Costs litigation executive (negotiator) Full Time

Established in 2000, it is an award-winning law firm that deals with personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Based in Manchester, we serve clients nationwide. We are proud of the work we do helping injured people, and this is our core business.

We are currently ranked 93 in the Top 200 UK Law firms and are a Legal 500 Recognised Leading Firm for both Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence. We have a 5-star ranking with Trust Pilot from over 4,500 reviews, which, coming from our clients, means a lot to us.

Role:

We are currently looking for an experienced Costs Fee Earner/ Costs Lawyer. The role will be dealing with a mixture of personal injury and clinical negligence cost matters, of both fast-track and multi-track values.

The ideal candidate will possess 2 – 5 years of experience working either in-house or for an external supplier of cost-drafting services. They will handle their own caseload cradle to grave and, therefore, must be comfortable with all aspects of Costs work, including budgeting. There is a particular need for confident negotiators and candidates with experience in handling their own CCMCs. We are looking for people who are confident in dealing with opposing cost teams and who have a good, solid grounding in cost law to deal with any disputes raised effectively. Ideally, you will also be used to and comfortable working to targets.

This is an exciting opportunity with excellent career development prospects for the right candidate. It offers great career prospects, as the firm offers training contracts or support through the ACL qualification for those candidates who prove themselves.

Job description:

• Handling own caseload of cradle-to-grave cost matters
• Negotiating settlement of costs in litigated and non-litigated claimant personal injury cases
• Advising fee earners regarding costs disputes and assisting with their own negotiations
• Preparation of summary assessment schedules, breakdowns of costs at case conclusion and formal bills where detailed assessment or Part 8 proceedings are required
• Drafting replies to Points of Dispute
• Drafting Budgets
• Advocacy / attending CCMC’s
• Budget Revision Work
• Supporting more junior team members

Person specification:

Essential criteria

• 2 to 5 years’ multi-track personal injury claimant costs experience.
• Completion of a legal qualification (LLB, GDL, LPC)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Drafting skills associated with completing Precedent H, R and Q and finalising formal bills
• Experience of attending CCMC on behalf of the Claimant
• Experience in holding budget discussions
• Experience of working to target
• You will have a flexible approach and be able to respond to rapid changes in working schedules and priorities. For this, you will need to be organised and able to communicate clearly with people at all levels.
• Applicants should be committed and hardworking individuals who enjoy operating in a pressurized and highly motivated team environment. You will be able to demonstrate the ability to work on your own initiative with a minimum of supervision.
• Knowledge of time recording procedures
• Working knowledge of the Civil Procedures Rules and Detailed Assessment process.
• Analytical skills and attention to detail are essential. Candidate must consistently produce work that is highly accurate and well-presented.
• The role involves the use of IT systems and therefore computer literacy, including a working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, is essential.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience using Proclaim Case Management System and Costs Master software.
• Experience of working in house.

Salary, Hours, & Benefits:

• Our standard working hours are 8:30 am to 5:30 am Monday-Thursday and 8:30 am to 5 pm
  Friday.
• Hybrid working available after a probation period.
• 23 days holiday a year, rising to 26 days (3 days reserved for Christmas closure of the office).
• 3 holiday buy-backs per year after 1 year of service.
• Extra day’s holiday for your birthday after 2 years of service.
• Private medical insurance available after 2 years of service.
• Attending fee earner meetings and training sessions (every other month).
• Death in Service – 2 x salary.
• Active social committee with generous departmental and firm-wide social budget.
• Active training culture and various groups and events such as Diversity & Inclusion.
• Netball / Football team, 10km Manchester team, and more.
• Enhanced Maternity Leave payment if you have over 1 year tenure.
• Other benefits including Employee Assistance Programme, free fruit & annual flu jab.