Solicitor - Costs

Department: CSG - Strategic (Advocacy / Costs / Safety, Health and Environment / Criminal / Abuse / Travel)

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Birmingham

Description

What you will do?

• Handle a case load focusing on recoveries where acting for the receiving party
• Supporting the Legal Director of the Receiving Party section with operations and delivery of the receiving party service
• Provide line management to a team of up to three receiving party claims lawyers to include performance and technical supervision
• Dealing with all aspects of costs recovery, including the drafting of detailed electronic bills
• Demonstrate leadership (with support from the Receiving Party Legal Director and other members of the Costs Product Leadership Team) of the provision of the receiving party costs statement service including the management and allocation of new costs statement instructions
• Acting as a point of contact for clients, demonstrating a level of knowledge and skill commensurate with experience
• Ensuring full compliance with clients' SLAs and DAC Beachcroft's internal protocols
• Assume responsibility for quality control and benchmark compliance on own caseload, including accuracy and timeliness of management reporting and information
• Ensure strict and ongoing adherence to benchmark standards in all work undertaken.
• Demonstrating a high level of financial management in respect of own files
• To hit, maintain and apply a consistent approach to all individual targets of chargeable time, financial performance, realisation rates, settlement rates and average claim spend.
• Achieve a minimum budgeted annual target of around 1250 chargeable hours per year based upon a full time lawyer
• Exercise full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management in respect of own files.
• Supporting marketing and business development activity within the team e.g. attending marketing events and client training
• Maintain an awareness of the firm's strategies and plans.
• Maintaining and developing technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications
• Handle confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocol

Who you are

• At least five years and preferably in excess of ten years experience dealing with costs recovery arising from litigation to include drafting replies, budgets, budget discussion reports, schedules of costs and detailed bills of costs
• Recent and extensive experience of drafting detailed electronic phased bills preferable
• Experience of supervision of other lawyers or being able to demonstrate technical leadership preferable
• Experience of operational management in a costs recovery context preferable
• The nature of the costs statement service (over 100 instructions to be allocated per month and often short deadlines) makes the role unsuitable for a part-time lawyer. Ideally, this is a full-time position with good availability during ‘core’ office hours required. No less than 4 days per week will be considered but full-time ideal and preferable.
• The role is fully compatible with 100% remote working from home.
• Qualified Costs Lawyer, Legal Executive or Solicitor (although applicants that can demonstrate extensive experience who are not qualified will be considered)
• Confident negotiator, who can communicate clearly and concisely both verbally and in written form
• IT literate with a good working knowledge of Excel and Word. Previous knowledge or experience of a case management system would be an advantage but is not essential
• Willingness to follow a process driven system, working within set parameters.
• Ability to work on own initiative without close supervision
• Able to demonstrate strong team working skills and that they are a flexible and self-motivated team player
• Have excellent organisational skills and able to effectively prioritise and organise a workload/tasks
• Experience of working within a pressurised and deadline driven environment
• Have an ability to adopt a commercial perspective to legal issues rather than a purely academic approach
• Able to produce work to a high standard, with excellent attention to detail

What's in it for you?

• High levels of flexibility and a great work life balance - https://jobs.dacbeachcroft.com/whats-in-it-for-you/
• A well-rounded remuneration package (which includes private medical insurance, income protection insurance and discounted gym membership, amongst many other benefits)
• Opportunities for growth and progression including professional funding
• In person and remote social events
• Opportunity to get involved in a range of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities