Childcare Lawyer

Job Title: Childcare Lawyer (Locum) – London Borough Council

Service Care Legal is recruiting an experienced Childcare Lawyer to join a highly regarded London Borough Council’s busy Legal Services team on a full-time locum contract. This Childcare Lawyer role is ideal for a childcare specialist comfortable managing complex safeguarding caseloads and supporting Children’s Services.

Contract Details

• Employment Type: Contract
• Contract length: 2 weeks (with short-term placement)
• Hours: 36 hours per week
• Office attendance: 1 day per week (Central London)
• Pay rate: £50–£60ph umbrella / £53.28ph PAYE inc. holiday pay / £47.54ph PAYE exc. holiday pay

Candidate Responsibilities

As a Childcare Lawyer, you will:

• Manage a varied caseload of public law childcare matters, including care applications, PLO matters, adoption, special guardianship and other child protection proceedings
• Provide legal advice and support to Children’s Social Care, including attendance at Legal Planning Meetings (LPMs) and safeguarding panels
• Conduct end-to-end case management from instruction through to conclusion, ensuring compliance with Lexcel and internal service requirements
• Support complex safeguarding decision-making, working closely with teams across Children’s Services

Benefits

We offer flexible locum support for your Childcare Lawyer career, including:

• Competitive hourly rate for this Childcare Lawyer assignment
• Weekly payment processing (subject to relevant compliance)
• Dedicated consultant oversight to help coordinate your placement and onboarding
• Experience across a busy Local Authority Legal Services department handling high-impact safeguarding work

About You

To be considered for this Childcare Lawyer role, you should have:

• Qualified Solicitor, Barrister or CILEX Lawyer with a current practising certificate and relevant rights of audience/conduct of litigation
• Minimum 2 years’ local authority childcare law experience
• Strong knowledge of care proceedings, DOLS, secure accommodation applications, adoption, discharge applications, and disclosure/redaction work
• Confidence managing a busy caseload independently (advocacy experience is advantageous)

How to apply
Please contact our consultant (Service Care Legal): [Consultant Name], [Email Address], [Phone Number].