Job Description

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Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd):

Regulated by the Solicitor\xe2\x80\x99s 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 \xe2\x80\x93 \xe2\x80\x9ca diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients\xe2\x80\x9d. 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, has been Investors in People Gold Standard accredited for over 15 years and is continuously applauded nationally for the work that it does.

In 2022 we were named as one of the Times 200 Best Law Firms. In 2021 we were celebrated by the Chambers Europe Award as an \xe2\x80\x98outstanding firm\xe2\x80\x99 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, Access to Justice at the UK Legal Diversity Awards in 2019 and the Family Law Firm of the Year at the 2015 Family Law Awards, to name just a few. Duncan Lewis is Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 Information Management accredited.

We look to recruit dedicated and talented employees in both legal and non-legal capacities, and we are always interested to receive applications from quality candidates. If you can demonstrate a strong commitment to the areas of law provided by the firm, and you are keen to build a career with us, please with your details and CV.

Court of Protection Department Background:

The Court of Protection adjudicates or resolves disputes that concern adults who lack mental capacity to make
decisions. Disputes typically include whether the person has the capacity to make decisions and what is in that person\xe2\x80\x99s
best interests.
Our Court of Protection team has been recognised by The Legal 500 for their dedication to achieving the best possible results for their clients and for putting a \xe2\x80\x9ctremendous amount of work\xe2\x80\x9d into their cases. The team is multidisciplinary team regularly collaborating with the company\xe2\x80\x99s experts in mental capacity, mental health, community care, clinical negligence, family, childcare and public law.
We are dedicated to our clients and support family members and advocates and are regularly instructed by the Official
Solicitor in cases relating to the wellbeing of an individual who lacks capacity, including health and welfare, medical treatment, financial issues and mental capacity.
The litigation team has extensive experience in acting for both claimants and defendants, representing individuals,companies, charities or those involved in group litigation, in complex and high value civil / commercial litigation matters,including:

• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Building Disputes
• Civil Fraud
• Consumer/ Commercial Disputes
• Contract Disputes
• Debt
• Interim Applications
• International Cross Border Dispute
• Probate Disputes
• Professional Negligence
• Residential Property Disputes

Main Responsibilities of the Role:

• Report directly to Department Director
• Responsible for all aspects of Court of Protection work and, on occasions, where appropriate providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of clients\xe2\x80\x99 needs
• Responsible for all aspects of Litigation work and on occasions, where appropriate providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members.
• Ability to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Attending clients, taking instructions and preparing cases
• Dealing with correspondence
• Maintaining accurate time-costing procedures
• Implementing any recommendations made by your supervisor/director following monthly file reviews ensuring that these are dealt with promptly
• Ensuring compliance with file management.
• Conduct litigation and advocacy in relevant court hearings.
• Variety of duties, including dealing with a range of Court of Protection matters, including personal injury trusts; statutory wills and gift applications; deputyship applications; ongoing deputyship administration; health and social care judicial review and ancillary applications such as trustee orders
• 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
• Assisting with casework including dealing with a range of Litigation cases including: ADR/ mediation; Banking and financial disputes; Bankruptcy and insolvency; Breach of contract disputes; Civil fraud; Commercial property/ company disputes; Debt recovery and enforcement claims; Intellectual property infringement disputes; Interim applications as well as undertaking your own advocacy.

Key Skills Required:

• Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying
• Team player and adapt well to new challenges
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working on key performance indicators
• Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable client matters sensitively and resolve complicated practicalities
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills
• Ability to use own initiative and sound judgment
• Working knowledge of the publically funded Court of Protection work and the ability to service privately funded cases
• Have extensive experience in dealing with Court of Protectionrelated work
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage
• Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills
• Proven ability to manage a demanding caseload and meet deadlines.
• Attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate and organized case records.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team and build strong client relationships

If you are a highly motivated and qualified solicitor looking for an opportunity to work in a dynamic and challenging
environment, please submit your CV and cover letter online!

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. We appreciate your understanding.

What we can offer?

For a full list of our benefits, please visit https://www.duncanlewis.co.uk/Employee-Reward-and-Benefits.html

Equal Opportunities

Duncan Lewis is committed to equal opportunities and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender, religion, belief, or marital status and embraces the 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. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process, please talk to a member of the recruitment team so that any required adjustments can be made in advance.

We look forward to receiving your application and discussing how you can contribute to our team^s success in providing
exceptional Court of Protection, health, and welfare legal services.

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


Disclaimer
We are the fastest growing firm of Solicitors, with offices across London and the UK. We deal in a wide range of legal services that caters for clients on a public funding or private fee basis. Duncan Lewis is privileged to have several franchises from the Legal Aid Agency.

We look to recruit dedicated and talented employees in both legal and non-legal capacities, and we are always interested to receive applications from quality candidates, whether experienced or novice. If you can demonstrate a strong commitment to the areas of law provided by the firm, and you are keen to build a career with us, please click here to apply online with your details and CV.

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.