the Supreme Court of Canada.
5. Participates in the development of, and delivers internal training on, legal and legal policy matters relating to privacy; mentors and provides feedback to junior counsel and reviews work of paralegals and students; represents the OPC at external speaking engagements on various legal matters within the OPC's mandate.

Cases are of varying complexity and are managed independently with guidance provided at the strategic level by the Director or Senior General Counsel.

Researches and analyzes legal issues, facts, case law and OPC policy decisions to understand privacy cases or assigned files, assess legal risks and provide advice to OPC management and staff and/or clients.

Researches and analyzes legal issues pertaining to other areas of law (e.g., contract law to support OPC procurement activities or employment law relating to management of employee issues); identifies legal risks and develops legal advice and opinions.

Analyzes facts and conducts risk assessments of privacy case files to identify and anticipate potential issues and recommend legal approaches to address them (e.g., advising the OPC on commencing potential litigation and developing recommendations); prepares persuasive arguments, and legal documents such as motions, pleadings, and affidavits to support litigation activities.

Analyzes issues and provides legal advice and support respecting the Privacy Commissioner's submissions to and appearances before parliamentary committees.

Researches comparative and administrative law; identifies trends at the federal, provincial and international levels and the implications for privacy at the federal level; and produces related briefings and legal opinions.

Examines trends and issues in the interpretation and application of privacy law to anticipate potential issues, advise clients appropriately, and develop and deliver training activities.

Knowledge of legal theories and principles, jurisprudence and doctrine relating to privacy and of the Privacy Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada's Anti-Spam Law and related regulations in order to provide legal research and review services, advice, risk assessments and options. This knowledge is also required to lead or participate in litigation and to develop training on legal issues.

Knowledge of the Canadian parliamentary and judicial systems in order to give advice and provide litigation services respecting the OPC mandate as an Officer of Parliament.

Knowledge of the areas of law having an impact upon privacy in Canada and upon the operation of the OPC such as constitutional law, administrative law, contract law and labour law and knowledge of privacy legislation in other Canadian and international jurisdictions to provide legal opinions and comparative analyses.

Knowledge of court and evidentiary rules, processes and procedures in order to lead and/or participate in litigation and prepare court documents including affidavits, memoranda, motions and other material.

Knowledge of legal research systems in order to search databases and contribute to the updating and management of the OPC system.

Knowledge of the roles, responsibilities, structure, mandate and programs of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in order to provide legal research, advice and training, and respond to legal issues with respect to privacy and the operation and management of the OPC.

Consults with investigators and other OPC staff to obtain a complete understanding of the context and implications underlying requests for legal advice regarding OPC investigations, privacy legislation, and precedents, and to determine the scope of cases and the level of expertise required to address them.

Discusses cases and trends with senior counsel and OPC clients to ensure consistency and coherence of approaches and advice, to provide comprehensive explanations on privacy issues, trends and emerging developments, interpretations and applications, and to identify potential horizontal implications across OPC.

Drafts clear, concise and convincing legal opinions, affidavits, reports, legal risk assessments and options and, chooses appropriate terms and adapt verbal and written communications to various audiences (e.g., investigators, respondents, colleagues, etc.) to provide verbal and written legal advice. Cases are subject to very strict confidentiality; therefore, a high level of judgement is required; may provide advice and recommendations directly to the Commissioner and/or Assistant Commissioner, as required.

Represents the views of the OPC to clients, lawyers, members of the judiciary, and officials of the courts and representatives of the federal and other jurisdictions regarding cases and to present the OPC's perspective while defending its interests.

Independently manages own workload to ensure the timely and effective delivery of legal advisory services; leads and/or participates in working groups and project teams to share legal expertise on more complex cases; represents the OPC and participates in litigation in cases before various courts, including the Federal Court (Trial and of Appeal Divisions) and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mentors junior colleagues and assigns and reviews work of students and paralegals.

Delivers training sessions and presentations on legal matters to public and private organizations to share knowledge on privacy matters/issues.

Regularly remains seated for prolonged periods while using a computer, reading or proofreading data or documents.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work, including legal briefcases, boxes or files, or legal texts.

Regularly reviews large volumes of material and documents.

Lack of control over agenda due to conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

Work is regularly performed in a closed office environment.

There is a requirement to travel on rare occasions.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Bureau of Pensions Advocates (BPA) is a nation-wide organization of advocates within Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). The Bureau's mandate is to assist clients in the preparation of applications for review or for appeal and to provide representation at hearings before the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB). The Bureau operates at arm's length from VAC in regard to its advocacy mandate.

All BPA advocates are lawyers who are experienced in pension matters and are considered specialists in claims for disability benefits. Persons seeking legal representation from BPA are treated as if they were hiring a private lawyer and are subject to the same solicitor-client privilege. BPA advocates represent clients in about 95 per cent of all review and appeal cases before the VRAB and manage twelve to thirteen thousand case files per annum.

There are 25 LP-02 pension advocates nationally. Advocates are located in the Appeal Unit (5 advocates) at Headquarters or in one of 14 local offices (20 advocates) and either report directly to the Director Operations or through 4 Area Directors (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and Western).

Duties

1. Analyses and evaluates case documentation and evidence; conducts medical and legal research; collects new evidence; reviews related VRAB cases and decisions and drafts legal opinions, statutory declarations, written arguments, correspondence and related documents in support of disability claim cases.
2. Consults with specialists in the legal, medical and other professional communities; liaises with representatives from VAC, other departments and agencies, Veterans' organizations, the private sector, advisory/interest groups and stakeholder organizations.
3. Provides advice to clients on the probability of a favourable outcome based upon the law, the facts in the case, and related jurisprudence; develops case strategies and gains client acceptance; prepares clients and witnesses in advance of VRAB review and appeal hearings; and represents clients in these proceedings.
4. Provides legal coaching to Advocacy Officers and other staff; shares knowledge and provides advice to colleagues on case-specific issues.
5. Identifies legal issues, trends, and legislative, administrative or policy interpretations affecting client outcomes; contributes to stakeholder Interpretation Hearings to garner support for changes in the interpretation of the legislation governing the redress processes.
6. Provides advice to client representatives (i.e., external legal counsel, Royal Canadian Legion representative, family member or other designated person) on an 'as requested' basis regarding legal, procedural and administrative aspects of cases.

Under general direction of the Director:

• manages a review and appeal caseload of significant volume, varying legal and medical complexity and varying political and public sensitivity, while ensuring solicitor-client privilege is maintained;
• analyzes case documentation and evidence and evaluates the legal context, issues and/or implications, jurisprudence, and case facts to determine and formulate legal strategies, responses, options and recommendations for the client;
• conducts legal and medical research, comparative analyses and assessments of review decisions to identify issues or precedents and gaps in evidence; analyzes and interprets issues and claims, particularly those where case law, legislation or statutes are unclear, contradictory or open to legal interpretation to provide advice to clients, and present arguments before the VRAB;
• analyzes situations where the facts do not fit within the parameters of relevant legislation or policies of VRAB (e.g., the definition of dependants and other eligible clients) to formulate arguments, break new ground and ascertain the true intent of Parliament reaching beyond existing departmental or VRAB policy;
• interprets medical etiology to evaluate consequential medical relationships between one disability and another and, to understand the long-term effects of service-related injuries, illnesses and diseases in order to advance written and oral arguments before the VRAB; and
• assesses the relationship between client service and related disabilities which may present years after service.

