Associate Solicitor, Personal Injury (Serious/Catastrophic) 0-4 PQE

Leigh Day; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 65,000; 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 is seeking a Personal Injury lawyer to manage a caseload across complex life-changing injury claims. The role involves end-to-end litigation, taking instructions from clients and pursuing optimal outcomes with support for business development.

This opportunity suits an ambitious NQ to 4PQE lawyer looking to advance within a leading claimant firm known for fighting for justice and providing high-quality rehabilitation support. Hybrid working is available.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication skills and professional conduct in client-facing settings.
• Strong time management skills with ability to manage a complex workload and meet deadlines.
• Experience dealing sensitively with clients and experts, providing practical solutions.
• Experience working in a team environment and contributing to a collaborative approach.

Responsibilities

• Obtain accurate information and instructions from clients and analyse claims to provide preliminary advice on liability, quantum, costs and funding.
• Instruct medico-legal experts, negotiate terms, ensure timely payment of fees and liaise with secretaries during case progression.
• Analyse strategy and tactics to achieve the most successful outcome for each client.
• Seek optimum settlements, either pre-litigation or through trial, and manage post-trial considerations including costs and enforcement.

Skills

Communication skills

Time management

Client care

Teamwork

Education

Qualified PI lawyer (0-4 PQE)

Job description

About The Team

Our band 1 ranked Personal Injury practice specialises in handling a range of complex, life changing and catastrophic injury claims including brain and spinal injury, amputee claims and fatal accidents.

About The Team

Our band 1 ranked Personal Injury practice specialises in handling a range of complex, life changing and catastrophic injury claims including brain and spinal injury, amputee claims and fatal accidents.

We have represented many clients who have sustained life-changing injuries and work proactively to ensure our clients get the rehabilitation and compensation needed to cover costs of equipment care and therapy at the earliest possible opportunity.

Overall purpose of the role

This role will manage a caseload of personal injury claims across a range of specialisms. The role will involve managing end to end litigation through investigating and pursuing serious injury claims. The successful candidate will also support with business development initiatives.

This opportunity is ideal for an ambitious NQ to 4PQE personal injury lawyer who is ready for the next step in their career at a leading claimant firm.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

Case management

• To obtain accurate information and instructions from our clients, analyse the legal and practical aspects of their claims and obtain the necessary documents/evidence to provide preliminary advice on liability/quantum/costs & funding.
• To instruct medico-legal experts to advise on liability, causation and quantum, negotiate acceptable terms for their instruction, ensure their fees are paid promptly, prepare formal instructions and liaise with those experts and/or their secretaries during the running of the case.
• To analyse and advise on strategy, tactics, and how best to achieve the most successful outcome for each client according to the particular circumstances of their case.
• To endeavour to achieve optimum settlements for clients, whether that be pre-litigation, or by conducting litigation through to trial or earlier settlement and to deal with post trial/settlement considerations such as costs and enforcement proceedings, and to consider whether any decision should be appealed.
• To enable clients and/or their litigation friends, where a client lacks capacity, to make informed decisions based on advice on legal and other appropriate considerations e.g. costs, funding and risks of litigation.
• To ensure the timely and effective deployment of others involved in the matter e.g. expert witnesses, enquiry agents, counsel, cost draftsmen.
• To monitor all aspects of the case on behalf of the client and advise on whether subsequent developments affect views previously expressed.
• To heed the procedural timetable and time limits, to make necessary applications where required to protect the client's position.
• To comply with the Civil Procedures Rules.

Client relations

• To deal with clients in a sensitive, professional and compassionate way.
• To identify clients' objectives and to seek to further them in a manner consistent with all professional and ethical obligations.

Professional standards

• To work and behave in a professional manner and within the highest ethical and other standards of the profession.
• Comply with procedures set out in the office manual, professional standards and any requirement set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or similar interested bodies e.g. Legal Expense Insurers.
• To maintain the strictest standards of client confidentiality at all times.

Business development and marketing

• Support with wider business development initiatives.
• Participate in the wider Personal Injury team's strategy by attending presentations, seminars, writing articles, and activities with wider professional and other relevant organisations as required.

Compliance and risk management

• To always maintain the strictest concern for and awareness of the need for GDPR and data protection and in accordance with the firm's internal policies.
• To immediately report any compliance or risk management concerns to the relevant persons without delay.

Learning & development

• Stay updated on relevant legal developments to ensure accurate and up-to-date advice to clients.
• To ensure learning and development plans are completed and that records are up to date and compliant with SRA and Lexcel requirements.

Other Responsibilities

• Any other tasks as might be required from time to time.

Person specification

• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to equality, access to justice and affordable legal advice of the highest quality.
• Qualified lawyer with solid demonstrable experience in personal injury. It would ideally suit lawyers with between 0 to 4 years of relevant post qualification experience or equivalent.
• Demonstrable knowledge in conduct of cases from initial advice through to trial.
• Experience in calculating losses in Schedule of Loss (often large and complex).
• Relevant experience in analysing complex factual and legal situations and advising clients in accordance with their aims.
• Experience in dealing sensitively with clients and experts, providing solutions and managing difficult situations and conversations.
• Ability to analyse complex factual and legal situations and advise as to the critical path that should be followed.
• Solid experience in using a variety of IT packages (MS Word, Excel, Case Management Systems and Outlook).
• Excellent communication skills, demonstrated by ability to communicate accurately, clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing.
• Excellent time management skills demonstrated by ability to organise and prioritise a complex workload and work to tight deadlines.
• Experience in working and contributing in a team environment.

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