Trainee solicitor

Family Rights Group’s mission is to create a more socially just society, in which the child welfare and family justice systems support children to live safely and thrive within their family, while strengthening the family and community networks of children who cannot live at home.

We seek to ensure that:

• Families involved with the child welfare system are treated fairly, have their rights respected and are able to make informed decisions.
• Children and families get help they need, so wherever possible children can live safely within their family.
• All children, including those in care, have lasting and supportive relationships throughout their lives.
• Our child welfare system – and wider society – promotes social justice, creating conditions that enable children to achieve their potential.
• Children and families’ voices drive decision making at an individual and strategic level within the child welfare system.

We do this through:

• A free, specialist advice service for parents and families, supporting them to understand their rights and options, and navigate child welfare processes.
• Supporting local authorities through provision of resources, training and consultancy.
• Finding innovative family-led ways to improve child welfare.
• Promoting families’ voices.
• Research, strategic litigation and lobbying for legislative and policy changes.

We are delighted to host another trainee solicitor through the Justice First Fellowship, a scheme run by the Legal Education Foundation. The Fellowship provides training contract opportunities for the next generation of specialist social justice lawyers. It aims for Fellows to become leaders in their field and important advocates for access to justice and the rule of law.

This is an exceptional opportunity for those wanting to develop their career in children law and social justice. The trainee solicitor will:

• Work alongside Family Rights Group’s principal legal adviser and legal advisers and wider policy team colleagues.
• Support our specialist advice and advocacy service and programmes and be involved in work to influence law, policy and practice at national and local level.
• Benefit from a six-month, full-time secondment to Goodman Ray solicitors in London, during which time there will be opportunity to work on children’s public law matters and private law and domestic abuse cases.

A core element of the training contract will be spent undertaking a project related to the charity’s work. This provides the trainee solicitor with opportunity to take initiative on a topic that particularly interests them, whilst working towards the charity’s strategic goal of ensuring children can thrive within their families.

Family Rights Group welcomes applications from aspiring lawyers with a passion for access to justice, and children law. See the Legal Education Foundation’s website for the requisite eligibility criteria, and a link to the full job description here.

To apply for this exciting opportunity, please visit the Legal Education Foundation’s website and complete the online application form. Applications are open now, until 6 January 2023.