Knowledge of the Pension Act, New Veterans Charter, Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act, War Veterans Allowance Act, Department of Veterans Affairs Act, Interpretation Act and jurisprudence related to these statutes, and of administrative law, and rules of evidence to provide advocacy services, advice and expertise on cases, and represent clients throughout Veterans Review and Appeal Board processes. This knowledge is also required to identify and frame questions of interpretation that are brought to Interpretation Hearings of stakeholders.

Knowledge of the acts and regulations impinging upon disability benefit entitlements such as Workers` Compensation legislation, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Divorce Act, Criminal Code and any other legislative provision affecting case outcomes.

Knowledge of medical principles and ethics, medical terminology, etiology and disease interrelationships, medico-legal practice with respect to personal injury and disability, and of related medical-legal issues is required to assess legal risks, develop case strategies and options and provide legal advice to clients.

Knowledge of principles and practices of legal research, analysis and reasoning, adjudication, judicial hearings, consultation, public administration and comparative legal analysis to provide legal advice and guidance to clients and prepare responses to enquiries.

Knowledge of the mandate, structure and priorities of the Bureau of Pensions Advocates, Veteran's Affairs Canada, veterans' organizations (e.g., Royal Canadian Legion the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman) and of related federal, provincial and private sector organizations (e.g., , Veterans Review and Appeal Board, Department of National Defense, RCMP, Department of Justice, medical community, Workers' Compensation and private pension/insurance organizations) to prepare cases and provide legal services and representation to clients, to identify legal issues, trends, and legislative, administrative or policy interpretations affecting client outcomes, and to contribute to stakeholder Interpretation Hearings to garner support for changes in the interpretation of the legislation governing the redress processes.

Knowledge of legal research systems in order to search databases and contribute to the updating and management of the BPA's system.

Advises, counsels and prepares clients who may have life-threatening illnesses, severe psychiatric or physical disabilities and/or urgent financial needs. Prepares witnesses, provides advice and guidance to client representatives, if requested, gains support for recommended legal options and strategies on a case-by-case basis, and develops and presents arguments and evidence to support the redress process in an organized and persuasive manner before the VRAB.

Prepares and drafts legal opinions, statutory declarations, written arguments, advice, correspondence and related documents in support of client disability review and appeal claims.

Develops and makes oral/written presentations to the VRAB and or written submissions to VAC in order to represent clients in redress processes regarding disability benefits.

Consults with specialists in the legal, medical and other professional communities and liaises with representatives from other departments and agencies, the private sector, advisory/interest groups and stakeholder organizations to gather the information and materials required to complete the case files.

Provides information about specific cases to respond to requests from private lawyers taking into account the provision of the Privacy Act and solicitor-client privilege.

Independently plans and manages a high volume caseload of varying complexity.

Develops and manages the client-advocate interface throughout the review process which involves: ascertaining case facts and developing strategies for representing the client during redress processes; preparing the client to participate in redress proceedings; and explaining VRAB decisions.

Provides guidance to colleagues on case and practice management, communication approaches and conflict resolution to contribute to the development and updating of the Unit's legal rules and guidelines.

Provides legal coaching to Advocacy Officers and other support staff to ensure accuracy and quality of their work and provides input to performance evaluations and identification of training and development needs.

Exercises fiscal responsibility to requisition professional medical services in support of client disability benefit claims, and tailors the number and location of off-site hearings and the corresponding amount of travel to meet budgetary constraints.

Occasionally sits for prolonged periods to view computer screens and read/review hard copy and electronic service and medical documents, often of poor quality. Stands when delivering presentations.

Occasionally lifts, carries and moves heavy volumes of work materials (e.g., client files).

Regularly drafts legal documents for prolonged periods requiring extensive visual effort.

Works under pressure and tight deadlines, copes with heavy caseload assignments and responds to frequent, urgent requests for immediate legal advice and services. Stress increases when clients are extremely ill, living in desperate economic circumstances or have significant physical/psychiatric disabilities.

The work is performed in a standard office environment as well as in administrative tribunal and judicial hearing environments (court rooms).

Travel to off-site may be required on occasion.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Supreme Court of Canada is Canada's final court of appeal. It serves Canadians by deciding legal issues of public importance; thereby contributing to the development of all branches of law applicable within Canada.

The Court Operations Sector is comprised of the Law Branch, Reports Branch, Registry Branch and Library and Information Management Branch and is responsible for the planning, direction and provision of legal advice and operational support to the Supreme Court Judges respecting the case management process from the initial filing to the final judgment on an appeal. This includes the processing and recording of proceedings, scheduling of cases, legal and jurilinguistic services, legal research and library services, legal editing services and publication of the Canada Supreme Court Reports. Information management services, including case-related and corporate records information, are also provided by the Sector.

Reporting to the Senior Counsel, Law Branch, the subject position (SP) is 1 of 16 Legal Counsels (LP-02) responsible for providing legal advice, services and research, and preparing legal opinions for the Supreme Court's Judges, senior management and staff.

Duties

1. Researches and develops memoranda and summaries of applications for leave to appeal and of appeals to recommend to the Judges the granting or dismissal of applications.
2. Writes summaries of reasons for judgment to be published in the Canada Supreme Court Reports; reviews and provides legal editing of reasons for judgment prior to release; writes syntheses and/or policy papers on legal and other issues to inform senior management.
3. Conducts research to provide legal opinions and advice to the Registrar and senior administrative staff on employment law, contracts, procurement, litigation, copyright and intellectual property and policy issues.
4. Provides training and guides law students in all sections, oversees and evaluates their performance.
5. Provides direction to editors/revisers, translators, students and support staff, as necessary to ensure cohesiveness and completeness of information regarding Supreme Court decisions.

Workload is managed independently with guidance provided at the strategic level by the Senior Counsel.

Analyzes the merits of applications for leave to appeal and writes memoranda recommending granting or dismissal of applications. The work involves reviewing appeal documents, researching novel, substantive legal and procedural issues, finding solutions that are legally sound, and developing recommendations. The work has a direct impact on the perception of the Supreme Court in Canada, nationally and abroad, and upon access to justice more generally. Failure to provide complete and correct information may embarrass the Court and affect its public legitimacy as a fundamental Canadian democratic institution.

Researches, develops and analyses specialized legal questions and writes legal opinions addressing substantive, procedural, jurisdictional and administrative issues for the Judges, senior management and Court staff.

Issues are novel and there is little guidance regarding the substance and nature of the advice provided on applications for leave to appeal (e.g., Access to education in French for French minority in Yukon). Court files are unique and involve unresolved issues in any area of law. Legal counsel must have the ability to quickly analyse diverse areas of the law and questions raised through applications for leave to appeal in order to draft memoranda, summarize issues and recommend to the Judges the granting or dismissal of applications.

Analyses and provides legal advice on contracts, procurement, litigation, and copyright and intellectual property in support of Supreme Court of Canada operational activities.

