Children Law Panel Member - Nationwide in London

Children Law Panel Member | Nationwide | Salary: £67.5K+ per annum, DOE

Duncan Lewis Solicitors is seeking an ambitious and experienced Children Law Panel Member to join our highly regarded Family & Children Law Department.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with one of the UK's leading law firms, recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, and awarded Law Firm of the Year at both the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and the 2023 Modern Law Awards.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in the City of London, Duncan Lewis Solicitors is an award-winning, paperless law firm with over 500 professionals and offices nationwide.

We advise corporate and private clients across more than 25 areas of law and provide services in over 60 languages.

Our ethos, "We give people a voice," is at the heart of everything we do.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an accredited Children Law Solicitor to manage a diverse and rewarding caseload.

To excel in this role, you must hold Law Society Children Law Panel accreditation.

Duties and responsibilities

As a Children Law Panel Member, you will be responsible for managing a varied caseload of Children law matters.

Key responsibilities include

• Report directly to and collaborating with the Board to ensure performance targets are met
• Responsible for all aspects of Child Care work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department
• Variety of duties including dealing with a range of public and private children cases including child abduction, child protection issues, special guardianship and adoption matters as well as undertaking your own advocacy
• You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company

Experience and qualifications

• 3 Years+ PQE in Children Law
• Registered with the Law Society and Children Panel Membership is desirable. The ideal candidate will be committed and highly driven.
• Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying
• Strong management skills
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators
• Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable clients and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Child Care issues
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business
• Working knowledge of the publically funded Child Care work and have the ability to service privately funded cases
• Have extensive experience in dealing with all Child Care work related work and some expertise on adoption matters
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage
• Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills

Benefits

Working at Duncan Lewis Solicitors offers a comprehensive rewards and benefits package designed to support your career progression, wellbeing and work-life balance, including:

• Competitive salary with clear salary review procedures
• Company pension scheme
• 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service
• Additional birthday leave*
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements, including compressed hours where appropriate
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and mental wellbeing support
• Employee referral scheme
• Paid DBS checks and eyesight test vouchers
• Access to extensive e-learning resources and training webinars
• Professional fee support, including practising certificate renewals and selected accreditation costs*
• Career progression opportunities, including advancement to Supervisor and Director positions
• Medical Cash Plan enrolment*
• Support for professional development, industry recognition and award nominations

*Subject to terms and conditions.

Company culture

At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, we are passionate about creating an environment where talented professionals can thrive.

We are proud of our diverse and inclusive workforce and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees.

Our long-standing Investors in People Gold Standard accreditation reflects our commitment to employee development, while our Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certifications demonstrate our dedication to excellence, innovation and security.

We invest heavily in the growth of our people through ongoing training, mentoring, clear progression pathways and opportunities to gain industry recognition.

Whether you are looking to deepen your expertise, develop leadership skills or advance your career within a nationally recognised law firm, Duncan Lewis provides the platform to help you succeed.

Join a firm where your expertise is valued, your development is supported, and your work makes a genuine difference to the lives of clients across the UK.