1.2 The Family workload is mainly Legal Aid work. Within the Family case load there is a wide variety of Family Work (Divorce, Ancillary Relief, Children, Injunctions) mainly conducted in the County Court (principally at Gloucester) with a small proportion of Family Proceedings work before the Justices in the local Magistrates Court

1.3 The office has a Legal Aid Franchise in Family work. The franchise was granted in April 2000 and the office successfully completed its first post franchise audit in December 2000. Supervision is undertaken by a solicitor based at our Chepstow office who is a member of the Family law panel. Familiarity with Legal Aid work is essential and experience of a Franchised operation is desirable

1.4 Although there is a significant existing case load, it is believed the right person will continue to attract new work, expanding the Family case load.

2. ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

The successful applicant :

2.1 will be able to work unsupervised and handle a busy case-load

2.2 be capable of and enjoy doing their own advocacy

2.3 should enjoy Client contact and be committed to providing a high quality of work and level of Client service regardless of Clients social standing or income

2.4 should be happy to have a mixed Family Practice and do mainly Legal Aid work (though there is undoubtedly scope to attract more Privately Funded Family Work)

2.5 will be capable of generating gross fees not less than three times their salary

2.6 should be prepared to live in the general area which the offices serve

2.7 have a current Driving Licence and car

2.8 be fit and active

3. WORK AND CONDITIONS

3.1 Our office is spacious and well equipped. There is a good Law Library within the office and a commitment to maintaining it. The office has had computerised time recording and accounting for many years and an integrated word processing system (Microsoft Word) with access to an extensive and growing precedent library, e-mail and Internet uses expanding.

3.2 The successful applicant will be responsible for maintaining and expanding the Family Precedents

3.3 Each fee earner has his or her own secretary

4. THE FIRM

4.1 Francis and Co is a two office practice with offices at Chepstow and Lydney.

4.2 The Lydney office is a largely autonomous office and deals with its own General Practice case load. It is a four fee earner office headed by a resident Partner, with two solicitors and an experienced Fellow of Legal Executives. Work is divided between the fee earners into the following main categories:

4.2.1 Family

4.2.2 Other Civil Litigation (principally personal injury)

4.2.3 Company/Commercial

4.2.4 Conveyancing/Probate

4.2.5 Commercial Property

The office has been established for many years and its work load comes from all over West Gloucestershire and further afield

4.3 The Chepstow office is the larger of the two offices, with three resident Partners and its own Family Department (including a member of the Law Society Family Panel who acts as supervisor for the Lydney office franchised family work).

5. LOCATION

5.1 Lydney is a Severnside Town situated on the A48, approximately 8 miles east of Chepstow, 19 miles west of Gloucester.

5.2 Lydney is a growing town of about 10,000 directly serving a population of about 20,000 taking into account outlying small villages which look to Lydney for services and facilities

5.3 The area is predominantly rural but it is within easy access to a number of larger centres (Gloucester - 30 minutes, Cheltenham - 40 minutes, Bristol - 50 minutes, Cardiff - 1 hour, Birmingham - just over 1 hour) and it is within easy access to the motorway network.

5.4 Housing costs are modest

5.5 There is a wide selection of good primary schools and improving comprehensive schools (to Year 11) and a Sixth Form College. State Grammar School education is still available in Gloucester and State Comprehensives with Sixth Forms are available nearby in Chepstow and Monmouth. There are good independent schools in Chepstow, Monmouth and Gloucester for anyone considering private education.

5.6 Although the towns and villages of the Forest of Dean are largely undistinguished, the countryside has considerable natural beauty. Lydney is on the doorstep of the Forest of Dean (with its extensive ancient woodlands and woodland walks) the Severn Vale and the Wye Valley.

5.7 "Quality of Life" is often glibly referred to in the context of job applications. In this case there is the opportunity to perform challenging and demanding work to a high standard while living in an attractive environment, with modest costs, reasonable facilities and yet accessible to a wider range of shopping, entertainment, cultural and sporting facilities if desired. Local people, including many professional and business people who have moved to the area from outside, consider that they enjoy a quality of life which is hard to beat.

6. TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

6.1 Salary

A highly competitive salary will be paid according to experience. We would be happy to offer performance related salary.

6.2 Car Allowance/Travel

A taxable car allowance currently £700.00 per annum. Travel on firm's business is paid at 27p per mile

6.3 Insurance

The applicant is entitled to membership of the firm's Private Medical Insurance Scheme

The applicant is also entitled to the firm's Insurance Scheme providing employees with free Permanent Health Insurance and Life Insurance Cover

7. SUMMARY

7.1 This office is a small office (though larger than any of its local competitors). It is committed to providing a good quality service to Clients. We are looking for someone with the right qualifications, qualities and enthusiasm, who, if things work out, will want to stay with us.

7.2 If you really want to work in a large firm, in a big department, in a city or if you want to live in an urban environment or if you want to move around, this is not the job for you. On the other hand if you wish to become part of a small but dedicated team which, though based in a rural community, is committed to striving for high standards and to adopting a modern progressive approach to Legal Practice, we would like to hear from you.

Location:Gloucestershire

Salary:upto £35k

Contact:Adrian Golding