Solicitor (Child Care)

As a Solicitor in the Child Care Team, you will provide an efficient and effective legal advisory service to the Children and Family Services Department and other departments when required. To support you to undertake your role, you will have:

• An effective IT system to enable flexible and efficient working away from the office.
• An experienced and highly motivated paralegal to provide dedicated case work support.
• The opportunity to focus on quality written and verbal advice work.
• Space and time to undertake advocacy where appropriate (we encourage advocacy but are not an in-house advocacy team).
• High quality supervision and support from an experienced management team (two Team Leaders and an Assistant Head of Law, all very experienced in this area of law).
In addition to the above, you will also have the opportunity to gain experience in niche areas, such as Deprivation of Liberty, the law relating to Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and Public Law and to contribute to the training of social workers and other professionals. Team working is very important to us, and we encourage our solicitors to work with colleagues in a positive and supportive way that promotes learning and development. In addition to supervising paralegals and support staff, you will therefore be expected to provide mentoring, advice, and informal supervision to colleagues to enhance learning, where appropriate. For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our .

Are you a qualified and experienced solicitor with a background or an interest in the childcare sector?,
• Be qualified as an admitted Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives with full advocacy and conduct of litigation rights.
• Have knowledge of the Children Act 1989, Adoption & Children Act 2002, the Public Law Outline and the Family Procedure Rules 2010.
• Be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers, and internal and external stakeholders to persuade and influence appropriate outcomes.
• Be able to assimilate information rapidly and present effective solutions and appropriate advice and guidance in a timely manner.
• Have excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, IT skills, and written communication skills to enable the drafting of legal documents.
• Be able to work accurately under pressure with minimum supervision.
• Be a team player.
In addition, we also expect you to share and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process. Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a . We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

About Leicestershire County Council At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone. Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose. For further information on what it's like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following