Lawstop – Community Care Solicitor
- Job title: Community Care Solicitor
- Location: Lawstop Office Locations/Hybrid
- Salary: £35K upwards
- Hours: Full-time
About Lawstop
Lawstop are a leading legal aid law firm committed to providing high-quality legal advice and representation to vulnerable individuals. Its work focuses on promoting access to justice and upholding the rights of clients.
Role Purpose
Lawstop are specialists when it comes to challenging decisions which have been made by Children’s or Adult’s Social Services, where it is believed that they have acted unlawfully in the provision of services to a range of people, including disabled or vulnerable people, children and the elderly.
We are recruiting an experienced and ambitious Community Care Solicitor to join our dynamic legal aid practice. With a modern approach, the firm are legal experts within their areas of law and pride ourselves on high levels of client care, providing an outstanding service at all times.
We require a self-motivated individual with excellent communication and written skills. You will be highly organised, able to manage a varied workload and work well under pressure. Patience and tact are necessary as you will be assisting vulnerable people whose welfare is our priority. Sound knowledge of legal aid funding is desirable.
As a solicitor joining our friendly and expanding team, we will provide support and on-going training; however, you must have enough experience to hit the ground running.
We are a versatile and adaptive practice with a unique approach to the delivery of legal services, and we work hard to achieve the best results for our clients.
Person Specification
A committed and passionate solicitor with good knowledge of community care and public law, current policies, and legal aid. You will need to share our passion for access to justice, have good knowledge of the legal aid scheme.
The successful applicant will have solid experience of running a diverse community care/public law claimant case load and will demonstrate a solid commitment to upholding the rights of vulnerable people in society.
You will be working with colleagues specialising in housing and public law.
We are looking for:
- Carrying out all allotted casework, promptly and efficiently.
- Analysing legal matters and advising clients of appropriate course of action.
- Communicating clearly and regularly with clients and complying with ‘client care’ requirements.
- Dealing with all routine correspondence, negotiations and advocacy, where appropriate.
- Ensuring that time spent on all casework is promptly recorded and on conclusion of cases that they are billed and payment is recorded promptly.
- To ensure, where any part of the work within the department is funded by the Legal Aid Agency that requirements are met.
- Keeping up-to-date with general legal developments, particularly relating to own specialist field(s).
- Providing supervision where appropriate and/or reporting to supervisors when supervision required.
Skills/Knowledge Requirements
- Experience of working on a full range of community care and/or Court of Protection law (including challenging assessments and care plans, ensuring that local authorities comply with their safeguarding duties, identifying judicial review challenges and potential Court of Protection cases
- Ability to communicate effectively with the firm’s client group
- Problem-solving ability
- Experience of working to targets
- Excellent IT Skills
- Commitment to our client group in connection with maintaining access to justice
- Current Practising Certificate
- Experience of Legal Aid funding and using CCMS
How to apply
Please provide CV and cover letter to Natalie Harrington:
natalieh@lawstop.co.uk