Working for Leicestershire County Council as a Child Care Lawyer – 

• Very positive working relationships with client department, the local Courts, CAFCASS and private practice   
• Professional culture of proactive advice, planned applications and collaboration.  
• Each lawyer having a nominated paralegal to give lawyers time and space for quality advice/drafting and preparation for court 
• High quality supervision and support from management team (two team leaders and an Assistant Head of Law all very experienced in this area of law)  
• Work life/ balance 
• Flexible hybrid ways of working policies and IT systems supporting effective remote/home working 
• Job satisfaction – mentoring paralegals and training social workers 
• Interesting range of legal work including the law relating to Deprivation of Liberty and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

Also an attractive benefits package including:

• Leave entitlement of up to 32 days depending on grade and length of service plus public holidays and leave buy back scheme, 
• Generous local government pension scheme, 
• Free on-site parking, restaurant and food outlet, 
• Employee benefits and discount scheme. 
• Payment of required professional fees.
• Employee-friendly policies including carer support and comprehensive wellbeing support services. The council is a ‘Mindful Employer’ and committed to the well- being of its staff and workplace equality initiatives.
• Career development support: the council recognises the value of mentoring, training and development. All managers in legal services are experienced and highly regarded legal practitioners both within the council and externally.

What’s not to like?!  We look forward to receiving your application.

About the Role

The provision of appropriate professional legal services to Children and Young People's Services and other departments as required together with other main duties and responsibilities

The post holder will be part of a team of solicitors providing advocacy and advice in relation to the Children & Young People's Service, responsibilities of the Authority, in particular Specialist Services, including child protection and Judicial Review proceedings concerning age assessments of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

• Qualified as an admitted solicitor / barrister or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives.
• Knowledge of Children Act 1989, Adoption & Children Act 2002 and the Public Law Outline. The Family Procedure Rules 2010
• Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and internal and external stakeholders and to persuade and influence appropriate outcomes. Ability to assimilate information rapidly and present effective solutions and appropriate advice and guidance in a timely manner.
• Experience of using IT applications
• Reliability and takes responsibility for organising own work to achieve objectives in order of priority and to deadlines. Ability to deal with unforeseen and urgent demands.
• Possession of a current driving licence and access to a vehicle. 

Reasonable adjustment will be considered for an applicant with a disability. Must be able to perform all the duties and tasks of the job with reasonable adjustments, where appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equal opportunities, and the ability to apply this to all situations.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc.

Every role within the Council has a defined working style which determines where they can work. The worker category applicable to this post is detailed in the above advert.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Kye Herbert or Kathryn Reeves (Team Leaders)

Telephone: 0116 305 6470 or 0116 305 6008

Email: kye.herbert@leics.gov.uk or kathryn.reeves@leics.gov.uk

Closing date: 2 June 2024

For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.