An exceptional role for an education lawyer at a top-ranked practice! Here at VWV, we're committed to advising and representing education providers, and this role sees us looking to expand our thriving and profitable regulatory compliance practice with a bright and pragmatic lawyer, most likely at around the associate or senior associate level. With regulatory compliance work being "core" to our firm's success, this is a chance to work at the very "engine" of the firm.

About us 

We're a Top 100, full-service UK law firm with just over 500 employees. With 4 offices in London, Watford, Bristol and Birmingham, you'll be struck by our close-knit and friendly culture. We believe in integrity and authenticity - in each one of us being ourselves, both in our interactions with each other and with our clients. With a reputation not just for the quality of our work, but also for the qualities of our people, we strive to recruit individuals who are proactive and passionate about what they do and who are able to demonstrate humour and humility in equal measure.

Our Regulatory Compliance practice 

Here at VWV, we have a specialist regulatory compliance team - a team of lawyers who guide our clients, in particular education and health and social care providers, through their regulatory frameworks and help to manage the legal challenges that they face.  Many of our clients are nationally-renowned providers and much of our work is driven by legal and political developments in our key sectors, which makes for a constantly evolving and dynamic practice.

Clients seek our services knowing that our specialist sector knowledge, coupled with our high service level standards and range of pricing options, set us apart. Our work is recognised in the legal directories (we are tier 1 for our practice with a number of leading individuals in the field) and by the sector press/associations.

Headed by Partner, Tabitha Cave, this team comprises 5 partners, 21 lawyers and 4 support colleagues.

The role 

If you're an experienced education lawyer, specialising in parent and student matters and compliance with regulatory frameworks that apply to schools, most likely at associate or senior associate level, then this could be for you. Ideally you will have broad expertise across contentious and non- contentious aspects of the work, and will be experienced in advising maintained schools and academies (both single and multi-academy trusts) on these issues. Working closely with our team lead for our academies and maintained school practice, you'll enjoy helping to service and supervise the work of the team and helping to deliver our strategy at a time of political change and huge opportunity for the sector.

We would expect the caseload to include admissions and exclusions (including appeals), the management of student behaviour and discipline, safeguarding of students, special educational need and equality issues, complaints and claims (usually tribunal and JR), inspection advice, EHCP consultations and funding issues. The work is also likely to involve critical incident management and reputation protection, so some experience in this area would be helpful.  

About you

You're most likely working at around the associate or senior associate level and have proven experience in and a commitment to education and public law for providers, particularly those in the academies and maintained space.

Where will I be working?

As regards location, we're open-minded. We have a truly unique and engaging culture that we hold dear: we work hard but we also love to have fun and we recognise that it's the social interaction between us that really shapes our culture. The team and firm work to a hybrid model of office and remote working, and we would ideally like you to be based from one of our office locations for at least part of each week. In this way, you'll benefit first-hand from our warm and friendly culture, and facilitate cross referral opportunities. We are of course happy to discuss any specific requirements of hybrid working with candidates on an individual basis.

How to apply?

Whilst we're renowned for our transparent and welcoming culture, we know that making the next career move can be daunting. We've all been there! To help you to get more of a flavour for life at VWV and to find out what our own people say about us, we invite you to watch this short video on the right hand side. If you feel ready to apply, then please click on the red "Apply Now" button at the foot of the advert.  We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. If you require any special adjustments to be made in order to be considered for this role, then please do call us (see contact details in the "How to Apply" section below), as we will be happy to do so.

If you have any questions on the role or firm before you decide whether or not to apply, please contact Emma Latchem-Hughes, Talent Acquisition Advisor (Lawyers), ELatchem-Hughes@vwv.co.uk or call me in complete confidence on 07340 632798.

Recruitment Agencies

We are in a period of exclusive direct sourcing for this role and are not accepting applications from agencies. We politely request therefore that you do not send candidates through. Any named or anonymised profile or CV sent to us will be deemed an unsolicited approach and deleted.