Children Solicitor

• Work predominantly from home once settled, typically with just one office day a week or fortnight
• Earn 33% of everything you bill above a realistic 3x salary target
• Step into an existing private children caseload with dedicated paralegal support and very little admin

If you enjoy children law but want more flexibility and a better reward for the work you put in, this Blackburn-based role offers a compelling combination.
The work is already there. You’ll take ownership of an existing caseload, with a particular focus on private children matters alongside some public children work, rather than being expected to arrive and generate a following. You’ll also have dedicated paralegal support, shared secretarial resource and centralised billing, freeing you up to spend more of your time actually practising law.
Once you’re settled, the flexibility is significant, with experienced solicitors typically coming into the office once a week or even once a fortnight. There’s also a clear financial upside: once you reach a target of 3x salary, you’ll receive a third of everything you bill above it.
The department is continuing to grow because demand is outstripping capacity, creating plenty of scope to develop your expertise, gain panel memberships and take on greater responsibility as your career progresses.

Who we’re looking for

• Children Solicitor, ideally 2–3+ PQE, although the firm is flexible on PQE (Essential)
• Experience handling private children matters (Essential)
• Legal aid experience (Essential)
• Able to manage a caseload independently with minimal supervision (Essential)
• Strong client care skills, particularly when dealing with sensitive or emotionally difficult matters (Essential)
• Compassionate, emotionally intelligent and resilient approach (Essential)
• Advocacy experience (Desirable)
• Children panel or other relevant panel membership (Desirable)
• Supervisory experience or an interest in developing this over time (Desirable)

What you’ll be doing

• Managing your own children law caseload
• Handling predominantly private children matters alongside public children work
• Advising clients on sensitive and complex family situations
• Undertaking advocacy where appropriate
• Working closely with dedicated paralegal and secretarial support
• Delivering excellent client care, including to clients experiencing domestic abuse
• Supporting junior colleagues as your role develops
• Building your expertise and potentially working towards relevant panel memberships

Salary & Benefits

• Competitive salary tailored to experience, billings and supervisory capability
• Bonus of 33% of all billings above your 3x salary target
• Significant home working once settled – typically only one office day per week or fortnight
• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
• Birthday off
• Holiday entitlement increasing with service to a maximum of 30 days plus bank holidays
• BUPA private healthcare after 12 months, including counselling support
• Dedicated paralegal support
• Shared secretarial support
• Centralised billing to reduce administrative work
• Investment in technology and AI to make fee earning more efficient
• Support towards relevant panel memberships
• Clear opportunities to progress into supervisory and leadership responsibilities
• Strong job security within a growing department where there is already more work than capacity
• Approachable senior leadership and an established culture of developing people for the long term

Contact Mel Samson

📩 mel.samson@realmrecruit.com
📞 03300 245 606
Mel specialises in family and care recruitment across the North West and can give you a clear picture of how this role compares to other children law opportunities currently on the market.