Knowledge of theories, principles and concepts of law to:

• interpret and evaluate submissions presented to the Court;
• write memoranda detailing arguments, facts and issues raised in an application for leave to appeal, and the application, motion and appeal materials;
• assimilate and synthesize legal and factual reports, documents, statutes and regulations;
• provide sound legal advice and recommendations to the Judges;
• assist the Court by reviewing reasons for judgment in order to detect any ambiguity or legal nuances between various sets of reasons in a given judgment when writing the head notes and editing reasons for decisions;
• research and provide legal opinions on a variety of matters relating to court practices, administration and operations; and
• represent the Court in litigation and on staff relations issues as necessary.

Knowledge of the Supreme Court Act and the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitution Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Criminal Code, the Quebec Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure, relevant provisions of miscellaneous statutes that affect the Court's jurisdiction, multiple areas of law including, but not limited to, administrative, criminal, commercial, tax, intellectual property, privacy, labour, government procurement, native, environmental and family law, appeal procedures and federal statutes and codes in order to conduct research and provide pertinent legal advice or legal opinions to the Judges, senior managers, colleagues, and Court staff.

Knowledge of: the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, federal departments and agencies, and the Department of Justice; the legislative function and procedures of Parliament, the Senate, and the Governor General, and of the constitutional division and organization of powers in Canada; and the roles, responsibilities and procedures of other courts in Canada as well as the legislative function and procedures of provincial legislatures in order to anticipate interrelationship issues and determine the impact on legal advice and opinions provided to Supreme Court of Canada judges and senior managers.

Knowledge of foreign and international court decisions (e.g., decisions of the House of Lords of England, the High Court of Australia, the U.S. Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights) so they may be referenced in memoranda and written and oral advice to the Judges.

Knowledge in human rights law in relation to several parts of the Charter and Bill of Rights, the Canadian Human Rights Act including privacy rights, fundamental freedoms, voting and electoral rights, the rights of persons in the regulatory context, and Charter remedies is required to provide legal advice to client departments and colleagues, monitor Canadian and international trends and developments, identify and assess potential risks and opportunities, and recommend positions, risk management strategies or other responses for the Government of Canada.

Knowledge of the rules of procedure and evidence for the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal and related expertise in drafting legal documents (e.g., opinions, memoranda of fact and law, and other documents) is required to generally understand the courts' approach to the Charter and other human rights obligations in order to inform the application of specific rights and freedoms to a potentially endless diversity of possible areas of governance.

Knowledge of other areas of law as they relate to human rights law in order to provide comprehensive legal advice on litigation cases; define and anticipate legal risks, e.g. in formulating advice to litigators on the legal position to put forward in defending the Income Tax Act from Charter challenge and, take into account the potential impacts on statutes governing matters across Government. These include but are not limited to constitutional and administrative law and related statutes. Knowledge of the principles and practices of legal advisory, legislative and policy development services to anticipate developments and identify trends and potential risks and recommend strategies for the Government of Canada.

Knowledge of the Department of Justice mandate, and of departmental and Human Rights Law Section priorities and objectives, is required to coordinate the provision of advisory services.

Knowledge of client departments and agencies' missions, mandates, constituting statutes, programmes, policies and operational contexts to provide advice and support the resolution of legal human rights issues.

Writes legal and factual reports, summaries, and policy papers and provides written and verbal advice on diverse legal matters and areas of law to address substantive, procedural, jurisdictional and administrative issues for the Judges, senior management and Court staff.

Write capsule summaries of applications for leave to appeal including the case's procedural history, facts and lower court judgments to provide the Judges with a brief overview of the case, the staff and the public with the essential information surrounding a case, and the press with working documents for reporting on such cases before the Court.

Provides verbal debriefings to the Judges on applications for leave to appeal, motions, and changes to judgments, and to senior management to recommend the best course of action.

Writes summaries (head notes) of reasons for judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada clearly and succinctly stating the legal issues, significant facts of the case, the points of law and the principles applied, and differences in the various sets of reasons in order to make the reasons for decisions readily understandable to the reader (e.g., judges, lawyers, the public, students and the media).

Coordinates the work of the editing team when reviewing judgments; verifies the accuracy of the work and performs legal editing of reasons for judgments; provides advice to the judicial assistants, jurilinguists and technical revisers in the preparation of the final versions of judgments disseminated to the public.

Mentors and guides junior staff in the performance of duties; coaches and reviews the legal work of law students and student and provides verbal and written feedback; briefs the Court's staff on important decisions rendered by the Court to share knowledge and expertise.

Develops educational tools/contents and delivers training sessions for lawyers (e.g., publication bans).

Develops discussion papers (e.g., access to justice and unrepresented litigants, guide on foreign legal system for the Chief Justice) to enhance the research/decisions database.

Participates in staffing committees to assist in the selection of law clerks.

Regularly sits for long periods of time (with breaks) to review and revise documents and participate in meetings. Occasionally stands when delivering presentations.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work including legal briefcases, boxes or files, or legal texts.

Frequently views computer screens and reads, reviews and drafts documents for prolonged periods requiring extensive visual effort.

Performs work in a production environment (approximately 500 to 600 applications for leave to appeal annually) requiring accuracy and attention to strict deadlines which may lead to stress.

Maintains professional composure while providing legal opinions to a judge who may not agree with and challenges the opinions offered.

The work is performed in an office environment, with frequent distractions and interruptions from telephone calls and visitors and prolonged exposure to glare from a computer monitor.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Department of Justice provides legal services to the Government of Canada on a wide range of issues. The Prairie Region is one of six regional offices within the Department of Justice. It spans three provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. There are offices located in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton. Regional headquarters is in Edmonton. The Prairie Region is responsible for aboriginal, civil, quasi-criminal and tax litigation services, and for providing solicitors' advice in relation to property, commercial and other subjects of federal interest in the region. The Region is structured along the following key areas of practice:

• Aboriginal Law Services
• Business & Regulatory Law Portfolio
• Public Safety, Defense & Immigration, Central Agencies, and Justice
• Tax Law Services

Litigators represent the Government of Canada in all litigation activities.

The Subject Position (SP) is one of 20 lawyers (5 LP-01, 15 LP-02) reporting directly to the Deputy Regional Director and Senior Counsel who is responsible for Business & Regulatory Law, Public Safety, Defence & Immigration, Central Agencies, and Justice within Alberta; and provides a range legal services to a wide variety of departments.

Duties

1. Reviews initial statements of claim, evidence and documentation; identifies gaps in information related to assigned litigation cases; researches statutory provisions, case law, precedents, and evidence in support of each case; assesses the merits of cases and identifies risks and potential outcomes; consults, with client department officials and opposing counsel as required.
2. Plans litigation, develops risk mitigation strategies and advises the client of issues at appropriate points throughout the litigation process; develops litigation strategies on a case-by-case basis and in the context of a group of similar files, and in consultation with the client and Department of Justice colleagues, as appropriate.
3. Drafts pleadings (e.g., Statements of Claim, Statements of Defence, Responses, Applications, Notices of Appeal, Notices of Appearance, counter (claims), motions, affidavits, legal opinions, and advice in support of the case.
4. Represents and supports the client during discovery and questioning and gathers additional facts in the case; prepares pre-trial strategies, evidence, key witnesses and facts; negotiates settlements in advance of trials in consultation with the client; represents the client at trial and during any other court proceedings during the life of a file.
5. Participates as a member of larger litigation teams led by more senior counsel on high-risk, complex files.
6. Mentors junior counsel and assigns work to articling students, paralegals and support staff.

