Lawyer / Senior Lawyer (Childcare)

Pathfinder Legal Services Ltd; Centre Hastings; Hybrid; CAD 79,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

A dedicated legal service provider in Centre Hastings is seeking a Lawyer to join their childcare team, providing legal representation and advice on various child protection matters. The successful candidate will benefit from a supportive work environment, flexible hours, and generous leave policies. The position offers a competitive salary that ranges from £42,854 to £51,847.68 depending on experience, with opportunities for professional development and career progression.

Benefits

Local Government Pensions Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Family Friendly policies

Employee Assistance Program

Cycle To Work scheme

Generous annual leave entitlement

Responsibilities

• Represent clients in Care Proceedings, including Court representation.
• Provide advice regarding child protection matters and local authority duties.
• Involved in Adoption proceedings and related advisory work.

Job description

Job Details

Location – Working on a hybrid‑remote basis from our Huntingdon office.
Contract Type – Permanent – Full Time (37 hours).
Salary for Lawyer position – £42,854 – £51,847.68 DOE.
Salary for Senior Lawyer position (requires 10 years pqe) – £52,415.28 – £60,030.15.

Who are we?

We are a large team, made up of around 50 lawyers and paralegals of all types and length of qualification. We have team members who have been with us for over 25 years and newly qualified lawyers who have just joined us. We are passionate and dedicated, always ready to help each other out and discuss cases to find a solution. We love working together and developing each other’s knowledge and abilities. We are committed to staff development, training and career progression opportunities. Our supportive team is our strength and we’re ready to welcome you into it.

What do we do?

The Childcare team deals with all types of child protection work for its shareholder local authorities and other clients, including:

• Care Proceedings, including representation in Court
• Pre-proceedings (PLO) work
• Advice in relation to Deprivation of Liberties
• Advice in relation to contact
• Adoption proceedings
• Advice on Local Authorities’ duties and responsibilities
• Advice to Local Authorities in relation to private law proceedings
• Advice in relation to children becoming looked after, ceasing to become looked after and any issues arising

The Childcare team also advise clients on process and improvements that can be made and provide duty advice to the client on a rota basis. Members of the team sit on Local Family Justice Boards, advise Safeguarding Children Local Partnerships, Adoption and Fostering Panels and Agency Decision Makers. We also provide training for clients and for the team. The work is exciting, varied and interesting. Recently, the team has been involved in a number of reported cases and has represented the Local Authority on cases which have been considered by the Court of Appeal. No two days are ever the same!

Benefits

• Local Government Pensions Scheme – considered to be one of the best employer contribution rates.
• Flexible working arrangements – we offer flexible hours and hybrid working which allows for remote working but we also require regular office attendance with the aim to give everyone a balanced work/life ratio.
• Family Friendly policies including excellent Maternity, Paternity and Adoption entitlements.
• Exceptional Employee Assistance Program which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues.
• Cycle To Work scheme.
• Generous minimum annual leave entitlement of 25 days, rising on 5 and 10 years service, plus public holidays. With the option to purchase more annual leave.

How to apply

To apply for this position please send your CV and a covering letter explaining how you meet the Person Specification to [e-mail]. When applying, please quote reference ‘CHI-100’.