Finance Graduates - 2nd November 2026

Express Solicitors

Manchester

On-site

GBP 24,000 - 33,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working

23 Days Holiday

Rising to 26 days, plus bank/publics

Extra Holidays

Holiday buy backs

Birthday leave

Private medical insurance after 2 yrs

Gym and wellness facilities

Social events & clubs

Job summary

Express Solicitors in Manchester is recruiting a Costs Litigation Assistant from finance graduates who want to move into law. No prior legal experience required; full training is provided and you will support the costs team and solicitors in managing the financial side of cases.

You will learn to prepare costs schedules, negotiate payments, and build budgets while developing your career through in-house training programmes and progression routes such as Trainee Costs Draftsperson and Solicitors

Qualifications

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.

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.

Skills

Attention to detail

Written & verbal communication

Numerical & analytical skills

Initiative / self-motivated

MS Office proficiency

Work under pressure

Independent working

IT systems proficiency

Education

Finance degree

Business degree

Job description

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

About The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented 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 to ensure you wouldn’t fall behind due to lack of experience. Training will be given in new starter groups and one to one at your desk (both in person and over MS Teams). You will have a work Buddy and work closely with your Line Manager.

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.

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.

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, no win no fee law firm specialising exclusively in personal injury claims. Headquartered in Manchester, we support clients nationwide across all areas of personal injury, including employers’ liability, serious injury, clinical negligence, occupiers’ and public liability, road traffic accidents and industrial disease.

We are ranked 60th in The Lawyer UK Top 200, out of more than 10,000 law firms nationwide, and after achieving a 20% year‑on‑year growth, Express Solicitors are the largest personal injury claimant firm in the UK.

Our commitment to outstanding client care is reflected in our Trustpilot rating of 4.8 (Excellent), placing us among the highest‑rated firms in the sector.

Law has always been seen as a challenging profession.

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 are also 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.