Files are of low to medium complexity and are managed independently with guidance provided at the strategic level by the senior counsel and/or managers.

Plans, manages and simultaneously leads a wide variety of assigned files, through all aspect of litigation (initial case assessment and investigations, risk assessment, drafting of court documents and pleadings, discovery, pretrial, negotiation of settlements, representation in court and appeals) in order to effectively represent the government in each case. Ensures that all procedural requirements of the courts and tribunals are met (e.g., meeting court deadlines for filing and serving affidavits, facta , motions).The specific federal department, type of litigation, facts, evidence, court requirements, and relevant legislation varies from case to case. Counsel must adapt strategies, arguments, and approaches to meet the rules of court and tribunals, case requirements, and effectively represent a wide variety of client departments and agencies.

Represents the client in court proceedings; to quickly analyze facts and testimony and to adapt courtroom legal strategies and arguments to further the Crown's case. This involves analyzing files, rulings, facts, law, and legal principles; anticipating opposing counsel strategies and adapting own strategies during court proceedings.

Negotiates settlements in advance of trial. This requires development of a negotiation strategy, and of settlement terms and amounts and gaining the client's approval; drafting any related settlement documentation and entering in discussions with the opposing party or their representatives to advance settlement details. Critical thinking is required in the conduct of negotiations to reach the government's desired settlement and objectives.

Contributes to the work of litigation teams involved in complex, high-risk litigation issues as determined by the departmental risk management system.

Knowledge of public law (Crown law, constitutional and administrative law) and all laws relevant to each case (e.g., common law and legislation) in order to identify legal issues, assess the merits of each case, develop litigation and negotiation strategies, identify risks, draft legal documents and provide advice and opinions related to case outcomes.

Knowledge of litigation practices and procedures and of negotiation, dispute resolution and advocacy to plan litigation and resolution strategies, advise and represent clients at each step in the litigation process and resolve cases at any stage of the litigation.

Knowledge of rules of procedure and evidence for and related expertise in drafting legal documents (e.g., pleadings, affidavits, memoranda of fact and law, and other documents) is required to represent the client in litigation proceedings before the provincial court, the Federal Courts, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench and the Alberta Court of Appeal.

Knowledge of the mandate, programs, policies and procedures of the Department of Justice to provide litigation services, consult with colleagues on issues of law, and contribute to teams managing more high risk, complex litigation issues.

Knowledge of programs, policies and statutory frameworks of client departments to provide advice, risk assessments and represent the client on assigned and varied litigation cases.

Responds to requests for advice from colleagues and client department officials and drafts a variety of legal documents (pleadings, motions, affidavits, memoranda, factums, correspondence, settlement documents, and legal opinion) on a wide range of legal issues within the Public Safety, Defence and Immigration, and Business and Regulatory portfolios in order to represent the government before the courts, during negotiations for the settlement of claims, or in any other litigation proceeding.

Presents oral and written submissions and arguments to the client, Department of Justice colleagues, opposing parties and/or the courts in order to influence decisions with respect to individual cases or broker solutions through the negotiation of case settlements.

Prepares and delivers oral and written briefings to Department of Justice colleagues, and client officials respecting case arguments, potential outcomes and the effects of cases on the broader body of case law.

Interviews and prepares potential witnesses and experts and examine and cross examine them during proceedings.

Consults with Department of Justice colleagues on matters of law and respective positions and interests to develop single, consistent, coordinated legal positions and strategies.

Prepares and presents oral and written briefings to client officials and Department of Justice colleagues on the status and potential outcome of cases.

Independently manages own workload (planning, prioritization and execution) to ensure the timely, effective and appropriate delivery of legal services on litigation files. Manages the interface with the client department or agency on litigation files and with opposing parties at every stage of the litigation process (e.g., research, risk analysis, planning and strategy development, discovery, pre-trial, settlement negotiation, trial).

Participates in working groups and project teams to share legal expertise on more complex cases.

Represents the Crown in litigation in cases before provincial court (typically in Fatality Inquiries in Alberta, Firearms hearings, or where claims were filed in error in order and the claim is to be moved to a more appropriate court), the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, and the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

Mentors junior colleagues and assigns and reviews work of students, paralegals and legal assistants and provides input to managers for performance evaluation purposes.

Regularly sits for prolonged periods of time during meetings, negotiations, and court proceedings; when reading legal documents, and when researching, drafting and proofreading legal materials.

Regularly carries or moves/lifts heavy items used in the support of the work, including but not limited to boxes, files, briefcases and large volumes of legal materials to meetings and court.

Regularly views computer screens and reads and reviews (technical and legal) documents for prolonged periods requiring extensive sensory effort.

The work involves lack of control over one's agenda, conflicting issues and priorities, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

There is a regular requirement to travel (monthly) and a requirement to work overtime with resulting impact on home life.

There is occasional exposure to threats or hostile parties during court proceedings where protection of security personnel may be sought and provided.

Work is regularly performed in an office environment or in a court setting.

There is a regular requirement to travel to meetings and courts which may be over long distances resulting in jetlag and fatigue.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Human Rights Law Section is the national centre of expertise regarding human rights law for the Department of Justice. It is responsible for legal capacity building on human rights issues across the federal government. It is comprised of approximately 25 lawyers.

Reporting to the Director General and Senior General Counsel, the Subject Position (SP) is 1 of 6 Senior Counsel (LP-03) responsible for advising the Government of Canada as to its legal responsibilities under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights, and international human rights law.

These rights include:

• fundamental freedoms (e.g., freedom of conscience, religion, expression, peaceful assembly, association);
• democratic rights (e.g., right to life, liberty and the security of the person, security against unreasonable search and seizure, right to counsel, right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment);
• mobility rights;
• equality rights (e.g., prohibiting discrimination based upon race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability); and
• language rights.

Provides legal research, risk assessments, advice and litigation support with regard to human rights law to departmental colleagues and client officials across the Government of Canada and fulfills a senior specialist role with respect to privacy rights, fundamental freedoms, voting and electoral rights, the rights of persons in the regulatory context, and Charter remedies.

Duties

1. Provides legal advice and support to Department of Justice lawyers, litigators (departmental and those within the Public Prosecution Service of Canada), and departmental/agency clients, including the Privy Council Office, regarding the compliance of client operations, policy development activities and litigation with the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights. Formulates departmental positions on novel issues based on the general legal framework while balancing the interests, needs and objectives of the client.
2. Consults with colleagues and clients to identify legal risks and to develop risk mitigation strategies to support client needs and objectives. Defines and assesses legal risks in light of new and emerging jurisprudence and anticipates legal and policy implications to recommend risk management strategies.
3. Conducts legal research to identify trends in jurisprudence, case law, and legal opinions and to develop and ensure consistency of advice. Monitors Canadian and international trends and developments regarding human rights to identify potential risks and opportunities and recommends positions, risk management strategies or other responses for the Government of Canada.
4. Supports the Minister of Justice in discharging their responsibility to examine all government bills to be tabled in the House of Commons for any inconsistency with the Charter or Bill of Rights.
5. Provides support to litigators to defend legislation and government actions challenged as violating the Charter or the Bill of Rights; contributes to the formulation of the litigation strategy and provides advice on government-wide implications of litigation issues and potential outcomes on human rights law.
6. Reviews legal opinions from colleagues (e.g., privacy, voting rights) and coaches junior colleagues to ensure quality and consistency of advice, transfer knowledge, and promote professional development. Develops educational products and presents at conferences.

