Cost Litigation Assistant

Express Solicitors; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A Manchester-based law firm is seeking a motivated Costs Litigation Assistant to join its team. This entry-level position offers full training and the opportunity to develop in the legal sector. The ideal candidate will have a degree in Finance, Economics, or Business, and possess strong communication and analytical skills. The role includes preparing costs schedules for trials and liaising with service providers regarding fees. Competitive salary of £27,000 plus monthly commission. Hybrid working available after probation.

Benefits

Salary of £27,000 per annum

Monthly commission of £200

23 days holiday, rising to 26

Private medical insurance after 2 years

Onsite gym access

Annual flu jab

Active social committee with events

Qualifications

• A degree such as Finance, Economics, 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.

Responsibilities

• Preparation of costs schedules for trial.
• Counting and drafting breakdowns of costs at case conclusion.
• Liaising with service providers to ascertain final fees and fee estimates.
• Preparation of risk assessments.
• Making telephone calls to progress cases in terms of costs negotiations.
• Assisting with the preparation of cost budgets.
• Reviewing the work done for the client and preparing chronologies.

Skills

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Attention to detail

Numerical analysis

IT skills including Microsoft Office

Education

Degree in Finance, Economics, Business or similar

GCSE Maths & English at C grade or above

Job description

Costs Litigation Assistant

Costs Litigation Assistant Cohort 19th January 2026

Are you a Finance, Economics or Business Graduate? Want to try something different?

About The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individuals 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 will have a work Buddy and work closely with your Line Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• 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 of £27,000 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 19th January 2026. If you are available to start full time from then, we would love to hear from you.

Training & Development

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.

Career Progression

• 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, Economics, 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.

Work-Life Balance & Culture

We work hard and play hard. Express Solicitors expect you to work hard for our clients. But we also love to have fun, with regular department socials, yearly Christmas parties (paid for by the business) and every other year a Summer social at the CEO's house paid for by James, himself.

We have lots of other regular activities, with weekly football and netball games, a running club and a board game night.

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.

Location

South Court,
1 Sharston Road,
Manchester,
M22 4SN

Recruitment Process

The interview process will be a call with Anna Burns in the first instance to discuss the role in more detail and then an MS Teams interview with Carly Schofield.