Solicitor/CILEX Litigator/Costs Lawyer
We are looking for a qualified lawyer to join our paying party costs team, ideally with at least four years paying party costs experience. The successful candidate will be experienced in dealing with all aspects of costs litigation. Our paying party costs teams regularly deal with costs claims directly from customers and accept instructions from areas throughout DAC Beachcroft LLP. Currently the costs product has two Partners, five Legal Directors and two Associates. There are over 50 lawyers advising, supporting or conducting all aspects of costs litigation, including Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives, Costs Lawyers and Paralegals. The costs product comprises several distinct teams specialising in a specific area of costs including paying party teams, complex claims teams and receiving party teams. An opportunity has arisen for a experienced lawyer in our paying party teams. The underlying despite type that gives rise to the costs dispute varies and includes personal injury, commercial including global, aviation, accidents abroad, cyber, immigration judicial review and clinical risk.
What you will do?
Paying party team specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Day to day handling of a case load of paying party claims typically up to £100,000 claimed value
- Draft points of dispute and provide legal advice on likely assessed outcomes relating to paying party claims
- Supporting the Legal Director of the paying party team with operations and delivery of the paying party service
- 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 1,440 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
This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced lawyer specialising in costs to develop their career by dealing with cases of high value and complexity and where authorised to conduct litigation and use technical knowledge to aid the business development and growth of CSG.
- Ideally ten years experience dealing with costs arising from litigation to include drafting points of dispute and all aspects of challenging costs. Candidates with less than ten years experience but able to demonstrate a suitable standard of competency will also be considered and applications welcomed.
- Experience of being able to demonstrate technical leadership preferable.
- Advocacy experience an advantage although not essential.
- Being able to demonstrate a track record of pursuing strategic points and liaising with clients with a strong customer service ethos ideal.
- Ideal opportunity for a qualified Costs Lawyer (although applicants that can demonstrate extensive experience who are not qualified will be considered including other qualifications where the c