Solicitor (Child Care) in England

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8RA

Salary: £39,939 - £53,826 per annum (pro rata for part-time) plus a 10% market supplement payment (terms and conditions apply)

Pay award pending

Working Hours: 37 Working Hours Per Week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 12th July 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

We have a permanent full-time vacancy for an experienced child care lawyer with full advocacy and conduct of litigation practice rights. Working for Leicestershire County Council as a child care lawyer involves:

• 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).
• 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.
• Career development support: the council recognises the value of mentoring, training and development.

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 efficient working.
• 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.
• High quality supervision and support from an experienced management team.

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.

To apply for this post, you must:

• Be qualified as an admitted Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives with full advocacy and conduct of litigation practice 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.
• Have excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, IT skills, and written communication skills.
• Be a team player.

We are a Disability Confident Employer. Interested in Flexible Working? 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 share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.