Paralegal jobs

Job title - Solicitor / Senior Solicitor (Child and Family Law)

Contract - Permanent

Hours - Full time (although part time will be considered)

Salary range - Dependent on experience and supervisory responsibilities. The post holder will also benefit from eligibility for our bonus scheme.

• £31,000 - £39,000 per annum (1 - 7 years PQE)
• £37,000 - £45,000 per annum (7 – 12 years PQE)
• £40,000 - £50,000 (12+ years PQE)

Location - Coram Campus, 41 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ

About Coram

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

One of the nine members of the Coram group, Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) is the UK’s specialist centre for children’s rights in education, immigration, community care and family law, and provides significant international legal systems consultancy. The centre is located on the Coram Campus in central London with a base in Colchester. We champion access to justice through information and advice, legal practice and representation, policy and strategic litigation. Our Legal Practice Unit provides advice and representation primarily under legal aid contract. Our Policy and Practice Change team promotes practice change through training and capacity building to professionals and secures systems change through research, policy and advocacy.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the legal team at Coram, the birthplace of children’s social care. Our small but impactful family law team is growing and we are looking for a solicitor join the existing team of two senior solicitors and a paralegal. The role sits within a wider team that includes education, community care and immigration and asylum lawyers. It will also benefit from CCLC’s position within the Coram group which includes Coram Voice, Coram BAAF and adoption services.

The role would suit a committed and passionate family law solicitor interested in developing their career within the charity sector.

The purpose of the role is to provide legal advice, assistance and representation to children, young people, family members and carers through casework including private family law cases where the child is made party to the proceedings and a guardian is instructed, care proceedings, pre-proceeding processes, adoption, special guardianship arrangements and disputes about child arrangements. Within the parameters of our remit and mission, our solicitors are able to choose the cases they take on and build their own caseloads.

The post holder will also work with other solicitors within the team to help develop the family law team at CCLC and support junior members of the team.

We are a supportive and collaborative team with a commitment to wellbeing and a range of employee benefits. We work in a hybrid model with an understanding that family law solicitors are often out at court.

For further information on CCLC please visit our website.

To apply for this role, please click on the 'apply now' button below to complete the application.

Closing date: 12th July 2026 at midnight

Test and Interview date: 17th July and 20th July 2026

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from global majority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.

Overview of role

The UK Casework Lead is responsible both for a personal caseload and for the supervision, output, quality and revenue performance of RLS's UK legal team of three frontline caseworkers. We are looking for a qualified solicitor who is also IAAS accredited at Supervising Senior Caseworker level, qualifying ideally to supervise both the Immigration and Asylum and the Public Law contracts. The post holder will also hold the role of authorised litigator.

The postholder will be expected to generate legal aid income at a level that covers their own gross salary cost, and to lead the team's growth in legal aid billings against an agreed annual target. 

We are looking for someone with a positive, can-do approach and a strategic, ambitious, big-picture view of the team and the work. We want someone who will set direction for the UK team, grow the LAA contract in line with RLS’ strategic objectives, and support caseworkers and operational colleagues to become confident, self-supporting practitioners on a day-to-day basis, working in a trusting collegiate environment. 

Why work for RLS 

You will have autonomy to shape the UK casework team’s direction and grow the LAA contract.

We also offer: 

• Generous annual leave (28 days) plus bank holidays and a Christmas shutdown period, so you can properly switch off
• The chance to work in a small, dynamic team with an international footprint -  operating across the UK, northern France and Greece.
• Flexible working 
• Fantastic offices in London Fields, with free Climpson’s coffee

Key responsibilities 

Legal aid income generation 

• Lead the growth of RLS's legal aid income and maintain a personal legal aid caseload sized to generate billings covering the postholder's own gross salary costs. 

• Design and oversee caseload allocation across the team so that caseworkers develop skills and expertise, progressing swiftly in their professional development, legal aid revenue grows in line with the strategic target of 10–15% year-on-year, while preserving quality of advice and client care. 

Personal casework 

• Carry a legal aid caseload in immigration and asylum / public law, including controlled and licensed work as appropriate. 

• Provide high-quality legal advice and representation to clients throughout the application procedure, on appeal and in related judicial review claims where applicable. 

• Maintain client files and records to LAA, SQM, and SRA standards, and in line with GDPR and RLS's internal procedures. 

Supervision and team leadership 

• Supervise three frontline caseworkers (currently covering refugee family reunion and asylum) - including regulatory compliance, file reviews, technical supervision, casework allocation, performance managementand professional development. 