Under general direction of the Director General and Senior General Counsel, Works independently and autonomously in the completion of own research and case files and in the provision of legal advice and risk assessment.

Analyzes and synthesizes the client's legal, policy, operational and business information to provide legal advice, guidance and services on often ill-defined human rights related legal matters (e.g., privacy implications of information-sharing between departments and agencies). Advice is prepared for other Department of Justice colleagues, litigators, and client officials on legal matters where the law is often unclear, and precedents are not directly applicable. Decisions and recommendations have a direct impact upon individual departmental/agency policies and business activities and may affect broad government legal positions vis-a-vis the protection of human rights.

Anticipates, researches, and analyzes legal issues, facts and jurisprudence to develop options, advice and arguments in support of the client and litigation in the courts, and to present facts, findings and opinions in a clear and concise manner.

Conducts risk assessments of law reform and policy proposals and litigation, identifies potential issues, and recommends risk management approaches. The work involves abstract thinking as risks are not always obvious and risk assessments involve adapting the legal principles articulated by the courts to different legal contexts and scenarios.
Monitors legal developments and examines trends, issues in interpretation and application, media releases, social science research, academic articles, and new developments in the human rights law to ensure all legal and legal policy issues are anticipated, strategies are developed to address them when opportune, and advises clients and develops and delivers training activities.

Reviews legal opinions from colleagues in specialty subject matter areas (e.g., privacy, voting rights) and, coaches junior colleagues to ensure quality and consistency of advice, transfer knowledge, and promote professional development.

Knowledge of many areas of human rights law (i.e., fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights), and specialized knowledge of and expertise in human rights law in relation to privacy rights, fundamental freedoms, voting and electoral rights, the rights of persons in the regulatory context, and Charterremedies in order to: provide legal advice to client departments and Department of Justice colleagues; monitor Canadian and international trends and developments; identify and assess potential risks and opportunities; and recommend positions, risk management strategies or other responses for the Government of Canada.

Knowledge of jurisprudence to understand the courts' approach to the Charter and other human rights obligations in order to understand the application of specific rights and freedoms to diverse areas of governance.

Knowledge of other areas of law as they relate to human rights law in order to provide comprehensive legal advice on litigation cases and define and anticipate legal risks (e.g., in formulating advice to litigators on the legal position to put forward in defending the Income Tax Act from a Charterchallenge, while taking into account the potential impacts on statutes). These areas of law include, but are not limited to constitutional and administrative law and related statutes.

Knowledge of the Department of Justice mandate and of departmental and Human Rights Law Section priorities and objectives to ensure consistency of advice provided by the Department of Justice to clients.

Knowledge of client department and agency missions, mandates, constituting statutes, programmes, policies and operational contexts to understand the implications with respect to human rights law and to provide advice as to legal risks.

Consults with Department of Justice colleagues and departmental/agency clients on the impact of policy, business or legislative activities upon the human rights protections guaranteed by the Charter or the Canadian Bill of Rights to assess legal risks and present persuasive legal opinions and advice, often in the absence of case law, on issues that are frequently politically sensitive.

Develops clear, concise and accurate legal documents, oral briefings and advice for senior officials on rulings, decisions and interpretations of legislation.

Develops educational materials such as Supreme Court of Canada case briefs and CharterChecklists for use by colleagues across government to ensure consistency of approaches to and understanding of human rights legal issues.

Presents at conferences and other fora to Department of Justice colleagues, client officials, academics and others to advance understanding of human rights law.

Chooses appropriate terms and adapt verbal and written communications to various audiences (e.g., front-line border officials, other Department of Justice lawyers, Deputy Ministers, Ministers and the Prime Minister's Office).

Independently manages own workload and relationships with departmental counsel and client organizations to ensure the timely, effective and appropriate delivery of advisory services.

Consults with colleagues and monitors their advice to ensure legal advice is consistent and coherent; promotes a common understanding of Charter and Bill of Rights jurisprudence, trends and emerging developments, interpretation and applications, and of the horizontal implications across departments and agencies.

Provides opinions and file leadership on Charter issues where the law is often ill-defined and precedents are unavailable (e.g., the legal implications of sharing private information between and among different government departments and agencies).

Regularly sits for long periods of time (with breaks) in order to review and revise documents and participate in meetings. This may be alleviated through adaptations such as a sit-stand desk. Occasionally stands when delivering presentations.

Occasionally carries or moves/lifts items used in the support of the work, including legal briefcases, boxes of files or legal texts.

Frequently views computer screens, reads and reviews draft documents for prolonged periods requiring extensive visual effort.

The work involves dealing with conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines which may lead to a lack of control over one's agenda.

Work is regularly performed in a typical office environment.

There is a requirement for travel on rare occasions.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) fulfills the responsibilities of the Attorney General of Canada in the discharge of their criminal law mandate by: prosecuting criminal offences under federal jurisdiction (more than 40 statutes); providing prosecution-related advice to law enforcement agencies; and contributing to strengthening the criminal justice system.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada is an independent organization, reporting to Parliament through the Attorney General of Canada. Cases prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada includes those involving drugs, organized crime, terrorism, tax and customs crimes, money laundering and proceeds of crime, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Criminal Code offences in the territories, and a large number of federal regulatory offences. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada employs approximately 1130 full-time employees, including 577 prosecutors, and retains more than 810 private-sector lawyers as agents across Canada.

Reporting to Chief Federal Prosecutor, BC Region are 76 lawyers. The Subject Position is 1 of 5 General Counsel (LP-04) responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions, representing the Crown on appeals before the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, and providing legal advice and services to federal clients on criminal law matters and conducts criminal prosecutions. As a senior litigator and the regional expert in regulatory and environmental matters, provides legal advice and services on criminal law matters to investigative agencies, partners (federal departments and agencies, and other jurisdictions) and colleagues on behalf of the Public Prosecution Services Canada, BC Region.

Duties

1. Provides prosecution services to investigative agencies and partners including legal research, risk assessment, advice, guidance and opinions on criminal offenses and legal representation before the courts; provides regional expertise and leadership in regulatory and environmental matters.
2. Represents the Crown on appeal cases to the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
3. Defines and assesses legal risks in light of new and emerging jurisprudence and develops legal strategies, policies and opinions.
4. Establishes and manages multidisciplinary teams on files or projects with significant risks and having horizontal impacts on the public interest.
5. Coaches, mentors and trains counsel; contributes to policies, practices, methods and procedures to improve legal processes, knowledge and performance; champions change.
6. Contributes to the development and implementation of national and regional law practice standards.
7. Chairs and/or participates in regional, inter-jurisdictional and/or national, committees and working groups.

