Adult Social Care Lawyer

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8RA

Salary:£39,939 - £53,826 per annum (pro rata for part-time) plus a Golden Hello lump sum payment equal to 10% of salary on appointment

Contract Type:Permanent

Closing Date: 22nd March 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

Are you a qualified and experienced solicitor keen on promoting the equality and independence of vulnerable adults, alongside safeguarding and protection from abuse? If so, come and join our dedicated team of in house Adult Social Care solicitors in this challenging and rewarding area of practice.

About the Role

Are you an experienced lawyer whether Solicitor, Barrister, or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (with full advocacy and conduct of litigation practice rights) working in private practice, or a local authority? Do you have a keen interest in supporting the work of a large local authority in promoting the equality and independence of some of the most vulnerable members of its community, alongside safeguarding and protection from abuse? Are you someone looking to develop your experience in adult social care work? Are you ready for your next challenge? If so, please read on, we would like to hear from you.

We are looking for experienced lawyers to join us in this challenging and rewarding area of practice. You will have sound litigation skills, preferably within the welfare jurisdiction of the Court of Protection, together with the ability to undertake advocacy from time to time. Excellent legal research skills are also required for advice work on mental health and mental capacity, safeguarding, ordinary residence, community care funding and responsibilities including no recourse to public funds, finance issues, as well as providing guidance on policy and practice in response to changes in the law.

You are not expected to be an expert in all these areas, however broad experience and a keen willingness to find out is a definite advantage, as is a dynamic and solution focused approach.

Joining a friendly and supportive team, where different skills, knowledge and experiences are valued as an important resource, you can expect a collaborative working environment that includes:

• The opportunity to undertake some of the most complex and important case work supporting vulnerable adults in the Court of Protection.
• The opportunity to exercise your legal analysis skills with the production of high quality written and verbal advice.
• An opportunity to enhance /develop advocacy skills appropriate to the role and your experience.
• Provision of dedicated paralegal support.
• Guidance from a highly regarded and experienced manager.

Additional benefits of working for Leicestershire County Council include:

• Attractive benefits package including leave entitlement of up to 32 days depending on grade and length of service plus public holidays and leave buy back scheme, generous local government pension scheme, free on site parking, restaurant and food outlet, employee benefits and discount scheme. Payment of required professional fees.
• Employee friendly policies including carer support and comprehensive wellbeing support services. The council is a 'Mindful Employer' and committed to the well being of its staff.
• Career development support:the council recognises the value of mentoring, training and development. All managers in legal services are experienced and highly regarded legal practitioners both within the council and externally.

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

• Be qualified as an admitted Solicitor, Barrister or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives with full advocacy and conduct of litigation practice rights.
• Have recent and substantial experience of dealing with local authority work to include at least three of the following specialist areas: Mental health law, Deprivation of liberty safeguards/Mental Capacity Act, Court of protection work including Welfare proceedings, Judicial review, and Adult protection/other Adult Social Care issues.
• Have experience in the conduct of complex Public Law Litigation to include drafting chronologies, statements, position statements and briefs.
• Have knowledge of Public sector and/or Administrative law/Judicial review, and the functions of an Adult Social Care Services Department, including Mental health, Mental capacity, Court of protection, Adult protection, and Community Care Law, both in relation to individual cases and wider policy issues.
• Be able to assimilate information rapidly and present effective solutions, appropriate advice, and guidance in a timely manner.
• Be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers, and internal and external stakeholders to persuade and influence appropriate outcomes.
• Have excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, IT skills, and written communication skills to enable the drafting of legal documents.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion,please contact:

At Leicestershire County Council we're looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you're from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what's on your CV. That's why we've designed a recruitment process that's fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we'd love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above. Without this information, we won't be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal:

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it's like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

• Locations County Hall, Leicester, LE3 8RA, GB