Interim Lawyer - Social Care & Education

Reference no: Merton 5209427

Pay Rate: £22.60 per hour PAYE

An experienced Lawyer is required to act as an advocate for the Social Care & Education Team and deal with Childcare hearing cases. The advocate will also be required to attend hearings at the London Family Courts.

Key responsibilities:

• Deal with analysis, research, drafting, advice, and advocacy arising within the Social Care and Education Legal Team.
• Have the conduct of trials ranging from 1 to 10 days in duration.
• Under the strategic direction of the Practice Lead, Social Care and Education Team to undertake all advocacy primarily in child care matters and to ensure the provision of a high quality, efficient, cost effective and customer focused service.
• Contribute to the financial and business management of the Social Care and Education team.
• Appear as the advocate at preliminary, unopposed and complex contested hearings ranging from 1 day to 10 days duration in the Family Court and High Court in childcare and adoption proceedings and at other tribunals and courts as required in non-child care proceedings with minimum supervision.
• Be responsible for the provision of advocacy in complex contested childcare proceedings, including representation at short notice in emergency hearings, ensuring that work is reflective of best practice, is of a high professional standard and is cost effective.
• Develop and obtain knowledge in special education needs tribunals and adult social care and be responsible for the provision of advocacy if appropriate.
• Be able to enter complex negotiations, provide innovative, creative advice to clients in a pressurised environment.
• Prepare and process the more complex and sensitive documents relevant to care proceedings before all levels of court, including the evaluation of evidence and to provide advice and guidance in respect of complex areas of law and practice to other team members and client departments as appropriate.
• Advising on the department’s statutory duties and powers relating to children including dealing with:
  • Judicial review claims
  • Access to records and data protection
  • Immigration issues
  • Complaints issues and procedures
  • Criminal injuries compensation
  • Child protection
• Advising on complex policies and procedures relating to childcare functions.
• Support the practice lead and team manager, social care, and education in maintaining liaison with senior managers in the client departments.
• Support the practice lead and team manager, social care, and education in the provision of training to clients on childcare matters.
• Act as a liaison with the local judiciary and family justices (magistrates) in relation to local practice and changes in policy/procedure.
• Carry out legal research of a complex nature and to ensure this is shared with every team member to assist in the effective discharge of their duties and where appropriate is contained within a general advice note for the benefit of client departments and/or forms part of client department training.

“Role Requirements” – to give yourself the maximum chance of success please try and ensure your CV addresses the following essential criteria:

Qualifications/Knowledge:

• Qualified barrister or Solicitor with higher rights of audience.
• Specialist knowledge of English law and practice in relation to child protection and adoption.
• Understanding of the principles of value for money and an ability to apply them in the management of support services.
• Awareness of current issues relevant to local authorities, ability to assist in delivering corporate objectives and to operate effectively within a corporate context.
• Good knowledge of advocacy.

Experience:

• Significant experience of undertaking advocacy at all levels of court including higher court advocacy, including contested hearings requiring the cross examination of witnesses in court.
• Experience in working closely with other advocates and in a team to ensure service is delivered to the highest standard.
• Experience of attending hearings on behalf of the SLLP.

Skills/Technical skills:

• Excellent customer care skills.
• An ability to acquire and maintain knowledge in relation to community care and education.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Good numeracy and analytical skills.
• A team player with the ability to share knowledge with team members and actively engage in the provision of a high-quality service.
• Highly developed negotiating and listening skills with various groups of people and in a variety of different settings, including some of which may potentially end in conflict.
• Excellent research and problem-solving skills with ability to convey complex legal and factual issues to various audiences.
• Excellent research and IT skills including the ability to use a case management system.
• An ability to use expert legal opinion to provide practical and innovative solutions to complex legal, contractual, and service delivery issues.
• Proactive, customer focused, and solutions led.
• A visible operator with high levels of personal integrity and robustness.
• Resilient, committed, remaining composed under pressure.

NB: Please feel free to apply to us direct via [email protected] by quoting the job reference and job title exactly. SEE DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS AD.

If you have previously applied to one of our vacancies and have already sent the required supporting documentation to us, please make this clear when you re-apply as this will help speed up your application.

To help speed up the process of uploading your CV to the client we would suggest that you send us your CV in Word format (or equivalent) if possible, rather than as a PDF.

If you are successful in securing this role, please note that for the entire duration of this contract, regardless of extension you will be working this role at the PAYE rate that has been advertised. For absolute clarity, we only work on a PAYE basis, rather than entertaining umbrella pay terms, we do not offer Ltd/umbrella or outside IR35 rates. If you wish to understand PAYE vs Umbrella more, please let us know and we can send you some additional information for clarity.