As the regional expert in criminal prosecution of regulatory and environmental legal cases, represents the Crown on a wide variety of cases and legal issues (e.g., pollution, chemical spills, toxic wastes, land development and property rights, natural resource usage, wildlife protection, Aboriginal territorial rights, food safety, occupational safety and health).

Analyzes case files; understands environmental, scientific (e.g., marine and freshwater biology, chemistry, and hydrology), medical, engineering and related facts and evidence; anticipates defence legal issues and arguments; conducts legal risk assessments; prepares legal strategies and opinions; and represents the Crown in court.

Researches and analyzes jurisprudence, assesses risks, develops legal strategies, arguments and opinions and represents the Crown to challenge or defend points of law and lower court decisions in cases before the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada (e.g., Supreme Court challenge of the constitutionality of minimum sentencing under the Criminal Code and the national implications for sentencing, legislative amendment and legal policy decisions of the Government). Cases before the appellate courts affect Canadian jurisprudence and case law respecting regulatory and environmental law

Develops legal strategies and solutions to address unanticipated or novel situations that have not been tested before the courts and for which there is no jurisprudence (e.g., disposal of materials at sea, where the environmental impacts, either positive or negative, are unknown and where there are broad legal implications respecting the Crown's ability to enforce Canadian legislation and of Canada's ability to meet international obligations to which Canada is signatory).

Provides expert recommendations to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that form the basis for drafting new Acts to implement Canada's obligations under various international conventions (i.e., new Canadian laws such as the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) to respond to Canada's obligations under the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD)'s Convention on Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions).

Exercises prosecutorial discretion before the courts to present a fair, complete, just and ethical prosecution on criminal matters in accordance with law practice and standards. The impact of rulings and decisions may be precedent setting. Environment-related files have a high public and political visibility and are often followed by the media.

Determines the scope and extent of legal research, fact-finding, and witness identification and preparation, to develop the strategies, options and arguments to be presented along with the relevant legal documents. The complexity of the facts, legal issues and tight deadlines renders the development of an effective argument more difficult.

Quickly analyzes facts and testimony and to adapt courtroom legal strategies, arguments and evidence to further the Crown's case. Analyzes files, contradictory rulings, facts, legislation, and legal principles; anticipates defence counsel strategies; and adapts the preparation and presentation of cases during court hearings.

Provides legal advice, guidance and opinions to investigative agencies, the Crown, provincial Crown, regulatory agencies, and colleagues; discusses issues, subjects, recent trends and developments in criminal law regionally and nationally on files or projects where precedents may be unclear, non-existent or where innovative solutions are required (e.g., the disposal materials at sea where the environmental impacts are undetermined). Decisions and recommendations influence the Government's position on environmental and regulatory prosecutions, the body of related case law, and the businesses, individuals and Canadians impacted by these cases, including international labour markets.

Knowledge of regulatory and environmental law and the numerous, related federal regulatory statutes and regulations (e.g., Environmental Protection Act, Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act, Canada Labour Code, Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, Canada Occupational Safety and Health Regulations) and an understanding of the scientific, medical and engineering terms, concepts and findings underpinning cases in order to provide legal research, risk assessment, and opinions; to lead prosecutions with respect to environmental and regulatory law; and to represent the Crown in appeals before the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Knowledge of legal principles, practices, standards, procedures and code of conduct as well as of the theories, principles, and methods of Canadian law, the Charter, criminal evidence and procedure, criminal and regulatory law, legal rulings and decisions in order to conduct environmental and regulatory prosecutions, to represent the Crown in appeals and to provide legal advice on criminal law matters and conduct prosecutions.

Knowledge of advocacy techniques and skills for file or project preparation and management in order to make sound, well informed and objective decisions. This includes expertise in research and analysis, statutory interpretation, reasoning, development of legal arguments, legal opinion/recommendation writing, negotiation and mediation, witness preparation and provision of direction to others to formulate creative solutions to often ill-defined legal issues.

Knowledge of team leadership, project management and planning, priority setting, time management, risk management to lead prosecutions and manage own files.

Knowledge of knowledge sharing, coaching, mentoring, training and career development, conflict resolution, performance feedback and evaluation and diversity awareness to lead multi-disciplinary teams and champion change.

Knowledge of the mandate of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the Attorney General of Canada in criminal matters and their inter-relationships; and the mandate and legal responsibilities of government departments, other levels of governments and investigative agencies to consult on and advance prosecutions.

Knowledge and understanding of the international implications of criminal prosecution rulings in Canada (e.g., the disposal materials at sea where the environmental impacts are undetermined). Decisions and recommendations hold the Government to account on treaties to which it must respond to various international bodies such as the United Nations (i.e., United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).

Establish and maintain a network of relationships with senior officials and colleagues, investigative agencies, partners and officials of other levels of government in order to influence, through diplomacy, persuasion and rigorous legal analysis and interpretation, legal directions or project strategies and the management of criminal law. Exercise diplomacy and responsiveness towards the media as the authorized PPSC spokesperson for specific prosecution cases for which they are responsible.

Provide strategic and expert level advice to clients and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada on questions of law before the Supreme Court of Canada (e.g., constitutional issues related to mandatory minimum sentencing), appellate or criminal courts; discuss issues and approaches and prepare/cross examine witnesses when conducting prosecutions; develop and present arguments/rebuttals before courts and respond to questions from the judge and other parties during hearings; compose various communications (e.g., correspondence, legal opinions, affidavits, pleadings, legal strategies) to respond to positions, rulings, decisions and interpretations while anticipating other party's point of view; write concisely, clearly and persuasively for various audiences. Cases may have national implications with respect to enforcement of regulatory and environment law, development of legal precedents and the Government's legal policy positions and legislative agenda.

Verbal and non-verbal skills are required to convey technical and scientific information, legal arguments and opinions; maintain effective channels of communication with partners and discuss jurisprudence, decisions and trends in order to ensure coherent and consistent legal advice and sharing of information.

Provide expert legal advice to senior government officials when PPSC policies or practices, legislation, or technical aspects of regulatory statutes are challenged.

Facilitate consultations with officials from investigative agencies and other centres of expertise within government in order to ensure an awareness of national policies and objectives that may be relevant to an individual case; be cognisant of broader pan-government perspectives to draw on the specialized subject-matter expertise of counsel in specific areas of the law.

Brief the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) of potential problems, and, in some cases, direct that a particular course of action be undertaken. This is necessary to ensure consistent decision-making, and that the DPP approve of decisions for which he or she is publicly accountable.

Leads and directs teams comprised of multidisciplinary subject matter experts (e.g., biologists, engineers, chemists, and legal counsel) in the prosecution of environmental and regulatory cases; and in the development and presentation of hearings before the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court; defines legal strategies, develops team objectives, assigns and monitors work, coordinates the provision of legal advice and options ensuring quality and consistency; provides clear, constructive and timely feedback; and assesses work performance. Explores ways to draw upon diverse talents within teams.

Mentors, coaches and trains in-house counsel and ensures the sharing and transfer of knowledge and best practices. Champions change and actively influences learning and development opportunities for counsel.

