Housing Solicitor Director – Brighton

Duncan Lewis; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

A fantastic supportive team

Excellent progression opportunities

Support for legal awards/recognition

Job summary

Duncan Lewis Solicitors in Brighton is seeking a Housing Solicitor Director with extensive housing disputes experience. The role leads the Housing Department, reporting to the Board and overseeing strategic direction, advocacy, and team mentoring.

You will manage a busy portfolio across homelessness, disrepair, eviction and related housing matters while contributing to business development. This position offers hybrid working and strong progression prospects.

Qualifications

• 3+ years PQE in Housing and Litigation with court representation experience.
• Experience as Duty Advisor under Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme in last 2 years.
• Willingness to work towards SQM Supervisor standard in Housing.

Responsibilities

• Report to the Board and ensure performance targets are met.
• Provide technical expertise and guidance within Housing team.
• Supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers.

Skills

Housing Litigation

Duty Advisor

SQM Supervisor

Client care

Supervisory experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

HR systems

Job description

Whether you are just starting out or looking for your next challenge, we set your career in motion alongside experts in their field.

Careers Housing Solicitor Director – Brighton Vacancies

Regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority, Duncan Lewis Solicitors was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in the City of London (Fenchurch Street EC3M), with offices nationwide. We are recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK independent legal directories as a top-tier law firm in all of our key practice areas – “a diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients”. A paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, we service both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We give people a voice - that is our ethos.

Recognised among The Times 200 Best Law Firms, we have been awarded Law Firm of the Year at the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards, reflecting our dedication to legal expertise and client service. We hold Investors in People Gold Standard accreditation for over 15 years, showcasing our commitment to professional development. Duncan Lewis is also Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus, and ISO 27001 certified, ensuring excellence in practice management and data security.

We are committed to recruiting dedicated and talented professionals and welcome applications from exceptional candidates. At Duncan Lewis, we value training and diversity, and we take pride in our inclusive workforce.

Housing Department Background:

Noted for its "sustained legal conviction combined with outstanding advocacy" our Housing team, is ranked and recommended by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK for its services in social housing UK-wide, providing assistance to both landlords and tenants on all housing issues. We handle both publicly funded (legal aid) and privately funded legal services in homelessness, disrepair, unlawful eviction, succession for tenants, neighbourhood problems, and possession proceedings.

Our solicitors are highly experienced in finding solutions to housing disputes and aim to address the issues quickly and effectively. The department regularly represents clients at all court levels (including the appeal Courts) and is extensively experienced at handling all housing related judicial review matters at the High Court.

Main Responsibilities of the Role

• Report directly to and collaborating with the Board to ensure performance targets are met
• Responsible for all aspects of Housing work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Significant experience in representing clients as Housing Court Duty Scheme over the last 2 years.
• Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department
• Variety of duties including dealing with a range of Housing cases including Homelessness; Disrepair; Eviction; Possession; Property Ownership Disputes; Succession for Tenants; Housing adaptations; Social Housing; Neighbourhood Problems matters as well as undertaking your own advocacy
• Dealing with emergency cases and identifying and carrying out strategic litigation.
• Preparing and managing funding applications to the Legal Aid Agency
• Preparing draft documents including witness statements and processing evidence
• You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company

Key Skills Required:

• 3 Years+ PQE with proven experience of Housing and Litigation, including court representation essential
• Must have experience as Duty Advisor under Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme over the last 2 years
• Must meet the 2013 SQM Supervisor standard in Housing, or willing to work towards this
• Experience in welfare rights and community care issues Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators
• Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable client matters in a sensitive manner and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Housing issues
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business
• Working knowledge of the publically funded Housing work including legal representation and legal help and have the ability to service privately funded cases
• Have extensive experience in dealing with all Housing related work
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage
• Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and able to use HR systems
• Experience within the legal sector is preferable
• Ability to manage social media activity to promote the Company

What we offer

• A fantastic supportive team
• Excellent progression opportunities
• Support for appropriate legal awards/recognition

The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role.

Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce

We guarantee an interview for candidates that disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the post. Please provide additional details in your covering letter if this applies.

APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY AGENCIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THE ABOVE VACANCY

Salary: £70,000+ per annum, depending on experience

Job Type: Permanent

Date Posted: 06/08/2026

Last Date for Application: 27/08/2026

Disclaimer

Duncan Lewis Solicitors is an award-winning, nationally recognised law firm, ranked as a top-tier firm in current edition of The Legal 500 UK. With offices across London and the regions, we offer clear, practical and high-quality advice across a broad range of specialist areas. We act for clients on both a legal aid and private-fee basis, supporting individuals, families and businesses with everything from everyday matters to complex and high-profile litigation. Our continued growth, particularly in private client and complex dispute work, is driven by our reputation for professionalism, integrity and exceptional client care.

We are always keen to hear from committed and capable people, in both legal and non-legal roles. Whether you are an experienced practitioner or looking to begin your career, we welcome applications from individuals who want to contribute to the work we do.

Our recruitment and interview process is designed to understand how you think, how you work and what you can bring to the firm, and to assess your skills, knowledge and experience in a fair and consistent way. To support this, candidates must not use AI-based tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini or similar) to write or edit any part of their interview responses or written communication during the process. We want to hear your own experience, insight and perspective.

Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and values the diversity of its staff. We work to ensure that our workforce reflects the communities we serve at every level of the organisation. We offer a guaranteed interview to applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the role — please highlight this in your covering letter if it applies.