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Law Management Classification Standard (LC)
Amendments to the Classification Standard
|Law Management Occupational Group Definition||Effective December 9, 2010|
|Law Management Classification Standard||Effective December 9, 2010|
Amendments to the Law Management Classification Standard
|Effective September 24, 2012|
Table of Contents
- Policy Context
- Law Management Occupational Group Definition
- Point Rating Scale
- Level Point Boundaries
- Element 1 - Knowledge
- Element 2 - Critical Thinking and Analysis
- Element 3 - Relationship Building and Influencing
- Element 4 - Leadership and Management
- Element 5 - Physical and Sensory Effort
- Element 6 - Work Environment
1. Effective date
1.1 This standard takes effect on December 9, 2010.
1.2 This standard replaces the Law Classification Standard (LA)1987.
2.1 This standard applies to the core public administration as defined in section 11 of the Financial Administration Act, unless excluded through specific acts, regulations or Orders in Council.
2.2 This standard is to be used to establish the appropriate level for work allocated to the Law Management (LC) Occupational Group.
3.1 This standard is a key component of the classification system and must be read in conjunction with the Policy Framework for the Management of Compensation, the Policy on Classification System and Delegation of Authority (July 23, 2004), the Policy on Classification Grievances, occupational group definitions and classification guidelines.
3.2 The classification system is the infrastructure established to effectively manage the classification of positions within the core public administration. Classification entails allocating positions by occupational group and level using the appropriate classification standard to ensure that the relative value of work is respected across the core public administration.
3.3 This standard is issued pursuant to sections 7 and 11.1 of the Financial Administration Act.
4.1 The consequences identified in the Policy on Classification System and Delegation of Authority apply in cases of non-compliance with this standard.
5. Related policies and publications:
- Policy on Classification System and Delegation of Authority;
- Policy on Classification Grievances;
- Occupational group definitions;
- Classification standards;
- Guide to Allocating Positions Using the 1999 Occupational Group Definitions;
- Guidelines on the evaluation process.
6.1 Please direct enquiries about this standard to your departmental classification advisor or corporate human resources office. For information on the application of this standard, a representative of the departmental corporate human resources office should contact:
Workforce Organization and Classification
Compensation and Labour Relations Sector
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R5
Email: Organisation & Classification Section/Secteur
Contact Workforce Organization and Classification by email ZZORGCLA@tbs-sct.gc.ca
Law Management Occupational Group Definition
The Law Management Occupational Group comprises positions that are primarily involved in the application of a comprehensive knowledge of the law and its practice in the management of legal functions, with accountability for exercising delegated authority over human and financial resources.
Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing, for greater certainty, it includes positions that have, as their primary purpose, responsibility for the following activities:
- providing legal advice on the development, direction, conduct or management of programs or services; and,
- managing legal programs or services and determining the nature and priority of objectives and resources committed to their achievement within and across organizations.
Positions excluded from the Law Management Occupational Group are those whose primary purpose is included in the definition of any other group.
The classification standard for the Law Management Occupational Group is a point-rating job evaluation plan consisting of an introduction, the definition of the Law Management Occupational Group, the rating scale and the point boundaries associated with each classification level.
Point rating is an analytical, quantitative method of determining the relative value of jobs. Point rating classification tools define aspects of work common to the jobs being evaluated called elements. Within each element, degrees are defined and point values are allocated to each degree. The total value of a given job, therefore, is the sum of the points associated with the degree ratings assigned by the evaluators. This total point value further corresponds with a given point cluster which results in the associated classification level.
Six elements are used in this classification tool. Each element is designed as a continuum of value that contains a number of degrees that represent the various levels at which the aspect of work is present in Law Management jobs.
In a point rating classification tool, each element is given a relative weight indicating its relative importance to the overall value of work for the target population. This weight translates into a range of points that can be granted under that element. Each element is subdivided into levels, or degrees, to each a specific point value is assigned. When a job is evaluated, a degree corresponding to the value of the work is assigned within each element. The value of a given job using this system is measured by totalling the points corresponding to the degrees assigned within each element. The weights corresponding to the Law Management Group Classification tool are as follows:
Element Weights and Maximum Point Values
|Element||Element Weight (Percentage of Total Points)||Maximum Point Value|
|1. Knowledge||27.0 %||270|
|2. Critical Thinking and Analysis||27.0 %||270|
|3. Relationship Building and Influence||14.5%||145|
|4. Leadership and Management||27.0%||270|
|5. Physical and Sensory Effort||1.5%||15|
|6. Work Environment||3.0%||30|
Point Rating Scale
The distribution of points across each element in the Law Management classification tool is presented below in the Point Rating table.
