Children and Young People’s Lawyers - #2137198

Position Title: Children and Young People’s Lawyers

PQE: recruiting for two posts -

Post 1: Solicitor – NQ up to 4 years PQE £33,652 - £38,500

Post 2: Lead Solicitor – 4 years + PQE £44,005 - £48,000

Placement salary scale dependant on experience

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Hours: Full time (35 hours a week), Monday to Friday, however, we will accept applications from candidates seeking to work upwards of 28 hours. Solicitors maintain a sustainable workload that supports them to work with clients in a child centered way.

Location: Edinburgh or Glasgow

They operate hybrid working with the option to work from home for part of the working week. Regular attendance in offices to work collaboratively with colleagues is required. TOIL and flexibility around your working day is offered to allow travel to client visits, court and children’s hearings in different areas of Scotland as necessary.

About the Role

This employer is seeking enthusiastic and committed Children and Young People’s Lawyers to join their team and strengthen their work empowering children and young people in Scotland to use their rights to improve their lives. If you are looking for an opportunity to work differently as a lawyer, using your legal knowledge, problem solving and communication skills to represent the interests and rights of children and young people, then they want to hear from you. You will provide professional legal advice and representation that makes a direct difference to the lives of individual children and young people in a range of areas including children’s hearings, child law, public family law, and youth homelessness. You will play a vital role in delivering their Children’s Rights Helpline giving practical information about children and young people’s rights to children and young people and those that support them. You will provide training to partner agencies and external stakeholders on children’s rights. You will have opportunities to be involved in innovative casework that contributes to systemic change, and make contributions from practice to influence the law, policy and practice. Comprehensive training will be provided to support you in developing your knowledge and practice in their key areas, and you will be expected to obtain certification as a lawyer for children.

The Lead solicitor will work closely with the Director of Legal and Policy, Head of Legal Services, and Head of Legal Policy to ensure high-quality legal content and contribution from practice in all their services and projects, comply with relevant external quality standards and regulatory frameworks and achieve Clan’s policy aims.

Role Summary

You will be responsible for maintaining a varied caseload, reporting and consulting as appropriate. You will have the experience to give you confidence providing legal advice and representation to children and young people in at least one of their key areas of children’s hearings, child law and public family law or youth homelessness. Comprehensive training will be provided to support you in developing your knowledge and practice in their key areas, and you will be expected to obtain certification as a lawyer for children. You will be responsible for delivery of high-quality child-centred legal services, including child centred legal outreach services, provision of high-quality information, second-tier advice and training on children and young people’s rights in Scotland.

About You

These roles will suit an effective, adaptable and resilient solicitor with excellent communication and relationship-building skills. You will be motivated by the opportunity to do things differently as a lawyer and committed to doing impactful, values-driven legal work that makes real change in the lives of children and young people You will be comfortable undertaking challenging and varied work and managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment, while maintaining high professional standards and a client-centred approach.

Essential Criteria and Qualifications

• An enrolled solicitor with a full, post-qualified and unrestricted practising certificate from the Law Society of Scotland.
• Knowledge of civil justice systems including the Children’s Hearing System
• Experience in at least one of the following: housing and homelessness, the law on care and social work duties to children, Children’s Hearings, judicial review, public family law, child law.

About the employer

This is an award-winning, independent children’s charity that actively supports children and young people to take ownership of their rights. Established to provide children and young people with their own lawyers, specially trained and supported to work with them in a child centred way. Because their lawyers work directly with children and young people whose lives are affected by legal decisions, they bring that unique practice-based knowledge to every aspect of their work.

What they can offer you:

• 33 days annual leave (inclusive of public holidays) increasing to 35 after 2 years’ service
• We support flexible working and are open to discussing arrangements that work for both the role and the successful candidate.
• Flexibility around your working day, with the opportunity to work your hours between 7am and 7pm and, the option to work from home for part of the working week.
• Sustainable workload: You’ll benefit from a workload that supports quality, focus and a healthy work-life balance.
• Access to our employee counselling service.
• Learning and development is important to us and our team. You will be encouraged and supported to engage in learning and continued professional development.

Closing date: midnight on Sunday 13th September.

Interested?

To find out more information, please click the apply button. You will be taken to a simple CHM Recruit form and then redirected to complete your application for this position.

No agencies please.