Associate Costs Lawyer

Mills & Reeve; Leeds; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Mills & Reeve is seeking an Associate Costs Lawyer to join our Costs Team across our offices in Birmingham, Leeds or Manchester. You will advise clients and colleagues on costs budgeting and management, draft bills of costs, and handle negotiations and strategic costs issues throughout matters.

Join a growing team with significant responsibility and exposure at an early stage, including potential advocacy at costs hearings. We value collaboration, devlopment, and a strong client-focused approach.

Qualifications

• Must be a Costs Lawyer, Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive with experience in costs litigation and knowledge of costs law and procedure.

Responsibilities

• Drafting costs precedents and Bills of Costs.
• Conducting costs negotiations from inception to Detailed Assessment.
• Assist with advocacy at costs hearings where required.
• Provide costs advice to clients and internal lawyers.

Skills

Costs budgeting

Costs litigation

Drafting Bills of Costs

Negotiations (costs)

Advocacy (desirable)

Job description

Reference: 0671Join our specialist Costs Team based in either our Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham office.

The role

This is an exciting opportunity to join our growing Costs Team, working closely with Ged Courtney, the Head of Costs, colleagues across the team and experienced disputes lawyers throughout the firm. You will advise colleagues and clients across a wide range of contentious practice areas, helping to manage costs risk, maximise recovery and resolve costs disputes throughout the lifecycle of a matter. Your work will cover costs budgeting and management, preparing bills of costs, drafting Points of Dispute and Replies, costs negotiations, detailed assessment proceedings and advising on strategic costs issues, including funding and fee estimation. You will manage your own caseload while supporting more complex matters, working directly with clients and fee earners across the firm. There will also be opportunities to undertake advocacy at costs hearings and contribute to internal training and support on costs-related issues. As part of a small, ambitious team with a growing profile, you will benefit from significant responsibility and excellent exposure from an early stage. This is a great opportunity to develop your specialist costs expertise while playing an active role in the continued growth and development of the practice.

The person

You will be a Costs Lawyer, Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive with experience in a wide range of costs litigation and a knowledge of costs law and procedure.

The activities

• Drafting costs precedents, such as Bills of Costs (both Precedent A and S), N260, Costs Budgets (Precedent H), Budget Discussion Reports (Precedent R) and Budget Variations (Precedent T).
• Conducting costs negotiations on behalf of paying and receiving parties "cradle to grave" i.e. dealing with costs instructions from inception up to Detailed Assessment.
• Experience of advocacy is desirable, but not essential.
• Providing ongoing and ad hoc costs advice to clients and internal lawyers in relation to costs procedure, law and strategy.
• Assisting with training and development of junior staff, internal lawyers and clients.
• Supporting with business development, and roadshows.
• Considering and offering new perspectives to the way in which we deliver services to all practice areas and clients.
• Attending client meetings and meetings with internal teams as appropriate.
• Collaborating with teams to identify process improvement opportunities.

Please ensure you read the job description below for full requirements & responsibilities.

The benefits

As you'd expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits.

Pre employment screening

If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

Use of AI during the recruitment process

Technology is changing rapidly and we are all increasingly using AI software in our day to day lives, as well as using it to support our learning and professional development. Here at Mills & Reeve, we embrace the use of technology and AI and we recognise that candidates may use AI tools to support their applications. As a regulated industry, we expect candidates to use such tools responsibly, honestly and in a manner that allows us to make a fair and accurate assessment of their individual skills, experience and suitability for the role. Please ensure you have thoroughly read the document attached below to understand what we deem acceptable uses of AI.

The firm

At Mills & Reeve, our 1,450 plus people and over 850 lawyers share one vision - achieve more together. It's a state of mind in every client relationship we start and every choice we make. And it's what clients consistently say distinguishes us from your average law firm. You can expect a close and attentive working relationship with a team that's responsive when you need them. You'll receive advice tailored to your individual needs. Wherever in the world you or your business needs support, we'll draw on our network to give recommendations. We're driven by our values - we're ambitious, we're open, we care and we collaborate. We embrace new ideas, communicate honestly and are easy to work with. We're committed to you, our planet, our communities and each other. We've been listed in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list as one of the best big organisations, and we've recently been reaccredited Platinum Investors in People status - a standard achieved by only 8% of assessed organisations. And finally Everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these. To find out more about our diversity and inclusion work, visit our website.

Vacancy Title: Associate Costs Lawyer Office: Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester Contract Type: Permanent