Assistant Solicitor
London, Greater London (Hybrid)
Job Overview
The Assistant Solicitor is responsible for conducting litigation on behalf of the Department's airline clients. The work principally consists of defending money claims in the County Court, brought on the basis of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, but also includes a variety of other litigation and advisory work. The Assistant Solicitor also shares supervisory responsibility for the Department's paralegal staff.
The Assistant Solicitor contributes pro-actively to the development and improvement of internal processes, templates and training systems. S/he also assists in promoting the work of the Company generally and of the Aviation Department in particular, contributing to the acquisition of new business
Responsibilities & Duties (including but not limited to):
- Taking responsibility for an allocated caseload, ensuring that all relevant procedural deadlines are met and that cases are litigated effectively, efficiently and with maximum success.
- Researching relevant substantive and procedural law and maintaining detailed current awareness of relevant practice areas
- Drafting defences, application notices, witness statements, briefs to counsel, and other legal documents
- Liaising with internal and external counsel to effectively prepare for forthcoming hearings and react to hearing outcomes
- Providing advice to the department's clients on a range of legal issues including advice on appeal, assessment of settlement offers, analysis of case law, and other issues as required
- Taking instructions from clients and contributing, under the leadership of the Senior Solicitor and Global Head of Aviation, to the development of clients' respective legal strategies
- Corresponding and negotiating with opponent parties and with the courts
- Participating in the management of a team of paralegals, organising their work, and delegating appropriate tasks to them
- Providing training, guidance and general supervision to trainee solicitors and paralegals, reviewing their work and appraising their performance against the Department's standards and procedures
- Properly and efficiently using the Department's and Company's IT systems
- Communicating clearly and productively with colleagues, clients and others
- Participating in the development, updating and refinement of workflows, templates and other internal resources and procedures
- Maintaining files in good order in compliance with the Department's file standards
- Adhering to all relevant data protection laws and ensuring that documents and communications are handled in compliant fashion
- Adhering to an excellent standard of personal organisation and diary management
- Fostering good relationships with other team members and other departments within the Company
- Responding to clients' requests, emails and post in a prompt and professional manner as well as answering telephones/emails in a professional manner
- Taking responsibility for other types of administrative duties such as billing, invoicing, time recording, compiling litigation bundles, dealing with correspondence, collecting and organising evidence; both by performing these tasks personally and by supervising their performance by paralegals and claims co-ordinators on a delegated basis
- Networking with clients and building valuable relationships in a way that enhances the Company's reputation
- Adhering to all relevant Company procedures, policies and requirement as set out in the Contract of Employment, Office Manual and as instructed from time to time by the Senior Solicitor, Global Head of Aviation or Directors.
- Any other hoc duties as directed by the Senior Solicitor, Global Head of Aviation or Directors
Relationships:
- Internal:
o Supportive to the Directors, Global Head of Department, and Senior Solicitor
o Collaborative with other Assistant Solicitors and Trainee Solicitors and with in-house counsel
o Supervisory in respect of paralegals, claims co-ordinators and other non-legally qualified staff
- External:
o Significant responsibly for regular communication with clients
o Shared responsibility for strategic planning with clients
o Liaison with independent counsel
o Promoting the Practice wherever possible through PR and quality of service
Skills & Qualifications:
Essential:
- A current SRA practising certificate entitling the candidate to practise as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales is an essential and non-negotiable requirement. Applications from those not immediately eligible for such a certificate cannot be considered.
- Relevant law degree or postgraduate law qualification in the UK or EU
- An excellent level of spoken and written English
- Computer literacy
- Ability to multi-task and prioritise
- Highly organised; able to be productive, flexible and comfortable in a performance-driven environment
- Superior research skills
- Strong client relationship skills; the ability to establish positive, cooperative and professional relationships, both internal and external
- Being highly trustworthy, discreet, and able to show good judgement
- Able to work well under pressure, without sacrificing a high attention to detail
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to work autonomously
- Self-aware, with a commitment to using feedback to learn and develop as a professional
- Minimum 5 years PQE
Desirable:
- Experience in Claimant and Defendant work
- Strong leadership skills
- Prior experience of conducting County Court hearings
- Prior experience of instructing and attending on counsel
- Second language