Family Court Lawyer

The purpose of this role is to support the legal team and Social Work England with the use and disclosure of information from Family Court proceedings in its regulatory processes. Social Work England's regulation of social workers means that information pertaining to Family Court proceedings is often relevant to its fitness to practise proceedings. This role will involve ensuring that Social Work England continues to obtain and use this information appropriately and in accordance with the law. This role will also involve supporting our fitness to practise and registration teams more broadly, to ensure that our regulatory processes are otherwise compliant with any legal restrictions regarding the use of Family Court information.

This role will sit within our in-house legal team, who provide legal advice on both broader regulatory law and business support matters, in order to share experience and learning. While the role will focus on the use of Family Court information, there will also be opportunities to become involved in other projects relating to our regulatory functions and to participate in the work of the wider legal team.

What you will do

• Provide advice regarding obtaining, using and further communicating Family Court information within our regulatory processes. There may also be opportunities to become involved in High Court litigation.


• Make applications to, and conduct litigation within, the Family Court where appropriate, allowing us to obtain, use and further communicate Family Court information within our regulatory processes. There will also be opportunities to represent Social Work England in respect of these applications before the Family Court.


• Improve and maintain our internal processes for the handling of Family Court information.


• Support the development of the legal team's own knowledge and experience of family law, for example through training and peer review.


• Ensure that our decisions are legally robust by identifying legal risks early and working with other teams to ensure that those risks are managed appropriately.


• Provide regulatory and other legal advice to our regulatory teams, particularly the fitness to practise and registration teams.


• Provide advice on internal policies, procedures and processes to ensure legal compliance and participate in project teams and working groups as necessary.


• Develop strong relationships throughout the organisation (and particularly with our fitness to practise teams), using your legal expertise and knowledge to provide solutions-focused support.


• Support the legal team to deliver the organisation's business plan (which will be reflected in each lawyer's objectives), including the delivery of training and legal awareness.
  
  Appropriate qualifications and experience as a solicitor, barrister or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. You must be registered with or be eligible to immediately join the SRA's solicitors' register, BSB Barristers' Register, CILEX Authorised Practitioners' Directory (with litigation and advocacy rights in the Family Court).


• Experience of advising on family law and conducting Family Court litigation.


• Experience of or a willingness to learn the law relating to professional regulation and the Court of Protection.


• Strong legal analytical skills and judgement and experience of managing caseloads, with the ability to analyse complex issues and present legally sound and focused advice.


• Excellent written communication skills, ability to draft clear and comprehensive advice and to present information on complex issues clearly and succinctly for a range of different audiences.


• The ability to work cross-organisationally, working well with others and responding positively, creatively and supportively to a variety of colleagues while maintaining high and consistent standards.


• The ability to work to tight deadlines, be calm under pressure and flexibly manage competing priorities.


• A track record of respectful, open, and honest behaviour including a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
  
  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.


Our small in-house team provides sound legal advice across our organisation, particularly to our fitness to practise, registration, and education quality assurance teams. The team is also responsible for providing advice on a range of other legal areas that an organisation of our size will encounter, including commercial contracts, data protection and employment law. You would be joining the organisation at an exciting time as we look ahead to the impact we want to deliver in the world of social work and regulation.