Contributes to, observes and respects the development and implementation of national and regional law practice standards (e.g., Desk Book). Completes learning and development requirements as prescribed by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the respective law society.

Builds and maintains a network of relationships and represents the Public Prosecution Service of Canada on a variety of regional and/or national committees (e.g., regional appeal committee) and inter/intra governmental consultations as the regional expert in regulatory and environmental issues.

Regularly sits for prolonged periods of time during meetings, consultations and negotiations, when reading court rulings, decisions and technical or scientific materials, and when drafting and proofreading legal materials.
Regularly stands in court rooms during prosecution proceedings.

Regularly carries briefcases and boxes of large volumes of materials while travelling.

Visual effort is required to concentrate when reading scientific, technical or legal documents.

The work involves significant lack of control over one's agenda, conflicting issues and priorities, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

The work may involve exposure to difficult fact situations and may lead to viewing graphic material (i.e., crime scene photos) that may impact upon psychological wellbeing.

The work may involve exposure to highly charged public and media environments when prosecuting cases, and there is a risk of being subject to physical and psychological intimidation, openly or disguised, personal attacks or becoming a personal target that may endanger one's safety or that of one's family from hostile parties aimed at destabilizing prosecution cases.

There is a requirement to travel and work overtime, often during weekend and holiday periods, with resulting impact on home life.

Work is regularly performed in an office environment.

Prosecutions are subject to public and media scrutiny, which includes occasional demonstrations by the general public.

There is a frequent requirement to travel for meetings, which may be over long distances, to remote coastal communities, resulting in jetlag and fatigue.

Organization Context and Position Summary

The Constitutional, Administrative and International Law Section (CAILS) advises on:

• International Law – treaties, customary international law;
• Constitutional Law – the division of legislative powers between Parliament and provincial legislatures, and questions of constitutional interpretation, including intergovernmental immunity, the scope and application of the various terms of entry into Confederation, federal-provincial agreements, Parliamentary law, democratic reform, constitutional amendments and fundamental constitutional principles;
• Crown Law – advice on crown law questions such as liability of the Crown in tort and contract, class actions, Crown agency status, the application of the prerogative, solicitor-client privilege and the operation of Crown immunity); and
• Administrative Law – the structure of government institutions, the exercise of government powers, the roles of various executive office holders, including the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and the relationship between the executive, the courts and parliament).

Reporting to the Director General and Senior General Legal Counsel (LC-03), the Senior General Counsel is 1 of 2 Senior General Counsel (LP-05) in the Section (35 lawyers) responsible for providing authoritative and expert legal advice and services in administrative and crown law to Department of Justice senior management, client departments and colleagues at the national level within the Constitutional, Administrative and International Law Section at the Department of Justice with regards to the statutes, rules, actions and operations of government and governmental agencies. The responsibilities involve most areas of machinery of government and cover the manner in which courts review the decisions of administrative decision-makers such as a board, tribunal, commission, agency or minister.

Duties

1. Provides legal advice and services in administrative and crown law to senior officials of the Department of Justice, the Privy Council Office and other federal departments and agencies with regard to governmental actions and decisions having government, social, economic or legal implications at the national level and the development, interpretation and application of proposed and actual legal texts, policies, practices, agreements, litigation and negotiations to address unprecedented developments and identify options.
2. Conducts risk assessments and provides legal advice on risk mitigation and management strategies to determine overall impacts on a multitude of acts, regulations and policies, across federal departments at the national level.
3. Monitors legal and legal policy developments and litigation, legislative and advisory services provided by the Department of Justice in administrative law to anticipate emerging trends, risks and issues; identifies their implications for the Government of Canada and develops new frameworks and interpretations that frame the direction of the law.
4. Provides advice and functional direction to departmental colleagues with respect to legal and legal policy issues, transfers knowledge and best practices, and supports departmental management practices.
5. Represents the Department of Justice and other government departments or agencies to provide evidence, explain the federal Crown's legal or legal policy position on controversial matters and to support senior management officials before a variety of bodies, including parliamentary committees, governmental and intergovernmental groups and international organizations.
6. Contributes to the effective management of the Section; anticipates client legal services needs and resulting resources requirements and implications and assists with the planning process; identifies the need for and oversees the design and conduct of legal educational activities for departmental colleagues and clients and provides comments to managers regarding the performance evaluation of legal counsel and other staff.

Analyses decisions made by boards, tribunals, commissions, agency heads and ministers on issues having government, societal, economic or legal implications at the national level (e.g., the powers of Appeal Boards and their limitations) to develop new frameworks and interpretations of the law taking into account the Government of Canada's interests.

Advises on the development, interpretation and application of proposed and actual legal texts, policies, practices, agreements and arrangements, (e.g., questions arising from the accountability of the executive to Parliament) to ensure consistent legal approaches and interpretation.

Provides legal and legal policy advice on formulating approaches or interpretations to address unprecedented developments at the national level, (e.g., determining what role the Attorney General should take in advising/representing, prosecuting and/or defending departments).

Uncovers multiple underlying issues, integrated, often competing interests and positions and legal implications, (e.g., the creation and operation of new government agencies) to ensure that legal and legal policy advice as well as litigation and legislative support relating to the administrative and crown law is coordinated and responsive to the Government of Canada's interests.

Monitors legal and legal policy developments to anticipate emerging issues and risks and identify their implications; proposes responsive strategies and adapts existing legal frameworks taking into account potential horizontal implications that will affect various aspects of administrative and crown law, (e.g., the application of natural justice and fairness, delegation rules, the exercise of discretion and the use of policy guidelines, discipline and termination of appointees, regulatory powers and standards of judicial review).

Addresses new and emerging legal and legal policy issues and provides risk management advice to promote a coherent and principled development of the administrative and crown law consistent with the government's interests (e.g., helped manage risks around pipeline decisions by guiding how decisions were made and articulated).

Knowledge of concepts and principles of administrative law to provide advice to federal departments and agencies on a variety of issues (e.g., the structure of government institutions, the exercise of government powers, the roles of executive office holders, and the relationship between the executive, the courts and parliament).

Knowledge of concepts and principles of crown law to provide advice to senior officials in federal departments and agencies on questions such as liability of the Crown in tort and contract, class actions, Crown agency status, the application of the prerogative, solicitor-client privilege and the operation of Crown immunity. Legislative and regulatory reform initiatives increasingly raise issues of the potential for Crown liability. Crown law issues are central to questions of legal instrument choice, remedies, litigation exposure, and legal risk management.

Knowledge of theories, principles and methods of Canadian and international law in order to maintain a global and strategic perspective, monitor legal and policy developments, identify the horizontal, longer term implications of government operations, society and the law, and propose mitigation and other strategies.

Knowledge of government policies and programs in order to evaluate the legal, political and business risks, including long term and horizontal business implications and linkages with varied legislation to develop strategic positions and mitigation strategies.

Knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Justice, the Privy Council Office and other departments and agencies, the machinery of government, the Constitution and various federal legislation, departmental policies, gaps and impacts to provide advice on new or amended legislation, anticipate emerging trends, risks and issues, to identify the implications for the Government of Canada and develop new frameworks and interpretations that frame the direction of the administrative and crown law.

