The Barrister


	THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

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Childcare Advocates
£39,621 - £45,807

The new advocacy team

We are establishing an in-house advocates team to undertake child care court work. Southwark has stood in the top quartile for care proceedings in London for many years. We have a high volume of cases in court and the complexity of these cases varies. Our decision to form an in-house advocacy team will bring a number of benefits - including more consistency in representation at court, improved case planning, better co-ordination with the social work team and substantial savings on external counsel.

The role

You will be responsible for providing high quality advocacy and legal advice focused on child care law, but potentially dealing with other aspects of law relating to children and adults.

The role is ideal for someone who is keen to be in court several times a week; undertaking hearings at the Family Proceedings Court and Principal Registry and on occasion the High Court. You will be working closely with lawyers and social workers to ensure that cases are presented to the highest standards.
You will expected to self manage to a great extent - you will deal with preparation and processing for all matters relevant to any proceedings and much of your time will be spent representing the council in child protection cases.

You will also support the casework by drafting and reviewing court documents and by guiding and training in-house lawyers with an interest in advocacy.

The requirements

You must be either a:
• Qualified Barrister
• Solicitor, with a current practising certificate or eligibility to apply for one
• Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, or possessing an equivalent qualification gained in another jurisdiction.

We expect you to be an experienced advocate and child care expert who is familiar with the complexity of child protection law and adept in contested hearings and the cross examination of witnesses.
It's important that you have the organisational skills and PC literacy to take responsibility for you own administration.

Reference: 1732

To find out more visit Click Here

Closing date: 3rd September 2010.

Senior Lawyer (Education/Social Care)
£39,621 - £45,807

We are looking for an experienced professional to advise on both education and adult and child social care issues, excluding child care.

The role

You will take on a complex caseload of your own. You will often be providing advice to senior officers in Children's Services and on occasion councillors.

In education, this will cover advice on issues such as admissions; appeals; school reorganisations, enlargements, openings and closing; school transport policy; exclusions and academies. The SEN work is undertaken by a legal assistant in the SEN Service, however, you will provide some support and supervision to them.

In social care, you will work with a small team of lawyers to providing advice on a wide range of issues including deprivation of libery, the council's duties towards those with no recourse to public funds, those in need of community care and children leaving care. This team is managed by another senior lawyer on a part-time basis so you will also provide some management of this team.

We will look to you to drive further improvement and ensure best practice is embedded in everything we do.

The requirements
• You could come from private practice or the voluntary sector. Your background may have been gained in the public sector. Or you could have a combination of experience. You need to have an excellent understanding of the principles of good governance and decision making.
• It's essential that you are a qualified lawyer - ideally with proven record in both education and social care law or potentially with successful experience in one of these areas and a willingness to develop your expertise in the other field on the job.
• You need to bring strong people management skills and a good mix of communication, interpersonal, negotiation and problem solving skills. You will understand the importance of working closely alongside clients to get the best possible results.

Reference: 1731

To find out more Click Here

Closing date: 3rd September 2010.

Senior Lawyer (Contracts)
£39,621 - £45,807

This role offers the opportunity to contribute to some of the most high profile projects in the regeneration world - while gaining outstanding experience of major contracts.

Regeneration in Southwark
Forty per cent of the borough is now undergoing regeneration, with developments valued at around £4 billion. These include the £1.5 billion Elephant and Castle regeneration programme; Major redevelopment projects at Canada Water and Bermondsey Spa; The Peckham Programme; Redeveloping the Aylesbury Estate; Building Schools for the Future (BSF).

This regeneration is changing not just the face of the borough, but the way people work, live and spend time here. Despite the current economic downturn, work is continuing and the demand for our services remains firm.

Regeneration in Southwark is about so much more than investment in new buildings - it's about improving the life chances of residents and creating neighbourhoods that are great places to live by providing improved housing, schools, healthcare, leisure facilities and employment opportunities.

Our ambitions need input from skilled and imaginative lawyers who can be an integral part of our client's project delivery. You will work as part of cross-disciplinary teams both within Legal Services and with clients. We offer you the chance to develop your career by working on high profile matters where your input will be crucial.

The role
You will be joining an experienced, well-established and highly regarded contracts team that has a very good relationship with clients. It's a great environment in which to strengthen your contracts experience. There will be further opportunities to develop your career through working with external solicitors in innovative new ways.

We will give you a complex and interesting caseload, with an emphasis on our regeneration projects. Your work will also include advising the Council's Cabinet and other committees and contributing to strategically important policy matters.

For example, this could include topics such as project and risk mitigation approaches, European procurement, local government law and contractual disputes.

In addition, you will be expected to take part in the leadership and improvement of Legal Services.

The requirements

• You could come from private practice or the commercial sector. Your background may have been gained in the public sector. Or you could have a combination of experience
• It's essential that you are a qualified lawyer with proven experience in contracts/projects and/or regeneration work
• As the work will be both varied and complex, you need the ability to communicate and manage risks across subject boundaries.

Reference: 1738

To find out more Click Here

Closing date: 3rd September 2010.