“It’s a great environment to work in, especially when it's your first legal job out of university. I’ve always felt supported and valued as a member of the team.”
Warwickshire Legal Services is Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC’s) in-house legal team, providing legal support, advice, and representation across a broad range of legal disciplines. The award-winning legal team of over 120 committed and capable staff continue to act with integrity, expertise, and flair to repeatedly achieve success for the County and beyond, including other public sector clients.
Chloe Wilkes, a Legal Assistant at WCC, currently works with the School Data Protection Officers (DPO) team, which involves working with schools as clients and providing them with daily guidance on data protection obligations and information governance practices. She also holds regular consultations with school clients to discuss their data compliance.
Chloe said: “The work I’m involved in has been really interesting. Data Protection law can be challenging to get involved with, but also very thought-provoking, especially in a school context (which can make data protection law even more complex). Data Protection law is also constantly evolving, so there are new judgments to keep updated with, as well as the governments new proposals to amend the GDPR which keeps us on our toes.”
Warwickshire Legal Services is one of the many areas across the Council that places a huge focus on career development and progression, enabling employees to apply their knowledge and abilities to improve Warwickshire and see just how much of a meaningful difference they make to real people. It’s a big responsibility that can be challenging at times, but this is what drives Warwickshire Legal Services to continue to succeed and achieve.
“I started out here working as a legal secretary, providing administrative support to senior colleagues, and there were so many times where I’d be taught something that would help with my career aspirations. They would also take the time to explain a case they were working on or show me how particular court forms were completed.
“Senior colleagues could have just asked for my administrative support, as that was my job, but they never did that. They always took an interest in my aspirations and took the time to explain things to me and provide really great career advice. With my study through the Inns of Court College of Advocacy to become a barrister, Warwickshire County Council have been really accommodating, and whilst I do it all in my own free time, I am always reminded of the opportunity to agile work.”
Chloe joined WCC in the summer of 2021, after achieving a law degree and an LLM in International Development Law and Human Rights and gaining experience through work placements and volunteering at several legal advice centres. These involved advising on employment law matters and representing clients in Welfare benefit Tribunals. Since joining WCC, Chloe has been impressed with the County Council’s people and values:
“All the people I have met at the council have been fantastic. I have never felt out of my depth, as there are so many knowledgeable people around to help. Everyone wants you to succeed and are happy to help you reach your goals and potential.
“The School DPO team actually works as a team. Nobody is ever left to struggle, and when we are particularly busy, we all help each other out. Someone is always at the other end of the phone if you need help with anything. It’s a great environment to work in, especially when it's your first legal job out of university. I’ve always felt supported and valued as a member of the team.”
At WCC, employees are continuously given the opportunity to explore and further their career, and being responsible for the diverse needs of the county means there are a variety of opportunities for everyone. If you are someone who is prepared to get stuck in, who wants to do the best job possible, and who approaches everything with passion and purpose, then view our current vacancies at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/jobs
You can find out more about Warwickshire Legal Services at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wls