Assistant Lawyer (People) (Education/SEND)

Cheshire East Council; Macclesfield; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

34 days annual leave

Flexi-time

Hybrid/remote working where possible

Green car salary sacrifice

White goods salary sacrifice

Career average pension

Cycle to work

Employee assistance programme

Gym membership discount

Job summary

Cheshire East Council's Legal Services invites applications for an Assistant Lawyer/Paralegal in the Education/SEND team. You will support the service to deliver a range of educational and SEND matters to protect the council's interests and meet deadlines.

You will draft standard proceedings and routine agreements, advise internal clients, and help junior staff, while managing workloads in a fast-paced environment and seeking career progression within the team.

Qualifications

• Degree or related Legal qualification or an appropriate level of technical expertise and experience within the relevant field equivalent to the aforementioned formal qualifications.
• At least two years good experience in relevant legal practice in Education law including SEND case and school admission appeals.
• Awareness of legal procedures, court procedures and tribunal documents.
• Knowledge of legislation & statutory and non-statutory guidance.
• Experience of managing the use of and involvement of Counsel and external lawyers in appropriate cases.
• Be flexible and to be able to work in a fast-paced financial environment where deadlines and priorities may change.
• Be able to work on your own initiative, as well as being part a wider legal team, plan and prioritise competing workloads.
• Have the ambition for career progression within the legal team when opportunities arise.

Responsibilities

• Working alongside our Education/SEND Legal Team, you will support the service to deliver on a range of legal matters in order to protect and advance the interests of the Council and to meet the required standards and deadlines.
• You will deliver high quality legal advice and services to internal and external services and departments and support senior legal colleagues in the provision of advice, including where appropriate drafting standard proceedings, and routine legal agreements, to ensure operational decisions are taken on a sound legal basis.
• You will support Managers and Lawyers within your team to run an efficient and high-quality legal service. Your responsibilities will include supporting other legal staff by undertaking specific tasks, as well as assisting in the provision of effective administration & paralegal support across legal services.
• You will undertake contentious and / or non-contentious legal work in order to protect and further the objectives of Services and Departments to ensure that instructions from Services and Departments are carried out accurately and within the timescale set.
• You will provide guidance to other more junior legal staff and administrative support on contentious and/or non-contentious legal matters in order that Services and Departments receive effective and high- quality legal advice and services.

Skills

Education law

SEND law

Legal drafting

Court procedures

Education

Law degree or related Legal qualification

Job description

Assistant Lawyer (Education/SEND Legal Team)

Cheshire East Legal Services has an exciting opportunity for an Assistant Lawyer/Paralegal within our Education/SEND legal team.

We are a close-knit supportive team, working hard towards positive outcomes for our client departments. The role is diverse with no one day the same, and you will be encouraged to build on your career goals, in a forward thinking, inclusive Authority.

About the role

• Working alongside our Education/SEND Legal Team, you will support the service to deliver on a range of legal matters in order to protect and advance the interests of the Council and to meet the required standards and deadlines.
• You will deliver high quality legal advice and services to internal and external services and departments and support senior legal colleagues in the provision of advice, including where appropriate drafting standard proceedings, and routine legal agreements, to ensure operational decisions are taken on a sound legal basis.
• You will support Managers and Lawyers within your team to run an efficient and high-quality legal service. Your responsibilities will include supporting other legal staff by undertaking specific tasks, as well as assisting in the provision of effective administration & paralegal support across legal services.
• You will undertake contentious and / or non-contentious legal work in order to protect and further the objectives of Services and Departments to ensure that instructions from Services and Departments are carried out accurately and within the timescale set.
• You will provide guidance to other more junior legal staff and administrative support on contentious and/or non-contentious legal matters in order that Services and Departments receive effective and high- quality legal advice and services.

About you

The successful candidate:

• Degree or related Legal qualification or an appropriate level of technical expertise and experience within the relevant field equivalent to the aforementioned formal qualifications.
• At least two years good experience in relevant legal practice in Education law including SEND case and school admission appeals.
• Awareness of legal procedures, court procedures and tribunal documents.
• Knowledge of legislation & statutory and non-statutory guidance.
• Experience of managing the use of and involvement of Counsel and external lawyers in appropriate cases.
• Be flexible and to be able to work in a fast-paced financial environment where deadlines and priorities may change.
• Be able to work on your own initiative, as well as being part a wider legal team, plan and prioritise competing workloads.
• Have the ambition for career progression within the legal team when opportunities arise.

To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.

In return we are able to offer:

• Enhanced annual leave- Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave –Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Flexible working pattern- Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexi-time and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better
• Salary sacrifice green car scheme- Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There's no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease
• White goods salary sacrifice scheme -Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary
• Enhanced public pension-Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Cycle to work scheme -Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!
• Employee assistance programme- Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
• Discounted gym membership -Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:
  • Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities
  • Off-Peak Racket Sports
  • Athletics Tracks
  • Sauna/Steam/Spa

Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!

Cheshire East is an amazing place to live and work. As one of the largest employers in the borough, we are able to offer you a wide range of challenging and rewarding career opportunities.

We are working for a brighter future - together and our commitment to you is that our workplace culture will provide a shared purpose, a well-led organisation with valued people succeeding together as one team and one council to deliver the best service for our customers and communities.

If you want to be part of our award-winning council and contribute to our ongoing success, have the flexibility and drive to enable us to innovate, are committed to working as part of a team and striving to deliver exceptional service wherever you can, we would especially like to hear from you.

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future - together.

Please quote job reference number in all correspondence.

For any technical enquiries please email [e-mail].

For further information about the role, please email [e-mail].