Just for Kids Law are recruiting for a Criminal Solicitor to join our busy and dynamic Legal Team, which comprises award-winning solicitors, paralegals and trainee solicitors working in the field of Youth Justice, Crime and Public Law.
We are recruiting for a Criminal Solicitor to join our small but influential team, which also includes the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). The role will assist in the delivery of JFKL’s criminal legal aid contract by representing young people in court and police stations as well as maintaining and managing a caseload.
The post holder will have at least two years post qualification legal experience. They will have a good understanding and awareness of the principles and practice of representing young people, alongside experience of representing children at the police station, in criminal proceedings, and of direct client work, providing advice and conducting litigation.
They will be highly motivated and be expected to work with a high degree of autonomy as well as being able to work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation. They must also be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment in which they will be expected to produce high-quality work at a consistent rate.
Role Summary
Contract term: Fixed Term Contract
Location: Central London with a mix of office and homeworking
Hours: 1.0 FTE (35 hours per week)
Salary: £38,002 – £43,760 depending on experience in a directly equivalent role
Probation period: 6 months
Detailed responsibility and person specification can be found here.
Just for Kids Law believes in the value of a diverse workforce and encourages applications from people from all ethnic, cultural, religious, and social backgrounds: in particular, people from BAME, LGBTQI+ communities. We strive to create a diverse working environment where anyone, regardless of background, can thrive.
Responsibilities:
Casework & Litigation
- Providing high quality advice and representation including Advocacy for individual clients with a high degree of professionalism, and conducting work in such a way as to meet relevant external standards (e.g. Specialist Quality Mark, SRA, BSB and OISC etc.)
- Conducting sometimes complex litigation on behalf of clients and JFKL, using legal aid and occasionally other sources of funding
- Analysing complex factual and legal situations and advising as to the way forward
- Maintaining a culture of client care in terms of service delivery
- Maintaining a caseload of a reasonable size in order to meet team financial targets
- Ensuring that all time recording is entered onto the JFKL Case Management System to enable accurate reporting and maximize income
- Undertaking billing in a timely and appropriate way to ensure regular cash flow to JFKL
- Providing authoritative legal advice to clients, practitioners and organisations on youth justice/criminal legal issues including public speaking and contributing to publications
Cross-organisational team working
- Acting as an active member of JFKL legal team, attending meetings and representing the Youth Justice team as and when required
- Contributing to cross organisational communications, campaigns and other projects • Providing legal advice, guidance and support
- Advising other staff within the wider JFKL team on issues relating to their clients where these have a Youth Justice component.
- Work closely with the Policy and Campaigning Team to report trends arising from your work and contribute ideas. This may involve contributing to the preparation of written responses on Youth Justice issues and representing JFKL at external meetings.
General responsibilities
- Working with the Co-Leads in the preparation of funding applications and requirements
- Proactively generating new clients
- Attending and participating in internal, external meetings as required including meetings outside of normal working hours where necessary
- Being a positive, cooperative, and constructive team member, upholding the values of JFKL
- Complying with JFKL’s monitoring and recording requirements both internally for Co-Leads/Board and externally for Funders, Stakeholders and the Legal Aid Agency
- Ensuring compliance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, BSB and OISC requirements where appropriate. Including maintaining a Personal Competence record of all objectives in terms of training and development needs and any courses or training undertaken to evidence compliance
- Representing and promoting the organisation’s work positively
- Carrying out all work with due regard to JFKL’s policies and procedures
- Promoting Equality and Diversity principles in all aspects of work
Requirements
- Respect for children and young people and a champion for their right
- Knowledge of the principles of public law and administrative review, and specifically the duties owed by public bodies towards, children and young people.
- Knowledge of the Human Rights Act, and the UNCRC, and how they can be used to put forward Children Rights’ arguments in court.
- Knowledge of the youth justice system, and the policy issues related to the children within it.
- Understanding of the principles and practice of representing young people.
- 2 years post qualification legal experience is essential.
- Experience of direct client work, providing advice and conducting litigation
- Experience of influencing public policy
- Experience of training professionals
Qualifications and training
- Degree in law or other Degree and relevant conversion equivalent
- Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course
- Practising solicitor or barrister
How to Apply
To apply, return a completed application form and equal opportunities monitoring form to humanresources@justforkidslaw.org
Application Deadline: 11:59pm Monday 6th January 2025
Interview date: Mid January 2025 to be confirmed
If you have any questions about the roles or the recruitment process, please get in touch at humanresources@justforkidslaw.org