Paralegal

Social Work England; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

25 days annual leave rising to 30

Pension scheme

Life insurance

Cycle to work

Job summary

Social Work England, the regulator for social work in England, seeks a paralegal to support the legal regulation team. The role involves handling Family Court and Court of Protection matters, civil litigation administration, and drafting applications with supervision from a qualified lawyer.

You will also support registration, fitness to practise, and policy colleagues across diverse regulatory tasks. We value accuracy, strong organisation, and the ability to work to tight deadlines in a hybrid

Qualifications

• Degree-level education or equivalent relevant experience.
• Knowledge and experience of family law or civil litigation and/or professional regulation and/or fitness to practice.

Responsibilities

• Support Family Court and Court of Protection information and drafting applications for hearings.
• Manage litigation administration, including file setup, client notifications and bundle preparation.
• Review and update regulatory and legal guidance to ensure compliance and improve processes.
• Provide general legal administration and liaise with Courts, Counsel and external advisers.
• Instruct and manage external legal advisers to ensure cost-effective service delivery.

Skills

Organisation skills

Legal analysis

Written communication

Time management

Team collaboration

Education

Degree-level education

Tools

Case management systems

Job description

Social Work England are the specialist regulator for social work in England, focused on enabling positive change in social work. Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. We are taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate – to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people’s lives.

The legal regulation paralegal role supports all aspects of the work of the legal regulation team. You will work closely with lawyers in supporting our fitness to practise, registration and policy colleagues in a variety of litigation and advice matters. The role involves providing case management support of an administrative nature such as managing the legal inbox and producing bundles but you will also provide specialist legal advice to triage officers, investigators and leads with the supervision of a qualified lawyer.

What you will do

Family Court and Court of Protection Information

• Manage enquiries from operational teams seeking advice on Family Court, Court of Protection and other restricted information.
• Provide supervised advice on obtaining, using and sharing restricted information within regulatory processes.
• Assist with drafting applications to the Family Court and Court of Protection and preparing instructions to Counsel for hearings.
• Maintain and improve processes and guidance for handling restricted information.

Civil Litigation

• Support civil litigation matters, including judicial reviews, statutory appeals and section 29 appeals.
• Manage litigation administration, including inbox management, file setup, client notifications, instructing external legal advisers, document management and bundle preparation.
• Draft chronologies and case summaries, maintain litigation trackers, and liaise with clients, external advisers, opposing parties and the courts.

Review of Case Examiner Decisions

• Manage applications for review of case examiner decisions, including case management system updates, stakeholder liaison and bundle preparation.
• Conduct initial assessments of applications, analyse complex information and provide recommendations on whether review criteria are met.
• Support lawyers in identifying, requesting and obtaining information required to complete reviews in line with legislative requirements.

General Legal and Regulatory Support

• Undertake general legal administration, including document management and liaison with the courts, Counsel and other stakeholders.
• Instruct and manage external legal advisers, ensuring cost-effective service delivery.
• Support the provision of regulatory and legal advice to internal teams, particularly Fitness to Practise and Registration.
• Review and update organisational guidance, policies, procedures and processes to ensure legal compliance and support continuous improvement.
• Build strong working relationships across the organisation, providing practical, solutions-focused legal support.
• Contribute to the delivery of the legal team's objectives and the organisation's business plan.

Your skills, knowledge and experience

• Degree-level education or equivalent relevant experience.
• Knowledge and experience of at least one of the following areas of law: family law;the Court of Protection;civil litigation, including pre-action correspondence; andprofessional regulation and/or fitness to practice.
• Excellent organisation and time management skills and the ability to manage several tasks while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. The ability to work to tight deadlines, be calm under pressure and flexibly manage competing priorities.
• The ability to analyse large volumes of complex information and documents, to identify key issues and evidence, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills.
• The ability to understand legal and procedural issues, consider options available, and make appropriate recommendations.
• The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• The ability to draft clear written communications.
• Excellent research skills and a willingness to further develop your understanding of the law, particularly in relation to professional regulation and family law.
• Experience with case management systems and of maintaining records.
• The ability to work across the organisation, working well with others and responding positively, creatively and supportively to a variety of colleagues while maintaining high and consistent standards.
• A demonstrable commitment to inclusion and diversity.

Benefits

In addition to your salary, we also offer:

• Hybrid working
• 25 days annual leave, rising with service to 30 days per annum, plus bank holidays.
• The option to purchase up to an additional 5 days of annual leave per annum.
• A TIDE award winning inclusive culture, made up of staff networks, social events and forums.
• A pension scheme, life insurance, an employee recognition scheme and cycle to work scheme.

Details

• Job type: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full time. We offer flexible working subject to business need.
• Salary:£34,085 per year, rising to £36,520 per year after successful completion of a 6-month probationary period.
• Location: Sheffield/Hybrid