Critical Thinking & Analysis
Relationship Building & Influence
Leadership & Management
Physical and Sensory Effort A
Physical and Sensory Effort B
Physical and Sensory Effort C
Psychological Work Environment
Physical Work Environment
Level Point Boundaries
The clusters of points comprising each of the four (4) classification levels for the Law Management Group are presented below.
|Classification Level||Point Minimum||Point Maximum||Point Spread|
Element 1 - Knowledge
This element measures a combination of the level of subject-matter knowledge of the law and its practice, contextual knowledge of the legal, policy, operational and socio-political environments, as well as the levels of strategic and operational knowledge of management principles and their application required to perform at increasing levels of management in the organization. Increasing levels of knowledge are typically acquired through education and experience within and outside the organization.
Requires an in-depth knowledge of a number of areas of law or practice particularly with respect to assigned areas of work including, knowledge of legal practices and processes and their application, clients' business, partners, and the legal and broader business environments within which the job operates.
Requires sound knowledge of management principles, processes and approaches, and their application to a variety of operational challenges.
Requires an in-depth and extensive knowledge of a broad field of law or practice, including a comprehensive understanding of legal practices and process, and their strategic application to the broader legal, government and non-government environments.
Requires in-depth knowledge of business processes and operational management approaches within a program, policy or service development ordelivery group and an in-depth understanding of the relevant legal, operational and policy contexts related to the broader functional area or business line.
Requires an in-depth and extensive knowledge of a broad field of law or practice, the strategic application of the law to the broader legal, government and non-government environments, and linkages, alignment and impacts with other areas of law or broad business operations.
Requires highly-developed knowledge of strategic and operational management approaches and the translation of strategic objectives into operational priorities and plans. Requires a highly-developed understanding of the various challenges and integration points for a complex multi-dimensional program or operation including an extensive understanding of the relevant legal, operational and policy contexts related to a broader legal portfolio and overall Department/Agency.
Requires extensive knowledge at the strategic level including knowledge of diverse fields of the law, the role of law and its comprehensive impacts across government and society, and the business processes and governance frameworks related to the law and the machinery of government.
Requires extensive knowledge of strategic and operational management approaches, including the political, economic and socio-cultural conditions that impact the ability of the Government as a whole to achieve its mandate.
Element 2 – Critical Thinking and Analysis
This element captures the requirement for critical thinking and analysis in Law Management work. This element recognizes the increasing levels of critical thinking and analysis that stem from the nature and complexity of typical problems or issues encountered in law management work, and the nature and level of analysis and judgement that must be applied.
Problems or issues are primarily operational in nature focused on the business and legal activities and workload of a defined delivery area. Problem solving involves autonomy based on considerable experience and expertise.
Critical thinking involves assessing client and operational requirements, anticipating and identifying legal issues and implications, identifying linkages among files and issues, developing file and client management strategies, and ensuring overall alignment of skill sets to workload.
Problems or issues are both operational and strategic in nature involving a network of perspectives, often-competing priorities, as well as significant legal, business, and political risk and impact related to a program, policy or service development or delivery group.
Critical thinking involves anticipating and identifying legal, operational and policy issues, linkages and implications including emerging trends and broader risks, and developing strategies to address them.
Problems or issues are primarily strategic in nature involving considerable legal, business and political risk and impact with many broad reaching impacts on the direction of a major program or business operation.
Critical thinking involves anticipating and identifying linkages and interplay with other policy/program/operational/business areas, and broader portfolio and/or business contexts, based on significant legal and operational management experience.
Problems or issues are highly strategic in nature focused on the long-term direction of the Department as a whole, its business and its role. Issues at this level are typically of the highest complexity, profile and risk, with broadest government, societal, economic, and/or legal implications.
Critical thinking involves extensive strategic and risk analysis including the development of new business frameworks.
Element 3 – Relationship Building and Influencing
This element captures the requirement in Law Management jobs to build and leverage relationships, as well as exercise influence within and outside the organization in order to coordinate approaches, advance issues, resolve problems and issues, and ensure the achievement of legal, operational and policy objectives at a variety of levels of complexity and overall impact.
Builds a network of peer level relationships with clients, colleagues, and stakeholders within and outside government to coordinate approaches, ensure quality and consistency of service and advice, and to resolve issues.
Requires the use of advanced persuasion and diplomacy, to influence policy or legal approaches in related program or operational areas.
