Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd):
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.
Choosing a career with Duncan Lewis is choosing a law firm that is the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country and has a growing private client practice. We have been Investors in People Gold Standard accredited for over 15 years and are continuously applauded nationally for the work that we do.
Having demonstrated unparalleled legal expertise and a commitment to justice, we were awarded Law Firm of the Year at both the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards. We are named as one of the Times 200 Best Law Firms. In 2021 we were celebrated by the Chambers Europe Award as an ’outstanding firm’ for diversity and inclusion. In previous years we have been awarded a number of awards, including the Law Society Excellence Award for Large Law Firm of the Year in 2020. Duncan Lewis is Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 Information Management accredited.
About the role:
Duncan Lewis Solicitors is seeking talented and experienced Solicitors to join its Claims Against Public Authorities and Inquest department.
The candidate will undertake a mixed caseload of complaints and civil claims against the police and other public authorities, judicial reviews, inquests and injustices. The department has been expanding within the firm steadily for a number of years and attracts high profile and interesting work.
The successful candidate will conduct supervised casework and also support other lawyers in the department. You will be involved with case preparation generally and, as part of that role, will be expected to conduct legal research, take proofs of evidence from clients and witnesses, attend both court hearings and conferences.
It is imperative that you can demonstrate an unwavering commitment to protecting individual citizens’ civil liberties and a preparedness to fight hard to enforce their human rights. Previous experience in this specific area is highly desirable but all applications will be considered.
Main Responsibilities of the Role
*Report directly to Department Director
*Professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of client needs
*Responsible for mixed caseload of inquest work, complaints against public authorities and pre and post-issue claimant litigation.
*Ability to manage appropriate caseload types and supervision of a small team.
*Making CCMS applications to the LAA.
*Attending clients, taking instructions and briefing and liaising with counsel, negotiating with defendants, the IOPC and other legal professionals.
*Dealing with correspondence.
*Identifying the funding options and advising on the most appropriate one.
*To run the caseload of varied, challenging and interesting work.
*Ability to help in marketing the department and the firm through social media.
*Assisting in expansion of the department.
Key Skills Required:
*Solicitor or Legal Executive with 2+ years PQE in Civil Liberties work
*Experience working on publicly funded cases (CW1/Legal Help and Licensed/Certificated Work) and working with CCMS
*Ability to demonstrate experience in all areas of Claimant litigation
*Strong theoretical knowledge and demonstrable practical experience of the Civil Procedure Rules
*Strong research, analytical and critical thinking skills
*Knowledge and practical experience of applications for judicial review
*Effective organisational ability, able to work to tight deadlines under pressure
*Must meet LAA supervisor criteria for Legal Aid contract purposes
What we offer
*Competitive salary
*A fantastic supportive team
*Excellent progression opportunities
*Support for appropriate legal awards/recognition
In addition, you must be a good administrator, capable of ordering documents, dealing with new enquiries and completing legal aid/controlled work documentation.
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.
Equal Opportunities:
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. If you are interested in applying for this vacancy, you can also visit our website and apply using our online process for your application to be considered.