Business / Law / Finance Graduate

Express Solicitors; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working after probation

27 holidays incl. bank holidays

Private medical insurance

Team/wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Express Solicitors is seeking a Costs Litigation Assistant Cohort to join its Manchester team. The role welcomes graduates from Finance, Business and related fields with training provided. You will support cost schedules, budgets and negotiations, working closely with the costs team and solicitors.

Starting in November 2026, the cohort offers a clear progression path and full training through the Costs Training Programme. A competitive base salary plus monthly commission is provided.

Qualifications

• Graduates from Finance, Business or related fields are welcome.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to produce highly accurate work with strong attention to detail.
• Able to analyze numerical and written information.

Responsibilities

• Prepare costs schedules for trials.
• Draft breakdowns of costs at case conclusion to assist with recovery of costs and client charges.
• Liaise with service providers and barristers to determine final fees and estimates.
• Prepare risk assessments.
• Make calls to progress cases regarding costs negotiations and payments on account of costs.
• Assist with cost budgets and forecasts.
• Review client work and prepare chronologies and step descriptions.

Skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Numerical analysis

Microsoft Office

Education

Finance degree

Business degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Title:

Costs Litigation Assistant Cohort

Location:

317-319 Palatine Road, Northenden, Manchester, M22 4HH

Salary:

£28,500 per annum, as well as a monthly commission of £200 if targets are achieved

Job type:

Full time, Permanent

Start Date:

2nd November 2026

Would you like to try something new and take your career in a new direction? We welcome graduates from Finance, Business and related fields who are eager to consider a new career in Law.

About The Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Business or Finance graduates to join our legal team as a Costs Litigation Assistant. Don't worry you don't need to have experience in law! We believe that your degree experience will give you a great foundation to build on.

We provide full training on all aspects of the role. You'll have access to structured training from your Line Manager, mentorship from experienced colleagues, and ongoing support from your work Buddy.

You will get involved in:

• Preparation of costs schedules for trial.
• Counting and drafting breakdowns of costs at case conclusion, to assist with recovery of costs from between the parties to litigation and to assist with calculating client charges.
• Liaising with service providers to our clients such as barristers to ascertain final fees and fee estimates.
• Preparation of risk assessments.
• Making telephone calls to progress cases in terms of costs negotiations and payments on account of cost.
• Assisting with the preparation of cost budgets.
• Reviewing the work done for the client and preparing chronologies and descriptions of the steps taken.

We offer a Salary is £28,500 per annum, as well as a monthly commission of £200 if targets are achieved.

We have a cohort of Costs Litigation Assistants starting on Monday 2nd November 2026. If you are available to start full time from then, we would love to hear from you.

We set you up to succeed:

We provide full training through our Costs Training Programme on all aspects of the role. A Costs Litigation Assistant works with the costs team and solicitors to manage the financial side of legal cases. This includes preparing, checking and negotiating costs, bills and schedules (which are lists of expenses). They also help make sure the firm recovers the money it's owed.

Training will be given in new starter groups and one to one at your desk (both in person and over MS Teams).

We are committed to providing our employees with the guidance and resources they need to succeed in their roles and advance their careers.

We deliver on progression

This role has great career progression routes such as:

• Trainee Costs Draftsperson: A tailored in-house training programme rotating throughout the three different costs roles (file handling, technical bill drafting and budgeting)
• Trainee ACL lawyer, which is a formal qualification from the Association of Cost Lawyers for those who haven't completed a law degree.
• Solicitors Training Contract to qualify as a Solicitor for those who have completed a law degree.

What are we looking for?

• A degree such as Finance, Business or other similar degree.
• GCSE Maths & English at C grade or above.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• The ability to produce work that is highly accurate with excellent attention to detail.
• The ability to assess and analyse both numerical and written information.
• Be highly motivated, with the ability to work under pressure.
• The ability to work under your own initiative.
• Have a working knowledge of IT systems like Microsoft Office packages.

About us:

Established in 2000, Express Solicitors is an award-winning law firm that deals with personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Based in Manchester, we serve clients nationwide and are currently ranked 64 out of more than 10,000 law firms. We have a 5-star rating on Trustpilot from over 8,000 reviews, which coming from our clients means a lot to us. We are proud of the work we do helping injured people, and this is the core of our business.

Benefits:

• Hybrid Working - 4/1 hybrid working pattern after probation.
• 23 Days Holiday - Rising to 26 days, plus bank/public holidays.
• Extra Holidays - 3 holiday buy backs and an extra day for your birthday after service length requirement.
• Looking After Your Health - Private medical insurance available after 2 years' service, annual flu jab and Employee Assistance Programme.
• Looking After Your Well-being - 24/7 onsite Gym, Netball/Football team, 10km Manchester team and more.
• Work Life / Balance - Active social committee with generous departmental and firm-wide social budget.

Recruitment Process:

The interview process will consist of a Video Interview, and if successful a MS Teams interview with Carly Schofield (Partner).

We rate skill and ability above all else and our recruitment policy encourages applications from all.

Candidates with the relevant experience or job titles of; Graduate Financial Controller, Trainee Finance Assistant, Trainee Accounts Assistant, Accounting Graduate, Business Graduate, Legal Graduate, Legal Assistant, Junior Costs Litigation may also be considered for this role.