The Court of Protection team is a newly formed team and this highly sought-after role will enable you to work with the Deputy and Head of the Court of Protection team to shape a successful team and go from strength to strength. As a Solicitor in the team, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to vulnerable people's lives and ensure all decisions are being made in their best interests. In this role you will deal with clients that retain capacity and need your assistance to plan for later life or deal with clients that have lost capacity to make certain decisions, for example managing their financial affairs. These clients may have sustained a brain injury, birth injury or have been diagnosed with a degenerative disease. As someone continuing to build their career within this specialist area of law you will enjoy the autonomy of assisting with a varied caseload, but also have the opportunity to assist a Partner working on cases of varying complexities and values which can include those exceeding the value of £1 million. In this team you will draft Deputyship applications and Lasting Powers of Attorney, assist the Deputy to manage the property and financial affairs of someone that has been assessed as lacking capacity and assist with various applications that are needed in the Court of Protection. A tailored approach to our clients is taken, therefore client care skills along with experience in working in a Court of Protection department is essential. You will be working within a friendly, sociable and incredibly supportive team with additional opportunities for enhancing your business development skills, with career progression opportunities. You can enjoy the benefits of working from home with our fantastic agile working arrangements which are complemented by our bright and modern premises in Birmingham or Manchester for your days in the office (currently 2 days a week). You will also have the opportunity for some travel in order to meet with our clients face to face and a flexible approach in respect of this is welcomed. If you have a genuine interest and enthusiasm for this area of law as well as some existing experience with the empathetic and authentic approach to dealing with clients that we pride ourselves on, then we would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Managing new enquiries
• Drafting Deputyship applications
• Drafting Court documents
• Managing a caseload of clients whereby they have been deemed to lack capacity and need assistance in managing their property and financial affairs
• Drafting and dealing with routine correspondence
• Liaising with family members, care homes, case managers and financial advisors
• Drafting Lasting Powers of Attorney
• Diary Management
• Use of in-house case management system
• Research using internal resources
• Keeping clients updated in a clear and empathetic manner
• Working to court and procedural deadlines
• Assisting with file organisation and preparation of files for costing
• Preparation of deputyship accounts for sign off on a quarterly basis in accordance with the SRA rules
• Maintaining awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Mental Capacity Code of Practice and Court of Protection Rules
• Maintaining awareness and acting in accordance with the Deputy Standards
• Previous experience of working in a Court of Protection
• Experience within an office environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent people skills and able to build a good rapport with vulnerable clients and third parties
• IT skills such as Word/Outlook/Excel
• Proven ability to work to deadline

Desirable skills

• Drafting and advising on Wills and Probate
• Setting up trusts/ trust registration

Benefits

• Generous annual leave allowance
• Employee Assistance programme access
• Summer and Christmas party
• Employee events throughout the year
• Training opportunities
• Death in service
• Cycle to work scheme
• Referral schemes for bringing both new claims and team members
• Paid Birthday day off
• Travel season ticket loans
• Charitable day (1 day paid leave to support your favourite charity or community group)
• Bonus scheme
• Subject to qualifying periods