• Set and keep under quarterly review, ambitious-but-achievable case targets across the team in consultation with caseworkers, and monitor progress against them. 

• Help to supervise pro bono volunteer lawyers and trainees through three established pro bono partnerships

• Deliver internal and external training

• Foster a supportive, learning-oriented team culture 

Legal aid contract and regulatory compliance 

• Act as the LAA Supervisor for both RLS Immigration & Asylum and Public Law legal aid contracts 

• Manage the LAA contract end-to-end: compliance with the contract specification, oversight of controlled and licensed billing, exceptional case funding applications and billing of ECF files, and audit (LAA, SQM)readiness. 

• Act as the LAA authorised Litigator, the RLS's Quality Representative for the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM); manage Peer Review readiness and oversee actions arising from LAA and SQM audits, reviews or visits. 

• Ensure full compliance with IAA, SRA (where applicable) and SQM standards and record keeping across the UK casework team. 

• Maintain accurate financial records and information as required. 

• Provide half yearly reports to the RLS ED and Trustee Board on RLS audit readiness, and confirmation of progress to monthly and annual record keeping being up to date.

Monitoring, evaluation and reporting 

• Lead monitoring and evaluation of the legal team's outputs: case numbers, client outcomes, billing performance and quality indicators. 

• Report against targets internally (to the ED) and to funders where required. 

• Use case management system data and other evidence to inform team development, fundraising proposals and external impact reporting. 

General duties 

• Keep abreast of developments in immigration and asylum law and practice 

• Deliver training internally for caseworkers, trainees and pro bono volunteers 

• Adhere to all RLS policies and procedures, including safeguarding. 

• Undertake other duties within the scope of the post as agreed with the Executive Director. 

Person specification 

Essential criteria 

Candidates must meet all the following: 

• Qualification and accreditation: Solicitor qualified in England & Wales and IAAS accredited at Supervising Senior Caseworker level, qualified ideally to supervise both the Immigration and Asylum and the Public Law contracts. If only currently qualified to supervise the Immigration and Asylum contract, willing to work towards eligibility to supervise the Public Law contract as swiftly as possible.

• Casework experience: At least five years' (or equivalent) experience of running a caseload of complex asylum, immigration and human rights cases in a legal aid environment (including appeals and judicial review). 

• Billing track record: Demonstrable experience of meeting personal and/or team legal aid billing targets, and a clear understanding of how cost-billable work is generated and managed in practice. 

• Supervision experience: Experience of supervising caseworkers working in an LAA environment, including SQM and Immigration Specification compliance, file review, technical supervision and performance management. 

• LAA contract knowledge: Comprehensive understanding of LAA contract and specification provisions in the immigration and asylum, and public law categories, including controlled and licensed work, exceptional case funding,

• Tribunal experience: Experience of litigation in the Immigration Tribunals and the Administrative Court.

• Working style: Strong organisational skills; able to prioritise and meet deadlines; comfortable working autonomously in a small team and balancing personal casework with supervisory responsibility (anticipatedratio 75:25) 

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; able to deal effectively with clients, colleagues, commercial pro bono partners and external stakeholders. 

• Values: A strong commitment to the protection of the rights of people who migrate, and to access to justice through high-quality, client-centred legal services. 

• Right to work: Right to reside and work in the UK. Successful candidate will be required to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate (RLS covers the cost). 

Desirable criteria

• Lived experience of migration systems. 

• Experience of working in a small charity or non-profit legal services setting. 

• Experience of working on pro bono partnerships with commercial law firms. 

• Experience of training and supervising trainees, volunteers or paralegals. 

• Knowledge of languages other than English relevant to RLS's client base (e.g. Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Tigrinya, Pashto). 

Terms and conditions 

• Salary: c. £50,000 per year, depending on experience. Pay scales are reviewed annually. 

• Hours: 37.5 hours per week (1.0 FTE). Flexible working arrangements considered. 

• Annual leave: 28 days per year plus bank holidays and Christmas shutdown period.

• Pension: Employer pension contribution of 3% (postholder contribution as per auto-enrolment). 

• Location: Hybrid working from London. Minimum two days per week in-person, including for confidential client meetings and team gatherings. 

• Probation: Six months. 

• DBS: Successful candidate will be required to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate. RLS covers the cost. 

We will be conducting interviews w/c 20 July 2026.