Knowledge of principles and practices of legal advisory, legislative and policy development and litigation support on matters having governmental societal, economic or legal implications, in order to provide advice to departmental officials and colleagues on the development of policy and legislation, including the identification of options where little or no precedent exists and have political and social sensitivity.

Consults with and provides advice to senior client officials and Department of Justice senior management and colleagues to develop a common understanding that influences strategic decision making on issues having significant implications to the government as a whole, (e.g., provided advice to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the Minister of Multiculturalism and a Minister of State for Citizenship with regard to overlapping responsibilities and ministerial authority).

Writes and presents legal opinions and other correspondence on matters used by senior client officials to set and/or modify policy and develop legislation (e.g., produced three substantial opinions regarding the historic role of the Attorney General, the ethical obligations of departmental lawyers and the fiduciary relationship between lawyer and client).

Leads discussions among clients and the Department of Justice on matters of administrative and crown law as well as legal policy, to influence and reconcile perspectives and, to build consensus in determining the positions of the department and the government.

Provides written and oral legal advice and opinions on matters of administrative law and policy that deal with novel circumstances and require significant interpretation, (e.g., decisions regarding denials of citizenship applications) to governmental officials who rely on this advice to set policy, develop legislation and make decisions.

Defines the overall approach to projects, files or issues of national scope, negotiates human resources commitments and leads legal teams, on behalf of the Department of Justice, (e.g., teams respecting the 2012 Budget Implementation; the new Fair Elections Act; and the creation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada).

Represents the Department of Justice and other government departments or agencies to provide evidence, explain the federal Crown's legal or legal policy position on controversial matters and support senior government officials before a variety of bodies, including parliamentary committees and governmental and intergovernmental organizations.

Leads the provision of legal advisory services relative to key legal and policy issues in administrative and crown law where the law is often ill-defined and precedents are unavailable (e.g., the creation of Shared Services Canada and the transfer of information technology, personnel and resources from 43 separate government departments) in order to ensure a common understanding of issues at the national level.

Provides national leadership with respect to legal and legal policy matters and litigation to ensure coherent and consistent advice in support of departmental management practices.

Provides coaching to departmental legal advisors and clients to foster common vision and understanding, and monitors progress and quality of work outputs and provides feedback. (e.g., organized Public Law educational session on the role of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Provides input to performance evaluations of legal counsels and other staff contribute to educational activities and ensure quality and consistency of work.

Provides recommendations on client service needs and resulting resource requirements in support of the Section's business planning process.

Chairs and/or represents the Department of Justice as a recognized authority at the national level in administrative and crown law on a variety of committees.

Sits for prolonged periods to review large volumes of materials and documents with limited opportunity to change activity.

Occasionally carries, moves, or lifts items used in the support of the work including legal briefcases, boxes or files or legal texts.

Spends prolonged periods of time using a computer, reading or proofreading data or documents requiring extensive mental effort or strain.

Lack of control over agenda due to conflicting issues and parties, multiple demands, time pressures, shifting priorities and deadlines.

There is requirement for travel to attend meetings and provide training or information sessions resulting in jet lag and fatigue.

Context

The guidelines of each element are designed to assist evaluators understand the spirit and intent behind each individual element, as well as the job evaluation standard as a whole. This information will help evaluators understand each element as it relates to the job, select the most appropriate ratings, and will ensure consistency in the interpretation and application of the standard. That being said, this document alone is not intended to replace any training for classification advisors.

For all components of the job evaluation standard and these guidelines, context is critical. Words and language should never be interpreted in isolation of their overall context.

It is critical for evaluators to understand the full context of a given job both as part of the organizational design/structure within which it sits, as well as within the context of the full law practitioner group across government. This broader CPA context understanding is of particular challenge to smaller organizations housing small legal units, since they may not necessarily have access to understanding the broader spectrum of LP work.

The context challenge is to understand the even higher levels of LP work that exist in organizations like the Department of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada whose primary business is the law. The levels of LP work that come with their businesses will far outreach the expertise that resides in a smaller unit in other departments and agencies across government and must be understood and considered in evaluating work across the whole of government.

A Suggested Evaluation Approach

Each element contains a number of degrees that describe the various levels at which an aspect of work is present in Law Practitioner jobs. It is important to read all of the degrees for each element, along with all of the guidelines and the benchmarks contained in the job evaluation standard before selecting the rating which best describes the level at which the job is required to operate. It is also important to remember that the whole degree statement must apply, not the selection of individual specific phrases or words. Only one degree for each element is selected.

In selecting the most appropriate degree, remember to apply the guiding principles of work description writing and evaluation:

• Jobs not People
  • Recognition of an individual incumbent's performance or achievements is not captured under classification.
• Consider only typical ongoing job responsibilities of the assigned work
  • Do not consider exceptional, one-time circumstances or those developmental or stretch opportunities that are often provided to employees that enable them to perform responsibilities that are above and beyond their substantive job.
• Select the statement that best describes the highest level of responsibility at which the job is typically expected to work and that best represents a significant part of the ongoing responsibilities of the job.

Below is a suggested evaluation sequence for using the LP job evaluation standard, based on the natural structure of both the LP work and the supporting job evaluation standard.

• Element 1 - Critical Thinking and Analysis
• Element 3 - Communications and Interaction
• Element 4 - Leadership
• Element 2 - Knowledge
• Element 5 - Physical and Sensory Effort
• Element 6 - Work Environment

The rationale for this suggested evaluation sequence is as follows:

1. The Critical Thinking and Analysis element lays down the key foundation of LP work. It describes most of the core "what" or "raison d'être" that lawyers perform in their jobs, focused on problem solving, analytical skills and judgement. This element speaks to the critical notion of increasing complexity of work that drives the increasing levels of LP work from entry to senior jobs. 
2. The Communications and Interactions element then builds on the first element by considering the communications skills needed to execute the legal work described in Critical Thinking and Analysis, and the purpose and contextual complexity of the interactions.
3. Leadership then speaks to the fact that lawyers must work with others in order to deliver on their assigned responsibilities. This element considers the responsibility to plan and lead work and work teams.

Together, these three elements describe the essence of LP work.

4. When rating the Knowledge element, the key question is always "what degree of knowledge is required to deliver on assigned work responsibilities?" By evaluating the three above mentioned elements first, this will provide a combined understanding that will assist evaluators in answering the knowledge question and assigning the appropriate rating.

Each of these four key elements is highly inter-related in their measurement of LP work. This means that when the duties of a job require a certain level of responsibility, this will very clearly require a proportionate level of skill and knowledge. Therefore, with the design of LP work and its corresponding LP rating plan, one would not logically predict significant variability in rating patterns across key elements.

The four key elements are designed as a "single continuum of value" from low to high representing the degree to which a given aspect of work is present in jobs. Each of these elements is a cumulative progression or "pyramid" style element. A rating at a higher degree assumes that the skill described in the lower degrees is already included.

We suggest that after evaluating work on an element by element basis, evaluators go back and review the ratings and the degree descriptors horizontally, to ensure that there is cohesion in the overall evaluation.

Unlike these four elements, elements 5 and 6 can be evaluated on their own merits, in any sequence.