Associate/Senior Associate, Human Rights, Abuse Claims, 3-5PQE (12 month FTC)

Leigh Day; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (2-3 days from home)

29 days annual leave

Enhanced pension contributions

Life assurance 4 x salary

Healthcare cash plan

Cycle to Work scheme

Discounted gym membership

Enhanced maternity & paternity pay

Electric car scheme

Job summary

Leigh Day in London is seeking a 3-5 PQE solicitor to cover a maternity leave within Alison Millar's team, focusing on adult survivors' abuse claims, including in care settings and healthcare/workplace. The role oversees a caseload of individual and small group claims, with a mix of CFAs and Legal Aid funding.

You will support junior solicitors and paralegals, work in a trauma-informed, resilient manner, and engage with vulnerable clients, ensuring high-quality, accessible justice.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years' PQE in private law claims involving personal injury and human rights breaches.
• Experience with domestic civil law and procedure.
• Experience working with vulnerable individuals or challenging client groups.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a caseload of individual and small group abuse claims, including Human Rights Act damages.
• Support supervising junior solicitors and paralegals.
• Work in a trauma-informed and boundary-aware manner.

Skills

Civil litigation

Personal injury

Legal Aid experience

Trauma-informed practice

Client relations

Legal drafting

Education

Solicitor qualification

Tools

Case Management Systems

MS Word

Outlook

Excel

Job description

About The Team

This role will join Alison Millar's team, which specialises in conducting claims for adult survivors of non-recent sexual or physical abuse in childhood, claims for the mistreatment of children and adults at risk of harm in care settings and individuals who have suffered sexual assault in a healthcare setting or within the workplace.

About The Team

This role will join Alison Millar's team, which specialises in conducting claims for adult survivors of non-recent sexual or physical abuse in childhood, claims for the mistreatment of children and adults at risk of harm in care settings and individuals who have suffered sexual assault in a healthcare setting or within the workplace.

The team has extensive experience of claims brought against a wide range of organisations including local authorities, in relation to abuse perpetrated in children's homes and community schools; independent schools; churches; sporting organisations and membership organisations.

About The Role

We are looking for a 3-5 PQE solicitor to join the team to cover a period of maternity leave within the team. The role will oversee a caseload of individual abuse claims and small group claims, including claims for Human Rights Act damages, for children and adults, including individuals with additional needs. The claims are funded by a mixture of Conditional Fee Agreements and Legal Aid funding, therefore we are seeking a candidate with experience of the Legal Aid system.

They will also support overseeing the junior solicitors and paralegals in the team. This role will suit someone who has a solid grounding in private law claims involving personal injury and human rights breaches, ideally within the context of abuse work.

Please note it is critical that applicants understand that this role will require working on cases, some of which involve sexual abuse, the details of which may be distressing. Working for abuse survivors can be very rewarding but also personally challenging, requiring emotional resilience and an ability to work in a trauma-informed and boundaried way.

Essential

What you'll bring

• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to equality, access to justice and affordable legal advice of the highest quality.
• Qualified lawyer with ~3-5 years' PQE in a relevant area of law.
• Relevant knowledge of domestic civil law and procedure.
• Demonstrable experience with managing claimant private law claims involving personal injury and human rights breaches.
• Experience working with or on behalf of vulnerable individuals and / or a challenging client group with the ability to build trust and confidence.
• Ability to manage difficult situations and conversations.
• Strong emotional resilience given that working with this client group can be emotionally challenging at times.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability and sensitivity to tailor these to the intended audience.
• Strong legal drafting skills.
• Experience of managing a large number of cases with limitation/service and court deadlines.
• Strong experience in using a variety of IT packages (MS Word, Excel, Case Management Systems and Outlook).
• Experience in working and contributing effectively to a team environment.

Desirable

• Strong academic background.
• Experience of supervising paralegals and other junior team members.
• Strong practical experience of the operation of the LAA scheme.
• Direct experience of working on sexual and physical abuse claims will be highly advantageous.

About Leigh Day

We are a top 100 law firm committed to claimant-only cases, ensuring that individuals have the same access to justice as the UK Government and large corporations. We're not afraid to take on difficult and challenging cases involving medical negligence, serious personal injuries, discrimination in the workplace, defective products and human rights abuses in this country and overseas.

Benefits

• Hybrid working (typically 2-3 days from home for a full time worker)
• 29 days annual leave (excluding public holidays)
• Enhanced pension contributions
• Life assurance 4 x salary
• Healthcare cash plan
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay
• Electric car scheme