Establishes and leverages a network of senior level relationships with clients, colleagues and stakeholders within and outside government to identify and anticipate strategic legal, operational and policy issues, trends and opportunities.
Requires extensive persuasion and diplomacy skills to influence strategic decision-making on matters of law, policy and operations, as well as to resolve issues to facilitate the achievement of program, portfolio, client and/or business objectives.
Cultivates and maintains key strategic relationships and alliances on behalf of the Department/Agency at the highest levels within and outside government, as well as with political leadership to achieve the organization's overall business objectives.
Requires the highest degree of persuasion and diplomacy skills to shape the development of the law, influence government and societal outcomes and resolve issues of the highest risk, complexity, and political sensitivity.
Element 4 – Leadership and Management
This element captures the responsibility for providing leadership and people and operational management including setting directions, goals and priorities, as well as planning and managing and monitoring results. This element recognizes that the complexity of the management and leadership responsibility increases with factors such as scope, size, diversity and multiplicity of operations, as well as the increasing challenge of managing through, and being accountable for, multiple layers of management.
Planning, management and leadership at this level are operational in nature focused on the requirements of a work unit, a sub-section of a regional portfolio or a small departmental legal services unit (DLSU).
Responsibility is focused on setting the vision, business direction and priorities for the unit, and managing client business relationships in the performance of the work. Activities include operational work planning, resource plans and budgets, aligning team members and case files, ensuring quality of services and advice, and contributing to, and implementing higher level business plans.
Planning, management and leadership at this level are both operational and strategic in nature focused on the requirements of a program, policy or service development or delivery group.
Responsibility involves setting the vision, business direction and priorities
of the group, managing key client business relationships, reviewing and
integrating workplans and priorities of subordinate units, including human
and financial resource plans, as well as contributing to, and implementing
higher level business plans.
Responsibility involves setting the vision and business direction and priorities of the DLSU, balancing the strategic and operational requirements of the client organization with the direction and plans of the Department of Justice in order to develop effective client management strategies and service delivery plans. Activities are focused on operational work planning, establishing and managing human and financial resources plans, providing input to client business plans, as well as contributing to, and implementing broader departmental business plans.
Planning, management and leadership at this level are primarily strategic in nature, focused on the requirements of a complex, multidimensional program/practice or an operation involving a multiplicity and/or diversity of subordinate programs or functions, and layers of management accountability.
Responsibility involves setting the vision, business direction and priorities,
balancing and integrating multiple, often competing inputs, reviewing and
integrating workplans and priorities of multiple programs, functions or
operations, including human and financial resource plans, as well as contributing
to, and implementing higher level strategies and business plans.
Responsibility involves setting the vision and business direction and priorities of the DLSU, balancing the strategic and operational requirements of the client organization with the direction and plans of the Department of Justice in order to develop effective client management strategies and service delivery plans. Activities are focused on operational work planning, establishing and managing human and financial resources plans, inputting to client business plans, as well as contributing to, and implementing broader departmental business plans
Planning, management and leadership at this level are highly strategic focused on the development of the vision, national strategies, overall direction, major goals and objectives for a Branch, Sector or Portfolio.
Responsibility involves identifying strategic legal system and business improvement opportunities, effecting change, and mobilizing effort. Planning and management activities at this level have a long-term horizon and include the integration of multiple regional plans and priorities into the Portfolio, Sector or Branch plans, as well as contribution to setting and managing the vision and strategic direction of the Department as a whole.
Element 5 – Physical and Sensory Effort
The following element measures physical and sensory effort required in the performance of Law Management work. It recognizes the physical effort and energy involved in exerting force, either while moving or while staying still, or in performing a sequence of apparently small movements. It also recognizes the strain associated with intense sensory focus. This element considers how long this effort is being exerted andhow often this effort is required.
The following examples provide some illustration of the nature and intensity of physical and sensory effort intended to be captured by this element; however, are not exhaustive. Other efforts of equivalent intensity should be rated similarly.
All categories of Effort (A, B & C) must be rated separately.
|Physical and Sensory Efforts||1. Rarely / Occasionally||2. Regularly|
Element 6 – Work Environment
This element measures the physical and psychological surroundings or conditions within which the work must be performed and the extent to which they make the job unpleasant. Below are illustrative lists of the conditions that comprise the psychological and physical work environments within which Law Management work may operate. Psychological and Physical Work Environments must be rated separately. Select the degree that best applies.
When rating, assume that working conditions comply with current legislation and standards. Please do not consider the inefficiencies of heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Measure only conditions that are an integral part of the work.
In addition to A1 environmental factors:
In addition to A1 and A2 environmental factors:
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