In-House Advocate (Child Protection Law)

Invicta Law

£60,000 to £65,000pa

Kent

To pursue Invicta Law’s goal of increasing the in-house advocacy resource, we have an exciting opportunity to join the expanding Advocacy team of experienced Child Protection legal professionals. We are looking for a qualified Barrister or Solicitor/CILEx Advocate to play a vital role in helping to deliver focused, high-quality advice and representation to key Local Authority clients.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with initiative, a proactive approach to problem-solving, and a real commitment to the job. You will work within a friendly and supportive team environment where your professional development will be nurtured and appreciated. The ideal candidate will be attending hearings at Kent based family courts, as a specialist Child Protection Advocate.

Invicta Law is a specialist public sector legal firm, with extensive experience in the areas of asylum, child protection, community care and employment. Our team has years of unparalleled front line experience in acting for one of the largest local authorities in the UK.

In return we will offer you -

• Flexible working
• 30 days’ (pro-rata) annual leave entitlement plus Bank Holidays and a discretionary extra day at Christmas
• Group Pension Plan (two-tiered scheme with up to 7.5% employer benefit)
• Practising certificates paid for annually by the company
• Life insurance cover at 4x salary
• Training opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme
• National and local retail discount scheme

Key duties -

• To provide representation in the Family Court to the children’s social care teams, covering all aspects of child protection law.
• To represent the client local authority in the most complex of cases.
• To advise the client local authority on legal and evidential matters pertaining to cases Invicta Law have been instructed on.
• Preparation of cases prior to attending Court, identifying all strengths and weaknesses of the case and informing the client.
• To provide legal advice that is informed by appropriate legal and factual analysis and identifies the consequences of the different options
• To advocate robustly in Court on behalf of the client to achieve the best outcome in the case
• General drafting to include case summaries, position statements, skeleton arguments, threshold and draft case management orders as required
• Develop and build strong relationships with clients and Social Work teams.

What we need from you –

• Qualified Barrister, Solicitor or Cilex Advocate
• Experience working within Child Protection Law and full understanding of the social care system, legality and procedures
• Ability to manage your own caseload and time with ease.
• Must have experience in representing clients in court
• Experience working within a Local Authority in house team is desirable but not essential

About Commercial Services Group

Commercial Services Group (CSG) is the largest, local authority-owned trading company (LATCO) in the UK, wholly owned by Kent County Council. CSG generates over £800m in revenue per annum and provides services to over 16,000 education and public sector customers globally.

CSG is striving to be recognised as the global leader in Education and Public Sector services, currently operating in 86 countries, with 1,800 staff across 28 trading brands, providing expertise ranging from: HR Services, IT Services, Energy, Education Resources, Procurement and many more.