Senior Legal Counsel; Enforcement Team – Civil

Senior Legal Counsel (Enforcement Team – Civil) About DFT Operator

Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 23,000 employees, runs over 6,000 services a day and delivers over 450 million customer journeys across its networks every year. This accounts for 26% of total UK passenger journeys and 30% of passenger miles.

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, Trans Pennine Express (TPE), southeastern, south western railway (SWR) ,c2c and Greater Anglia.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape something new.

DFTO is setting up a new Enforcement Team, an industry first, which will be responsible for all prosecution activity across the DFTO Group. This is a significant change in strategic approach, and as DFTO’s Senior Legal Counsel, you will play a pivotal role in influencing DFTO enforcement strategy and policy, and assisting our leadership team to support confident, informed decision-making.

Importantly, you will work alongside the Enforcement General Counsel to establish and help lead a new legal team—setting its vision, building capability, and creating a high-performing, future-focused legal function from the ground up.

This role is ideal for a senior legal leader who thrives on impact, enjoys operating at a strategic level, and is motivated by building teams and shaping culture.

You will provide expert and strategic legal advice services across the DFTO Group and Train Operating Companies (TOCs) through leading on complex and high-profile cases related to civil litigation matters in the Enforcement team, including contractual disputes, debt recovery, property claims, injunctions, and enforcement of judgments, with a strong focus of fare evasion and other Railway related issues.

Supervise and support Legal Counsel and Case Managers and contribute to the development of strategies and policies that protect the rail network and comply with legal obligations. A unique opportunity for a criminal law expert who wants to make a lasting difference as we head towards Great British Railways.

• Act as a key legal and strategic adviser for all civil litigation matters referred to the Enforcement team relating to DFTO, and/or its TOCs, liaising closely with the General Counsel (Enforcement) and other lawyers in the team to develop strategy and facilitate a high quality and aligned approach to the provision of legal advice.
• Lead and oversee the preparation and management of complex civil cases, including contractual disputes, debt recovery, and property-related claims, achieving successful outcomes that protect organisational interests and revenue.
• Represent DFTO and TOCs in civil court proceedings, including complex and high-profile cases, providing robust advocacy and effective presentation, so that cases are effectively resolved, and the organisation’s interests are protected.
• Supervise, guide and develop more junior lawyers within the team, and Case Managers, providing oversight and guidance where appropriate, fostering a high-performance and collaborative culture.
• Build and cultivate relationships with stakeholders across the group (including DFTO and TOC leadership), as well as external holders (industry partners regulators, enforcement agents and external counsel) to effectively manage cases and foster collaboration and alignment.
• Provide proactive, high level and strategic advice to executive leaderships team across DFTO and the TOCs, so that materially significant legal risks are identified early, mitigated effectively and executive decisions are informed.
• Oversee and lead the review and determination as to whether cases should proceed to litigation or be resolved by settlement and draft any associated correspondence, where appropriate, so…