Senior costs draftsman/costs lawyer – UK 200 law firm Full Time

About us

This law firm is ranked 80 out of over 10,000 law firms in the UK and ranked in the top ten for the Best Law Firm to work for in the UK by Best Companies. They have a 5-star ranking with Trust Pilot from over 6,000 reviews, which, coming from their clients, means a lot to them.

The role:

We are currently looking for a Costs Draftsperson to join our established costs department of 40-plus.  This position will be to support other senior case handlers with their drafting requirements, working in an assisting capacity. There will be a range of drafting needs to include budget work, too.

The ideal candidate will possess 12 months to five years’ experience working either in-house or for an external supplier of cost-drafting services. They will have experience in preparing bills and supplementary documents for detailed assessment on fast-track & multi-track cases. Further, the candidate will have budget-drafting experience.

This is an exciting opportunity for a draftsperson to work with a thriving in-house team, with the opportunity to work on higher value cases in the personal injury and clinical negligence field.

The role also offers excellent career development prospects for the right candidate, as the firm offers training contracts or support through the ACL qualification for those candidates who prove themselves.

Job description:

• Supporting junior costs case handlers with a full range of drafting requirements.
• Drafting formal bills for Detailed Assessment.
• Drafting N260 statements of costs.
• Preparing risk assessments.
• Assisting with drafting Budgets.

Person specification:

• A minimum of five years’ personal injury claimant costs experience.
• Completion of a legal qualification (LLB, GDL, LPC) desirable.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Drafting skills associated with completing Precedent H, R, and Q and finalising formal bills.
• 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 pressurised 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.
• The 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:

• Salary is up to £40,000 depending on experience, including monthly bonuses.
• Our standard working hours are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday-Thursday and 8:30 am to 5 pm Friday.
• 3/2 alternative working from home pattern staff after probation. (negotiable to 1/5 days in the office, depending on experience).
• 23 days holiday a year, rising to 26 days.
• 3 holiday buy-backs per year after 1 year of service.
• Extra day’s holiday for your birthday after 2 years’ service.
•  Private medical insurance available after 2 years of service.
• 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.