Job: Childcare Lawyer, Senior Associate

Child Care Lawyer – Senior Associate

Our client a known West County Law Firm seek to appoint the above specialist lawyer. Ideally you will be a Children Panel Member with at least 8 PQE+.

The role is working as a senior lawyer is a busy Family team that have full LSC allocated funding. The work involves – Investigate children in need or at significant harm.  Emergency protection Orders (S44).  Care and Supervision Orders.  Residence Orders (S8). Welfare checklist, Secure Accommodation Orders, Family Assistance Order.  Adoption Act 1976 work.  Protection of Children Act 1999 – creation of a system for identifying persons considered to be unsuitable to work with children. Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000. Creates new National Probation Service and Children and Family Court Advisory & Support Service. Prevention of unsuitable people working with children, Probation orders, Community Service Orders, Combined Orders and Electronic Monitoring. Penalties for parents who do no send their children to school regularly.  Sexual Offences Act 2003.

With your thorough knowledge and experience in children/guardian work, you will be required to head up the Children business work, possibly looking to appoint an assistant paralegal in the near future.  Additionally managing your own high-value caseload, directing the business  and additionally managing one other lawyer.  The childcare caseload will include work such as – Care Proceedings, EPO’s, interim Care Orders and other childcare matters as previously mentioned.  Closely monitoring your teams – Progress, negotiation, communication, advocacy, additionally stepping in to assist when necessary, especially with problems regarding structure of advocacy.

Ensuring that the Child Care business approaches each case with a level of understanding only achievable through specialising in Child Care law.  Whether involving social services or a private law matter.  The department’s clients include parents, other family members, children and Children’s Guardians in Public Law proceedings.  These cases will include proceedings where the Local Authorities have applied for Emergency Protection Orders, Care Orders or where parents apply for contact with children in care and discharge of Care Orders.  Advising and assisting where children are voluntarily accommodated.

Attending Child Protection Conferences, support parents and provide them with advice and empower them as clients, during this difficult time during their lives.   Full public funding is usually granted to all parents and children involved in public law case, therefore a prolific and thorough technical knowledge of this system is required.   Your long-standing case management experience and legal knowledge should be very thorough. You should be able to coach, give advice, supervise and manage other team members when required.  Especially when – Acting for children, parents and family members in other disputes such as – Where parents are separated and there are problems in facilitating contact or a dispute as where the child should reside.  Be able to give sound advice to adopted parents and the birth parents who are considering adoption.  On the issue of Child Abduction, our client is one of the few law firms in the UK that are on the Lord Chancellor’s Child Abduction and Contact Panel.

Our clients children law business will comprise of other lawyers who are members of the Law Society Children and Family Panel Members, Association of the lawyers for Children and Family Resolution.

Our client has a number of Kite- Marks which are a testament to the quality of the specialised work undertaken.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a very dedicated professional.

For further details please call Jonny Scott-Slater on 01872 274227.

CV2 cornishexecutive@aol.com

Cornwall Executive Recruitment Ltd – An employment agency for job vacancies, personnel services and staffing solutions – 01872 274 277.