Children Panel Member

**Role: Child Care Panel Member - Peterborough** **Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd)**: Duncan Lewis was founded in 1998. We are a large and established company employing over 700 staff delivering legal services in over 60 languages. Duncan Lewis serves corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 practice areas from offices throughoutLondon and across England and Wales. Our success in case results are regularly reported in the media and our staffs’ accomplishments are acknowledged and recommended as leaders in the legal directories; The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, as a top tierfirm and described as a "diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients". Our head office is based in the City of London Fenchurch Street, EC3M. We are the largest provider of publicly funded (Legal Aid) legal services in the country and became one of the first law firms in the UK to achieve the Investors in People Gold AccreditationQuality Standard Mark in 2009. Duncan Lewis is LEXCEL, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001-2013 accredited. We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. **Child Care Department Background**: Our highly specialised Child Care Department was ranked by Legal 500 in 2018 for its specialism in all areas of child care work. Our Child Care Law department approaches each case with a level of understanding only achievable through specialising in ChildCare law. They key aspect of our work is assisting guardians to represent a child and representing parents. We act for children, parents and family members to provide expert advice to adopted parents and the birth parents who are considering adoption. The departmentalso advises same-sex couples on child care matters, including child care arrangements following divorce, separation or dissolution of a civil partnership, adoption, co-parenting and surrogacy. Setting us apart from other firms, the Child Care Law department consists of members of the Law Society Children and Family Panel Members. The majority are also members of the Association for the Lawyers for Children, and of Resolution (formerly known asthe Solicitors Family Law Association). Duncan Lewis is one of few firms in the UK that are on the Lord Chancellor’s International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) referral list. We have acquired a number of kite-marks and accreditations which aretestament to the quality of the specialised work our staff undertake. We have had several high profile cases, which have been reported, which include caste, underage marriages and international elements. **Main Responsibilities of the Role** - Report directly to and collaborating with the Board to ensure performance targets are met - Responsible for all aspects of Child Care work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members - Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities - Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department - Variety of duties including dealing with a range of public and private children cases including child abduction, child protection issues, special guardianship and adoption matters as well as undertaking your own advocacy - You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company **Key Skills Required** - 3 Years+ PQE - Registered with the Law Society and Children Panel Membership is desirable and committed and highly driven - Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying - Strong management skills - Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators - Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable clients and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Child Care issues - Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business - Working knowledge of the publically funded Child Care work and have the ability to service privately funded cases - Have extensive experience in dealing with all Child Care work related work and some expertise on adoption matters - Experience in own advocacy is an advantage The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role. **Equal Opportunities**: Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce.