The assistant solicitor will predominantly assist the lead lawyers dealing with regulatory cases, motor crime and inquest work often from the day of the incident, investigating the incident circumstances and assisting with the case through to resolution.
The team predominately deal with health & safety, nursing/care sector, environmental and motor crime cases but also undertake compliance audits.
This is a technical and client-facing role for a well-rounded lawyer, so you will have a keen interest in building client relationships through the delivery of training and mentoring as well as in delivering first class legal solutions to complex problems.
Key Accountabilities
- Review and analysis of prosecution evidence and considering implications for lay client/company
- Drafting statements of insured/witnesses
- Review of client's evidence - obtaining, collating, indexing, cross-referencing with own statements and Prosecution's statements, summarising evidence for lead file handlers
- Liaising with Court, Coroner's Office and CQC/Police/HSE or relevant regulator
- Liaising with experts - instructing own experts, summarising expert evidence, serving reports
- Serving Defence case statements, sentencing bundles and mitigation bundles
- Drafting written submissions, following liaison with lay client/corporate client
- Liaising with Insured re Prosecution's case and disclosure required
- Reviewing transcripts of evidence
- Organising and attending conferences & meetings, drafting note of discussion and following agreed strategy following lead lawyer's strategy
- Attendance / representation at interview under cautions
- Attendance behind Counsel for trials & inquests - drafting notes of evidence, outcome and sentencing
- Arranges meetings, conferences, site visits, expert appointments
- Chase for transcripts and disclosure, collating the evidence
- Review of medical records, post mortem reports and CCTV footage
- Attending site, taking photos and drafting basic statements
- Research into relevant HSE guidelines
- Research into Insured's - corporate structure, their procedures, risk assessments, documents
- Collating witness availability
- Preparation of bundles for hearings, serving bundles
- To ensure compliance with the SRA Standards & Regulations
Working Hours
35 hours per week. The core working hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm with 1 unpaid hour for lunch. The assistant lawyer will be expected to work such hours as are necessary to facilitate the clients. It is expected that if the demands of work require longer hours will be worked to achieve those expectations
Primary location for this role is one of the Keoghs regional offices but you will be supporting lawyers based in London, working remotely.
Recruitment Criteria
- A qualified Solicitor with a minimum of 1 years PQE, with crime, regulatory or care home inquest experience.
Essential
- An ability to prioritise workload
- Ability to pay attention to detail
- Ability to work with case management systems
- The personal skills to deal with insureds in a sensitive manner given the context within which they find themselves in
- Good telephone and communication skills with people at all levels inside and outside the business
- Calm under pressure
- Self-confidence, with good literacy and IT skills
- Good team worker with the flexibility to do what is required to get a result and ensure client service levels are met
- Ability to work effectively within the Keoghs Shared Values framework
Required Soft Skills
Personal Effectiveness
- Team Commitment : Values others perspective
- Resilience: Demonstrates self-control
- Passion for Growth and Improvement: Systematically improves performance
- Embracing Change: Responds positively to change
Business Focus
- Client Care: Works to add value for the client
- Decision Making
- Negotiation, Influence and Persuasion
- Commercial Insight: Considers and understands commercial implications
What you can expect from us:
- A learning culture with employee development at the heart of the people development pathway
- Health Care Cash Plan - a Keoghs' sponsored healthcare scheme which provides cash contributions for a number of healthcare services including optical and dental services.
- WeCare - 24/7 online GP, mental health support and virtual wellbeing covering a whole host of topics to do with health, mental health, wellbeing & healthy living and financial & legal wellbeing
- Annual Leave - 25 days plus 8 bank holidays (opportunity to buy & sell 3 days), increases to 26 days after 5 years' service and 27 days after 10 years' service
- Death In Service - after 1 years' service
- Pension Contribution - provided as a contributory scheme in which if eligible, the Company will contribute fixed at 3%, employee contribution 5% as standard
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Tech Scheme
- Season Ticket Loan
- Gym Flex
Values
Our culture is focussed on making Keoghs sustainable and successful for our people and clients, with this our four values are at the heart of everything we do.
We are connected
We are dynamic
We are innovative
We succeed together